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.