I wasn’t going to share my sunshine-sweet lemon pie recipe because it’s extremely similar to my key lime pie. It’s the same recipe but with lemon flavor, though I did alter it slightly to make up for the different juice. And the crust is made with toasty almonds instead of macadamia nuts. It’s pretty! And creamy! This chilled dessert will surely keep you cool. One slice certainly doesn’t compare to cooling off in actual pool—but is this a summertime sweet or what? This is my favorite lemon pie recipe, no questions asked. It packs as much lemon flavor as lemon crinkle cookies, and you’ll love the delicious contrast between a salty sweet crunchy crust and smooth and tangy filling. Let’s dive in!
This is EASY Creamy Lemon Pie
7 ingredients total Filling is only 3 simple ingredients You don’t need a mixer From mixing bowl to oven in 20 minutes
3 Parts to Creamy Lemon Pie
Graham Cracker Crust with an Upgrade
We’re not using our typical classic graham cracker crust—instead, we add almonds, which take this dessert from good to out-of-this-world delicious! We combine whole salty almonds, graham crackers, sugar, and a little melted butter to create the perfect sweet-salty base for our creamy lemon filling. I recommend using salted almonds to pair with the sweet/tangy lemon filling. You can even toast them in the oven before incorporating for another level of flavor. The crust won’t taste overly salty because there’s sugar in there as well, but it’ll have a super faint salted flavor. I guarantee you’ll only want to make graham cracker crust this way from now on. And I love how buttery and thick it is. Use a food processor to process the nuts and graham crackers together, then add the sugar and butter to combine. You’ll pre-bake the crust for about 8 minutes, then pour the filling right in. No need to let it cool down. It’s quick and easy! Or you could use a Biscoff pie crust instead if you’d like.
Creamy Lemon Pie Filling
The flavor of today’s lemon filling reminds me of lemon curd and the filling for my lemon meringue pie and lemon bars, but it’s much creamier. We have the sweetened condensed milk to thank for that. It’s actually adapted from my oatmeal lemon crumble bars filling, but we also add egg yolks here for structure and fresh lemon juice for flavor. That’s it—only 3 basic ingredients that have big jobs to do. You won’t believe how silky smooth this filling is! You’ll notice this recipe calls for 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (as opposed to 1 cup of fresh lime juice used in key lime pie). This boggles my mind as you would think it’d be an easy swap from lime to lemon. The pie wouldn’t set up with 1 whole cup. Made with only 7 ingredients, this pie is super quick—only 20 minutes of hands on time! The real waiting game (torture) comes afterwards when it has to cool down and then chill in the refrigerator. I like to serve this pie when it’s super cold, so I make it a day ahead of time and chill it overnight. If short on time, you can get away with only 1 hour in the refrigerator after it has completely cooled at room temperature.
Optional Garnishes
While delicious on it’s own, try garnishing your lemon pie! I used a star tip to pipe homemade whipped cream on top. Or try adding marshmallow meringue topping from my s’mores tartlets, a sprinkle of almonds, lemon zest, or slices of fresh lemons.
Other Favorite Pie Recipes
Blueberry Pie Cherry Pie & Peach Pie Coconut Cream Pie Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie & Cheesecake Pie Peanut Butter Pie
Here’s the recipe for key lime pie!
