Every so often I try a new recipe and it instantly becomes a family favorite. This is one of those recipes! I’ve never been a big fan of Lemon Meringue pie. As much as I love, love, love the lemon part I never really cared for the meringue part; not a fan. This luscious pie has a lovely silky smooth lemony freshness with a creamy whipped cream topping instead of a meringue topping. It’s the best of all worlds! If you are a lemon crazed individual like I am, you are going to LOVE this creamy, silky smooth, luscious lemon cream pie.
Start by making the crust:
In a food processor pulse together the graham crackers and sugar until you have a mixture that resembles coarse sand. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine.
Spread the crumbs out into a 9 inch pie pan, pressing them into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.
Place the pie crust in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
Optional: Pie crust can be baked at 350 ° for 5-6 minutes for a crunchier crust. Allow the crust to cool completely before adding the pie filling.
Next make the pie filling:
In a mixing bowl combine the vanilla pudding mix, milk, sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Whisk the ingredients together until smooth. It comes together quickly, you can mix it up in a bowl with a whisk. The mixture will be quite thick when you are done stirring it together. Set aside.
In another mixing bowl, whip up 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. I use my KitchenAid mixer to do this. I think my arms would fall off if I tried to whip cream with a whisk…LOL!
Stir a third of the freshly whipped cream into the lemon filling to combine.
Gently fold in the remaining two thirds of the whipped cream to combine. Don’t over-stir, just fold it in to keep the filling light and fluffy.
Spread the filling into the graham cracker pie crust in an even layer.
Cover the pie with plastic wrap and return it to the fridge for at least 4-6 hours or overnight.
Make the whipped topping:
In a large mixing bowl whip together 1 cup heavy whipping cream, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until light and fluffy and soft peaks form. Thank good ness I have an electric mixer to take care of this chore!!!
Spread the whipped topping evenly over the lemon pie filling. Cover and keep pie refrigerated until ready to serve.
To serve:
Top with lemon or lime slices, optional.
I served this lovely pie for dessert at Easter. Everyone in the family loved it!!! It was by far, hands down, the crowd favorite! I typically have lots of leftovers, but sadly not even one teeny, tiny slice of this delectable pie remained at the end of the day. I couldn’t even sneak another slice later that day ☹️ I guess I will have to make this pie again soon, luckily it’s easy to make and delicious to eat. I will have to wait until I can share it with friends because I could easily sit down and eat an entire pie. Ok, maybe not all in one sitting, but over the course of the day? Yes, it’s that good!!!
A huge THANK YOU to Sara Wells at ourbestbites.com for providing the inspiration for this delicious recipe! Please be sure to take a minute to check out her beautiful website and blog. You will find many drool worthy photos and loads of delicious recipes to try out. I’m heading back over there right now for more inspiration ☺️
Luscious Lemon Cream Pie
Equipment
- Food processor
- 9 inch pie pan
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 14 whole graham crackers
- ¼ cup sugar
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
For the pie filling:
- 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest, from about 2 medium lemons
- ½ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup milk
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
For the whipped topping:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish:
- 1 medium lemon or lime, sliced
Instructions
Make the crust:
- In a food processor pulse together the graham crackers and sugar until you have a mixture that resembles coarse sand.
- Add the melted butter and pulse to combine.
- Spread the crumbs out into a 9 inch pie pan, pressing them into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.
- Place pie crust in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
Make the filling:
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the vanilla pudding mix, milk, sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, whip up 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.
- Stir a third of the whipped cream into the lemon filling to combine.
- Gently fold in the remaining two thirds of the whipped cream to combine.
- Spread the filling into the graham cracker pie crust in an even layer.
- Cover the pie with plastic wrap and return it to the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Make whipped topping:
- In a large mixing bowl whip together 1 cup heavy whipping cream, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Spread the whipped topping evenly over the lemon pie filling.
- Cover and keep pie refrigerated until ready to serve.
To serve:
- Top with lemon or lime slices, optional.
Notes
Did You Make This?
Be sure to snap a pic and tag it @naturewayblog — I love, love, love seeing your creations! Don’t forget to comment and leave a review below, and tag me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, or TWITTER!
May I ask a small favor? If you enjoyed this blogpost would you be so kind and like the page? It lets me know what you are enjoying the most. It also helps me focus my attention on creating content that will be most meaningful and beneficial for you, my readers. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so you never miss out on all the latest that’s happening here at Nature Way. Thank you!
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!