Unbelievably creamy lemon pie is just like key lime pie with a lemon twist and toasty almond graham cracker crust. Made with just 7 simple ingredients, you’ll appreciate the ease and simplicity of this refreshing dessert recipe.
I originally shared this recipe in 2017, and I’ve since updated it with new photos and extra success tips for consistently great results.
Think of today’s recipe as the lemon version of key lime pie. The filling is nearly identical, but adjusted for lemon juice so it sets up perfectly silky and smooth. And instead of macadamia nuts, the graham cracker crust gets its salty-sweet flavor from salted almonds. This pie is ultra creamy, and delivers bold lemon flavor—like lemon bars in pie form! It easily made the list of our favorite lemon dessert recipes that we return to again and again.
Let’s dive in.
This Is EASY Creamy Lemon Pie
- 7 ingredients total
- No mixer required
- 20 minutes of hands-on time
- Make-ahead friendly
One reader, Shannon, commented: “I made this for Easter. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while as an alternative to lemon meringue pie. Boy, am I sorry I waited so long! Easy and delicious. The filling was velvety smooth, and the nuts in the crust added a little something extra. I especially loved how few ingredients there were and how easy it was to pull together… ★★★★★“
Another reader, Ally, commented: “Sally, this was SUBLIME. Zero notes, so amazing! Super easy, too. Loved the crust and made your whipped cream from scratch, too. Thanks for another perfect recipe! ★★★★★“
3 Parts to Creamy Lemon Pie
- 4-ingredient toasty almond graham cracker crust
- 3-ingredient creamy lemon filling
- Optional toppings like whipped cream, meringue, mint, and lemon slices
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 salted almonds to enhance the lemon flavor without overpowering it. You can even toast them first for extra depth. If desired, skip the almonds and use only graham crackers for a traditional crust.
Press the crust into a 9-inch pie dish, and pre-bake for about 8 minutes. No need to cool it before adding the filling.
(And if you want to switch it up, you could use a Biscoff crust instead.)
Creamy Lemon Pie Filling
The flavor of today’s lemon filling reminds me of lemon curd and the filling for my lemon meringue pie, but it’s much creamier. We have the sweetened condensed milk to thank for that, an ingredient we also use in these oatmeal lemon crumble bars. We’ll also add egg yolks for structure.
You’ll notice this recipe calls for 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (as opposed to 1 cup of lime juice used in key lime pie). You would think it’d be a 1-for-1 swap from lime to lemon… but the pie simply wouldn’t set up with 1 whole cup of lemon juice. I had some soupy pies to prove it!
That’s it—only 3 basic ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and lemon juice. Each has a big job to do!
Whisk together, pour into the preheated crust, and bake.
The real waiting game (torture) comes afterwards when the lemon pie 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 its own, try garnishing your lemon pie! I spread whipped cream on top and added lemon slices, mint, and lemon zest. Or try adding the marshmallow-tasting meringue topping from this bourbon sweet potato pie.
Other Favorite Pie Recipes
- Blueberry Pie
- Cherry Pie & Peach Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie & Cheesecake Pie
- Peanut Butter Pie
Creamy Lemon Pie
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 40 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need 7 simple ingredients to make this deliciously cool and creamy lemon pie.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Almond Crust
- 11 (about 165g) full-sheet graham crackers
- 1/2 cup (62g) salted almonds (I use roasted)
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling + Topping
- 28 ounces (794g) full-fat sweetened condensed milk (two 14-oz cans)
- 3/4 cup (180g/ml) fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 4 large egg yolks*
- for garnish: lemon zest, lemon slices, almonds, whipped cream, or meringue topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Make the crust: Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and almonds together into crumbs. A few larger pieces of nuts is OK. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom “corner” where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust—this helps prevent the crust from falling apart. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
- Pre-bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the oven on.
- Make the filling: Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks together. Pour into the warm crust.
- Bake the pie for 19–21 minutes or until only *slightly* jiggly in the center. You want it mostly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Once cool, cover and chill for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days before serving. After around 8 hours, lightly cover it.
- When ready to serve, garnish as desired. Slice and serve. For neat slices, it’s helpful to wipe your knife clean between each cut.
