This Lemon Icebox Pie recipe is for lemon lovers and hot summer days when you don't want to bake. This no-bake pie has a bright citrus filling in a wafer crust and is topped with mounds of sweet whipped cream. With less than 10 ingredients, it's the ideal make-ahead summer dessert with minimal assembly time.
A no-bake Lemon Icebox Pie recipe is the best dessert for the summer. You don't have to turn your oven on, and better yet it uses less than 10 simple ingredients. It's assembled in just 30 minutes before chilling so you can enjoy time outdoors rather than inside baking!
Inspired by my Mom's 9-by-13-inch dish recipe from my childhood, this lemon icebox pie was born. It the perfect combination of a sweet and sour filling with a nice thick layer of whipped cream on top. What's not to love!
This no-bake lemon pie is one of my go-to desserts for any warm weather month. If you love a pie, I happen to have several great pie recipes. Try Mango and Coconut Pie, Ginger Razzleberry Pie, and Almond Cherry Pie.
Here's a lemon pudding cheesecake for you to try if you love cheesecake!
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Why this is the best icebox pie
I loved a dessert called Lemon Fluff when I was little. I'm pretty sure my younger brother had named it as his favorite dessert, so for years it was "Taylor's favorite dessert." It was based on a classic 50's dessert and used lemon Jell-o.
I was inspired to make this no-bake lemon icebox pie by creating the same fluffy, tangy filling in a cookie crust.
- There is so much flavor in this icebox pie.
- It's cool and refreshing in the summer.
- It can be made ahead and stored in the fridge.
- It is no-bake so you don't have to turn on the oven.
Try more no-bake desserts
My Easy Cheesecake In A Jar ranks as one of my favorite no-bakes. As does Coconut Key Lime Bars and No Bake Cheesecake Tart — but both of those cheat a bit and the crust gets baked for about 10 minutes!
What is Lemon Icebox Pie
A chilled lemon icebox pie is a lemon mousse pie filling with the texture of a lemon chiffon pie. Light, airy, and still tangy and tart. Classic chiffon has egg whites folded into a curd or thickened filling to make it fluffy.
A mousse is similar in texture and often made with chocolate. Mousse pie is what most of us think about when we make icebox pies in the summer. Whipped cream is folded into the thickened base instead of egg whites and the mixture thickens in the fridge.
I made this mousse pie with a lemonade gelatin as the thick base, and folded pillows of whipped cream in to make it have a chiffon texture. It's seriously dreamy in your mouth.
No-Bake Lemon Pie Ingredients
When developing this pie recipe, I researched the classic '50s no-bake desserts. I didn't want to use prepared Jell-o or sweetened condensed milk filling. Instead, I used lemonade concentrate and plain gelatin for a brighter lemon flavor.
For the creamy ingredient in the pie filling, I swapped traditional canned milk for heavy cream, it's just so much richer!
Oh, you better believe I used delicious Vanilla Wafers as the crust. And the crust is still no-bake!
You can garnish the top with lemon zest curls, candied lemon zest, or extra crumbled cookies. The crumbled cookies are more reminiscent of a classic dessert, but the lemon curls are just so pretty!
How to make Lemon Icebox Pie recipe
- Make the crust: In a food processor blend cookie crumbs with the butter. Evenly press into a 9-or 10-inch pie plate and chill or freeze while preparing the filling.
- Make the filling: In a bowl sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup of room-temperature water. Let the gelatin bloom (or soften), so there are no dry bits visible. Boil ½ cup water in the microwave or on the stovetop and stir into gelatin mixture. Stir until gelatin is dissolved.
- Stir in the frozen lemonade concentrate, sugar, and food coloring. Stir until sugar is dissolved and then refrigerate until mixture is the consistency of loose jelly, about 2 hours. Mixture will jiggle like just-setting Jell-o.
- In a separate bowl whip heavy cream to firm peaks; set aside. Whip barely-set lemonade gelatin until frothy. Add whipped cream and mix just to combine.
- Pour filling into chilled crust and chill until set.
- To serve, whip cream with confectioners' sugar. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with extra cookie crumbs or lemon zest. Serve immediately.
Top Tip
Give yourself some time to make and chill the homemade Jell-o. The secret to perfection is making sure the plain gelatin is completely dissolved in the lemonade before chilling in the fridge. This ensures the gelatin activates all of the lemonade evenly and you get a sturdy base for the mousse.
Lemon Icebox Pie FAQs
Absolutely! In fact, this lemon ice box pie recipe is best when made ahead of time. It needs to chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge, but it can be left for much longer as desired.
