This easy recipe for lemon cream pie is made with sweetened condensed milk for a ridiculously easy but delicious pie recipe. Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this simple creamy lemon pie.
There are two ingredients I love all the time; lemon and chocolate. The two flavors are so perfect to me. I can literally never have enough recipes with those two. Which leads me to this easy recipe for a creamy lemon pie.
There are lots of versions of this recipe on the internet, it's very easy and delicious, so naturally, everyone wants a slice of this pie. I based my recipe on the Cooks Illustrated version of a Lemon Icebox Pie. I added a little cream and lemon zest to find what I felt was the perfect creamy but in-your-face lemon flavor!
If you love lemon then check out my lemon olive oil cake recipe next.
Let's get to the recipe
Ingredients
For the pie you'll need:
- Graham Cracker Crust. I have an easy post on how to make a graham cracker crust it's just graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter, or you can use a store-bought premade graham cracker crust.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk (SCM). You'll need two 14oz cans of sweetened condensed milk but you will reserve 2 tablespoons to sweeten the whipped cream.
- Egg Yolks. You can save the egg whites to make my meringue cookies recipe, so tasty!
- Lemon Zest. Adding some lemon zest helps intensify the lemon flavor.
- Lemon Juice. Please use fresh lemon zest
- Heavy Whipping Cream. I like to add some cream to cut a bit of the SCM sweetness.
You could leave the pie as is but I find it quite sweet so I like to add the slight sweetened whipped cream to balance it all out. Plus I love all of the textural differences.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. To make whipped cream you need cream, make sure it is nice and cold so it whips up nicely.
- Reserved Sweetened Condensed Milk. Saving a little bit of the SCM will sweeten the cream easily!
- Fresh Lemon Zest. Once the whipped cream is on the pie it might be hard to see from over top that it's lemon so adding lemon zest on top tells the story of what flavor the pie is.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350F/180C and par-bake your graham cracker crust for 8 minutes, then set aside. Doing this ensures you have a super tight and crisp graham cracker pie shell.
In a large bowl whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and heavy cream until fully combined.
Pour the lemon filling into pie shell and shake/spread into an even layer.
Bake for 20-26 minutes, the pie filling should be set but the center should just slightly jiggle. When baked let the pie cool on a wire rack for an hour or so then cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Now you can make the whipped cream topping. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer whisk the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk until medium-stiff peaks are formed. Store the cream covered in the fridge until ready to use.
Spread on top of the lemon pie and add fresh lemon zest on top. Now enjoy this gorgeous pie!
You can store leftover lemon cream pie in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Can you make ahead of time
This pie is absolutely delicious on day 4 as it is day 1, trust me, I tried it! The graham cracker crust stayed nice and crisp since we par-baked it.
If you top the whipped cream on the pie then you can use some toothpicks on the outer edge of the pie to hold plastic wrap up so it doesn't take off all of the whipped cream!
More lemon recipes
Lemon is such a versatile ingredient, it's fantastic in sweet and savor recipes.
My lemon blueberry cheesecake is a winner always at parties, it's great to make ahead as well! Or my lemon blueberry cake.
You would never know this lemon cake is full of zucchini, trust me you gotta try this lemon zucchini cake recipe it's so tasty!
My friend makes the best lemon garlic pasta with shrimp, we love it!
Last but not least check out this lemon olive oil cake recipe!
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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Lemon Cream Pie
This easy recipe for lemon cream pie is made with sweetened condensed milk for a ridiculously easy but delicious pie recipe. Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this simple creamy lemon pie.
- Total Time: 4 hours 48 minutes
- Yield: 8 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Pie Filling
- (1) 9-inch Homemade Graham Cracker Crust, or store-bought
- (2) 14oz cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk, 2 tablespoons reserved
- 4 Large Egg Yolks
- 6oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Zest
- 2oz Heavy Cream
Topping
- 8oz Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 Tablespoons Reserved Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Fresh Lemon Zest
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F/180C and par-bake your graham cracker crust for 8 minutes, then set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and heavy cream until fully combined.
- Pour into pie shell and shake/spread into an even layer. Bake for 20-26 minutes, the pie filling should be set but the center should just slightly jiggle. When baked let the pie cool on a wire rack for an hour or so then cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer whisk the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk until medium-stiff peaks are formed. Store covered in the fridge until ready to use. Spread on top of the lemon pie and add fresh lemon zest on top. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cool/ Chill Time: 4 Hours
- Cook Time: 38
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: sweetened condensed milk lemon pie, lemon pie with sweetened condensed milk
Recipe slightly adapted from Cooks Illustrated
Cynthia Hipkins says
6 oz lemon zest???? That's a whole lot of zesting - and what, at least a dozen lemons?!?!?! Thanks!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Cynthia, thank you so much for pointing that out! I had them the wrong way round, should be 6oz lemon juice and 1 tbsp of lemon zest! So, so sorry for the confusion. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you try the pie I would love to know what you think! XX Liz
Linda Cromartie says
Do you have to bake store bought crust
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Linda, thanks for reaching out. You do not have to bake a store-bought graham cracker crust, they are ready to use right away! Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you try the recipe I would love to know what you think! XX Liz
JoAnn says
I am unable to see the actual ingredient measurements in this post. Only text describing it.
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi JoAnn, thanks for reaching out. If you scroll down further you will find the recipe card or at the top of the post, there is a button you can press to "jump to recipe" then you will find all of the measurements/ingredient quantities. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you try the recipe, I would love to know what you think! XX Liz
Mary says
Is there a way that I can use less condensed milk and more heavy cream? Im trying to keep my diabetes in check but still get to eat what I love. Thanks
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Mary, thanks for reaching out. I am afraid I am not sure how the pie would turn out. The thickness and sweetness you get from the SCM adds to the texture of the pie. I am not sure how much you want to reduce the SCM but I wouldn't try reducing it to more than 8oz of heavy cream, and even then I am not 100% confident it would turn out. Please let me know if you try it and how it turns out or if I can answer any more questions. Good luck. XX Liz
Rosanne says
Can you use lemon juice from bottle instead of fresh?
★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Since I use lemon zest I just use the fresh juice as well but you could supplement with additional bottled juice after you've used the zested lemons, I just think the flavor isnt as zingy! Please let me know if you try the recipe what you think! XX Liz
Angela P Anibal says
This lemon cream pie was so easy to make! It turned out so fresh and delicious tasting! This will be my go to summer desert for sure! Especially with all the fresh lemons my neighbor gives me!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for the lovely review Angela!! So glad you enjoyed this pie!! Happy Summer!! XX Liz