- Cover and store leftover pie in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can prepare and pre-bake the crust up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and store at room temperature. Likewise, you can mix together the filling up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then assemble and bake. Baked and cooled pie freezes well for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | 9-inch Pie Dish | Whisk | Citrus Juicer | Egg Separator | Cooling Rack
- Graham Cracker Crust: If you purchase graham cracker crumbs, you need 1 and 1/3 cups (about 160–165g) for this recipe. Even though they are already crumbs, you can still pulse with the almonds. If you want to skip the almonds, use this graham cracker crust recipe instead and pre-bake for 8 minutes. You could also make a Biscoff pie crust instead.
- Leftover Egg Whites: Here are all my recipes with egg whites, or you can make a meringue topping for the pie, and I recommend the topping used on this bourbon sweet potato pie. Tip: Eggs separate easier when they’re cold.
- Non-US Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 180g ground digestive biscuits instead (about 12 biscuits), with the same amount of almonds and butter, and add an extra Tablespoon (12g) of sugar. Pre-bake for 10 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
After debating between this and the lemon meringue pie, I made this one. It’s very easy and the flavor is awesome!!! Great recipe.
I have tried several of your lemon recipes and this one is by far the best one yet! Incredibly simple!!! I got many compliments and it hasn’t been 2 hours and the whole thing is gone! I am trying your key lime pie version next!
My daughter made this and we really enjoyed it. She made a second pie using coffee instead of lemon juice & it was amazing!!! (But took longer to bake)
How do you think the liquid conversion might go for using fresh squeezed orange juice instead of lemon juice?
Yes! Same amount. You may want to add a small pinch of salt since you’ll lose the tartness from lemon.
Thank you for this incredible recipe. I am planning to make it for a dinner party this weekend. I live in Singapore and we do not have Graham Crackers over here, what can I use instead? Would digestive cookies work or do they have a completely different flavour?
Hi Kay! From what I’ve heard, digestive biscuits/cookies work as an excellent substitute for graham crackers in crusts.
I only have a 10” pie dish, can I do this recipe without any alterations?
Absolutely. The pie will be a little thinner in a larger pan. The bake time should still be about the same, maybe a minute or 2 shorter.
Absolutely amazing, Sally!!! Everything I was hoping for and more…..definitely making this again…. And again, and again! So deliciously creamy and smooth, crazy easy, and delicious – my family LOVED it! Thank you!
I tried this recipe for the first time last week. It’s amazing! I entered it in an amateur pie baking contest yesterday and won third place in the creme pie category! Thanks very much for the recipe!
So easy too make and simply, purely delicious! Just the right amount of tart; great crust with added richness from the almonds. Didn’t make any alterations (well, I did add a little lemon zest to the filling); followed the recipe pretty much as shown. Awesome!
I’ll be checking out more of your recipes. 🙂 Thanks again, Sally!
Hi Sally, can I bake this with the meringue topping like a lemon meringue pie, or should I put the topping on after baking? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, For the meringue topping linked above you can spread or pipe it onto your baked and cooled pie and then if you wish you can toast it lightly with a kitchen torch.
So easy to make and so creamy and tasty. Second time I made it I topped it with whipped cream and fresh blueberries and it was a winner with the family.
Hi Sally,
I want to make this pie for a party but unfortunately some of my friends are allergic to almonds. Would it be ok to substitute them for salted peanuts?
Hi Victoria! Use my regular graham cracker crust recipe instead of this crust recipe with the almonds.
This pie is amazing! Will definitely make again. It was fairly easy to do, and my 4 year old helped mix. I only had unsalted almonds so I added 1/4 teaspoon salt to the crust, and it came out perfect. I liked the addition of almonds to make the crust texture more interesting. Lemon filling was smooth and creamy. I topped with Sally’s whipped cream. Whole family loved this.
My family new favorite
This pie was OUT OF THIS WORLD. Can’t wait to try the key lime version.
Is it possible to use pistachios in the crust? Just curious, not looking to change your recipe around, I – and my company – found it perfect. I just really like pistachios and I figure I’ll be making this recipe enough this summer to experiment a little.
Yum! Yes, pistachios (salted or unsalted, your preference) would be great instead of the almonds in this crust.