No, it cannot. If you're looking to reduce the dairy in this recipe or cut back on the fat, this isn't the dessert for you.
Your local grocery store should stock it in the baking aisle. You want to buy unflavored gelatin for this easy no-bake lemon pie recipe, NOT flavored Jell-o.
Expert Tips
You want to set the lemonade gelatin only partially, so keep checking. It should just be starting to jiggle and solidify. Blend it until it's fluffed quite a bit (incorporating air is key for this dessert), and then fold in your whipped cream.
Get a set of mixing bowls: I've never promised this dessert is a one-bowl creation! You'll use quite a few of your mixing bowls! But really, how hard is it to wash a few bowls? Not hard at all. There is lemonade gelatin to make, cream to whip, and butter to melt! You won't regret it.
A delicate crust: Your cookie crust will have been chilling in the fridge or freezer while the jell-o sets, so it's ready for the filling. That crust isn't baked, so it's pretty fragile. It's not your typical sturdy, cookie pie crust. But that's one of my favorite parts of this no-bake lemon icebox pie.
Variations and substitutions
You can use fresh lime and lime juice concentrate in place of the lemon flavors.
Try different cookies if you'd like. Shortbread and vanilla based cookies work best. But you could try a biscoff cookie if you want a stronger flavor.
Make it gluten-free: Use gluten free cookies for the crust.
More no-bake desserts:
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Icebox Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (from about 50 cookies)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- ¾ cup frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed, but cold)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water (DIVIDED)
- 1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin (almost 2½ teaspoons / 7.2 grams)
- 1⅔ cups heavy cream (DIVIDED)
- 4 to 5 drops yellow liquid food coloring (optional)
- 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Garnishes: vanilla wafer cookie crumbs, lemon zest curls, or candied lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
Make the crust
- In a food processor, blend cookie crumbs with the 5 tablespoons melted butter. Evenly press into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate and chill or freeze while preparing the filling.
Make the filling
- In a medium bowl sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup of the room-temperature water. Let the gelatin bloom (or soften), so there are no dry bits visible. Boil the remaining ½ cup water in the microwave or on the stovetop and stir into gelatin mixture. Stir until gelatin is dissolved.
- Stir in cold lemonade concentrate, sugar, and food coloring. Stir until sugar is dissolved and then refrigerate until mixture is the consistency of loose jelly, about 2 hours. Mixture will jiggle like just-setting Jell-o.
- In a separate bowl, whip 1 cup heavy cream to firm peaks; set aside. Whip barely-set lemonade gelatin until frothy, about 1 minute on high speed. Add whipped cream and mix just to combine.
- Gently pour filling into chilled crust and chill until set, 4 hours or more.
Finish the pie
- To serve, whip remaining ⅔ cup cream with confectioners' sugar to soft peaks. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with extra cookie crumbs, lemon zest curls, or candied lemon zest. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
I know a talented group of cooks and love to share their creations. Try some no-bake pies from my foodie friends!
Cap'n Crunch No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
No Bake Sour Cream Lemon Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Pistachio Pudding Pie
Easy No Bake Strawberry Pie
No Bake Pina Colada Pie
No Bake S’mores Pie
Oreo Cannoli Cream Pie
Strawberry Fluff Pie
Recipes for Pies and Tarts
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Recipe by Tara Teaspoon. Photography courtesy of Ashlin Almquist. Updated August 2024
Brittany says
What a fun idea! I love the idea of making a nice dessert but also beating the heat 🙂
Mary Bench says
Lemon anything is my fave! This will be a must-make!
Natalie says
I love anything with a wafer crust! This is the perfect option for a summer dessert.
Megan Palmer says
Lemon is my grandma's favorite flavor. I am going to surprise her and make this for her next week.
Britney Fronk says
I had been looking for a light dessert to go with our Sunday dinner, and this was the end of my search! So good!
veenaazmanov says
Beautiful concept and a yummy dessert too. Love the Lemon Flavor too. Yum
Amy Liu Dong says
Definitely a fun idea and I am so excited to make this recipe for everyone. So yum!
Kathryn Donangelo says
We loved this no-bake lemon icebox pie! It's creamy, luscious and just perfect. Lemon desserts are my favorite and definitely going to make this again. We only have a few slices left!
Paige says
wow, this is so nostalgic and beautiful too! I love lemon pie, any kind, and this one is going on my short list.
alessandro pampolino says
love it.. delicious and easy to make
Julie says
Made this for a party this weekend and it was a huge hit. So refreshing and light.
Tara T. says
Oh so good to hear! It's one of my faves.