A smooth and creamy pie with fresh lemon filling and whipped cream in a buttery graham cracker crust.
Lemon desserts. Yay? Nay? Meh?
I would never choose a lemon dessert as a first choice (I mean, hello, chocolate obsessed). But, I’m pretty sure this Lemon Cream Pie is trying to move me over to “Team Lemon.” There’s so much to love about this pie.
MORE LEMON RECIPES: CREAMY LEMON BARS – LEMON BLUEBERRY MUFFINS – LEMON BLUEBERRY CAKE – LEMON COCONUT CAKE
Lemon Cream Pie
- Graham cracker crust
- Sweet and tart lemon filling
- Freshly whipped cream
I went the homemade route with each of the components of this pie. If you have to take a shortcut with a store bought crust or prepared whipped cream, you can. I highly suggest you try the whole recipe from scratch at least once. This pie is straight up heavenly.
I have made this Lemon Cream Pie with regular lemons and Meyer lemons. Both versions are great. The Meyer lemon pie has a less tart, subtle lemon flavor. I would guess that you could also swap the lemon for limes for a lime pie.
With spring on the horizon I am craving light and refreshing flavors, this pie totally hit the spot. This would be absolutely perfect for Easter or Mother’s Day. It’s beautiful, delicious, and loved by many. Enjoy!
Try my other PIE RECIPES:
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Greek Yogurt Cheesecake
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Butter Pecan Ice Cream Pie
- Blueberry Pie with Whipped Cream
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Lemon Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
Crust:
- 9 whole rectangular graham crackers
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Lemon filling:
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- scant 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
- 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 large eggs yolks, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream, use a thicker sour cream, not runny
Whipped cream:
- 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Break up the graham crackers and place them in a food processor. Pulse until the graham crackers are processed into fine crumbs.
- Pour the crumbs into a bowl and stir in the melted butter and sugar. Once all the graham cracker crumbs are moistened, press the crumb mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake the crust for about 13-15 minutes, until fragrant and light golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Lemon filling:
- In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in milk and lemon juice. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and bubbling. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
- Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly add a cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, whisking as you pour (this will slowly bring up the temperature of the eggs). Add the egg mixture back to the pan and bring to a gentle boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in butter and lemon zest, mixing until completely combined. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, whisk in sour cream. Whisk vigorously to maintain the creamy texture. Pour the lemon filling into the crust. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Assembly:
- Before serving, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Top the pie with whipped cream (I used a star tip and piped it on, but you can also spread it using a butter knife or offset spatula). If desired, garnish with a sprinkling of finely grated lemon zest.
Nutrition
Recipe updated March 2018 – I increased the lemon filling to make it a little bit thicker. The rest of the recipe remains the same.
Lemon filling adapted from Taste of Home
rose says
Can I make meringue with the whites left over from this recipe?
Celebrating Sweets says
Sure! Enjoy!
Mimi A says
I’m craving lemon and chocolate…think a nice chocolate graham crust would work?
Celebrating Sweets says
Sure, you can try it. Enjoy!
Nettie Moore says
Thank you for contributing! The post is live! 34 Strawberry and Lemon Desserts for Spring! https://parade.com/873562/nettiemoore/34-strawberry-and-lemon-desserts-for-spring/
Cheers,
Nettie
Mooreorlesscooking.com
Tracy L. Keesling says
Did you use a deep dish pie plate? Making this this weekend!
Celebrating Sweets says
Yes, I did. Enjoy!
Jessica says
Yummy! Love lemon, gonna try this but just wondering what measurement of graham crumbs is 19 crackers?Gonna be lazy and use the pre crumbled box of gr.cr.crumbs. thanks!
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi! I believe 9 crackers is around 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cups of crumbs. Enjoy!
Jo Marie Cucchiara says
I need to serve 10. Have you ever made it in a 13×9 glass dish?
It looks wonderful and I can almost taste it
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi! I have only made the recipe as written. I would guess you would need either 1 1/2 of the recipe, or possibly a double recipe. Let me know how it goes if you try it. Thanks for stopping by!
Roxanne says
I loved the pie. However my filling was runny. How long does it need to be refrigerated? How can I prevent a runny filling?
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Roxanne. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It needs to be refrigerated until completely chilled, I’d say at least 5 hours, even up to overnight. If the filling was runny, your sour cream might have been on the thinner side. I use thick sour cream, Daisy brand is my favorite. You can also try increasing the cornstarch a bit, maybe going with a generous 1/3 cup instead of a scant 1/3 cup. And make sure you cook the filling at a gentle boil for a full two minutes.
Thanks for stopping by!
Pat says
Do you think making this 2 days in advance would be okay? I’d save putting on the whipped topping til day of
Celebrating Sweets says
My concern would be the crust. The longer the wet filling sits in the graham cracker crust the softer it will get. I would recommend serving within 1 day for best texture. Enjoy!
Susan Mccoy says
I loved the lemon cream pie , I was wondering if I could add something else besides the sour cream this time and maybe add cream cheese or maybe yorgert if so how much would I add to it ?
Celebrating Sweets says
You can try swapping the sour cream for plain (or maybe lemon flavored?) yogurt. Be sure to use a yogurt that is on thicker side, if it is watery it will make the filling too thin.
I’m not sure about cream cheese. You would have to play around with it. You’d definitely want to add it after cooking (when the sour cream is added), and you’ll want it be room temp so it blends in smoothly.
Enjoy!
J says
I made this for the first time tonight and used a half block (4 oz) plain cream cheese and 3 cups of powdered sugar. The filling was just as creamy and lemony as I’d hoped!
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Linda Osborn says
This was delightful! I thought the balance of tart and not to sweet was perfect. I strained the mixture after cooking, cooled the filling to room temp quickly with a bowl of ice under the bowl of lemon filling, added the sour cream. It set up very quickly in the fridge! Serve with whipped cream. Delicious!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