No-bake lemon icebox pie

This No-Bake Lemon Icebox Pie is made with sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese and fresh lemons. It’s a delicious, make-ahead dessert that takes less than 10 minutes to put together.

The perfect pie for lemon lovers and lazy bakers!

A slice of no-bake lemon icebox pie on a plate.

Lemon Icebox Pie is a classic, no-bake pie recipe that is a very popular spring and summer dessert. The graham cracker crust tastes amazing paired with a smooth and creamy filling that has the perfect amount of lemon flavor. It’s super quick and easy to make and it will become one of your favorite lemon recipes!

HOW TO MAKE A NO-BAKE LEMON ICEBOX PIE FROM SCRATCH

This is one of the quickest pies you’ll ever make thanks to a pre-made 9″ graham cracker crust. These crusts come in their own little tray and you can use the plastic cover to keep your pie protected while it’s in the fridge.

STEP ONE: To make the lemon icebox pie filling, use an electric mixer to blend the cream cheese until smooth. This will help to ensure there are no lumps in the filling. Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and continue to beat the mixture until completely smooth and creamy.

Lemon icebox pie ingredients in a mixing bowl.

STEP TWO: Pour the filling into the pie crust and use a spatula to smooth out the top. Cover the pie with the plastic lid and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Lemon icebox pie filling poured into a graham cracker crust.

STEP THREE: Top the pie with dollops of cool whip or homemade whipped cream. Serve this pie ice cold right out of the fridge!

No-bake lemon icebox pie with whipped cream in graham cracker crust.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST LEMON ICEBOX PIE

Fat-free cream cheese or full fat cream cheese both work well in this recipe. The fat-free cream cheese gives this lemon icebox pie more of a sherbet taste and feel.
Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing in order to get a smooth filling.
I recommend using Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk for this recipe because I prefer the taste and consistency of these products. At room temperature, the name brand cream cheese seems to be easier to blend with less lumps versus the store-brands I’ve tried. (this is not a sponsored post!)
Fresh lemon juice is best but, if you can’t find fresh lemons, bottled lemon juice works just fine. I’ve tested this recipe with fresh lemon juice and bottled lemon juice and no one could tell the difference!
A pre-made graham cracker crust make this even easier to put together but you can always make a homemade graham cracker crust like the one in this easy cheesecake recipe.
Make this dessert up to 2 days ahead of time. Cover with the plastic cover that came with the crust or use plastic wrap. Leave in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
This pie can be frozen for up to 3 months.
A food processor or stand mixer can also be used to make the lemon pie filling.