I actually used the pistachios in the crust for the Key Lime Pie. People loved the pie, but they RAVED about the crust. FYI – Didn’t immediately find the lime juice so I found out JUST how long it takes to juice an entire bag of key limes… About 45 minutes – and I STILL only had 2/3 cup. My wife found the key lime juice you recommended at the store and brought it home so we did a taste test between that and the fresh squeezed. We used the bottled juice as the fresh squeezed almost tasted a little more like grapefruit… Not just bitter but sour somehow.
I just tried this pie for the first time and it is fantastic! I love the almonds in the crust. Recipe idea: If a thin layer of this lemon filling could be baked on top of a plain cheesecake that would be amazing!!! Thanks so much for a trusted place to find recipes for all my baking adventures!
Just made these into mini pies. Ok, they were more like your key lime mini pie recipe, but with this crust and with lemon juice. They were a big hit! Thank you!
this looks delicious! i can’t wait to make it. Also, are there any alternatives for gram crackers?
Are you outside of the US? I hear digestive biscuits are the best alternative!
This recipe is so creamy and delicious! Not too tart and not too sweet, it’s simply refreshing! I used Nilla wafers for the crust, as my kids are not fans of graham crackers, and it turned out great!
This is a very easy recipe and very tasty. I’ve made it twice and gotten rave reviews. I’m about to make it again for a 4th of July picnic. I’ve been serving it with a blueberry compote and may add a strawberry garnish this time. Unsweetened whipped cream on the side. The almond graham crust is delicious and I will try it with other fillings. Thank you for making my friends and family happy and making me look like a star!!!
Hi Sally, I saw on your key lime version of this pie today that you sometimes add a little cream cheese. Can I do that with this lemon pie, and if so how much? I want to try to recreate this creamy lemon pie with a hazelnut crust I had in Greece!
Hey Lizzy! For extra stabilization, sometimes I add cream cheese to key lime pie, but that depends on the recipe. You could try adding 4 ounces of softened cream cheese to this lemon pie mixture. Beat it until smooth first, then beat in the remaining filling ingredients.
Hi Sally,
How can you make this crust gluten-free? Would you advise gluten-free graham crackers or using almond flour instead?
You can absolutely use gluten free graham crackers! Enjoy!
I followed the recipe exactly, except I added a lot of lemon zest because I couldn’t really taste the lemon flavor using just the juice. Turned out really good!
Perfect Filling and super easy! I had leftover crumbs from a different recipe so I didn’t make this crust only the filling. It was tart and not overly sweet and did I mention easy!
Can you make this recipe with low fat sweetened condensed milk?
Hi Jude! The filling doesn’t set up as nicely using low fat.
I’m curious to know how well this recipe would set up if made in bar form, instead of a pie??
I think it would work well as bars!
HI, I only have 1 sweetened condensed and 1 evaporated can (far from a store) and want to make this tomorrow. Do you think that will work? Can I add some sugar?
thanks
Becky
Hi Becky! Evaporated milk is not a suitable sub for the sweetened condensed milk. You’ll need an additional can of SCM.
Hi! Can I substitute the almonds with additional graham crackers instead?
Hi Kate! You can use my graham cracker crust recipe instead.
Ok- I’ve been wanting to make this since I saw the post and today it finally happened. OH. MY. CREAMY GOODNESS!!!!! So simple, so quick, and so lemony perfect!!! Move over key lime, there’s a new favourite citrus in town!
Hi there Sally – I’ve never responded before today, but I HAD to tell you that I made this pie for a potluck at work, and the raves were amazing. Every person who ate said it was the best pie they had ever tasted! I had to agree. There is something about the tart lemon with the condensed milk that is simply a marriage of two ingredients. And the combination of graham crackers and almonds for the crust was such a delicious change to a regular graham cracker crust. Thank you, this was the best 🙂
Yummy!!! This recipe is a keeper. So creamy and boy do we love lemon! Thank You. Can’t wait to make it for company!
Hi Sally,
I don’t have a regular sized pie pan. Can I use a springform pan instead? Also, if I wanted to make these in 4 mini pie pans, how long should I bake the crust for and how long should I continue baking with the filling inside?
You can try a 9-inch springform pan instead. I’m unsure of the mini pie bake time and crust bake time without knowing the measurement or testing myself, so sorry!