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Lemon Ice Box Pie

This Lemon Ice Box Pie is made with a homemade vanilla wafer crust and a creamy no bake lemon filling. It’s topped with whipped cream and garnished with fresh lemon slices making it certain to appeal to dessert connoisseurs and pie fans alike.

Lemon Ice Box Pie

Easy Lemon Ice Box Pie Recipe

What is an ice box pie? It’s essentially a term that’s used for a pie recipe that requires no baking. In this recipe, the crust is homemade so in this instance, you will need to bake just the pie shell, but not the filling. The filling for this homemade lemon pie is super simple and packs a burst of citrus with every bite. How to make Lemon Ice Box Pie: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

  • Prepare Dish – Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spritz a 9 or 10 inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.
  • Crust – Toss together the vanilla wafer crumbs, granulated sugar and melted butter. Press firmly onto the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and set. Cool completely.
  • Lemon Filling – Whip together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy.
  • Combine – Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest whipping until fully combined and smooth. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring, if desired.
  • Assemble – Pour into the cooled crust and spread evenly.
  • Refrigerate – Chill thoroughly at least 6 hours prior to cutting and serving.
  • Garnish with fresh cream or whipped topping and lemon slices.
ingredients-to-make-lemon-pie

How to Make the Best Lemon Ice Box Pie Recipe

  • Ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe for Lemon Ice Box Pie: 2 cups of crushed vanilla wafers, granulated sugar and melted butter to make the pie crust. You could also use the same amount of crushed graham crackers, if preferred.
  • For the lemon filling you’ll need: 2 blocks of plain cream cheese, powdered sugar, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, yellow food coloring, whipped cream or frozen whipped topping that’s been thawed plus lemon slices for garnishing.
  • If you’d like to make this recipe without making your own pie crust you can. To fit the amount of pie filling, you’ll need a large 9 inch premade cookie or graham cracker crust usually found in the baking section of the grocery store.
  • I use a stand mixer to whip the filling for this pie. That said, you can use a hand mixer, too. The point being, it’s important to use a mixer to make the filling smooth and it can’t be done by hand.
  • Adding a bit of yellow food coloring is for looks only and it won’t effect the taste, of course. If you prefer, you could omit it. It fits the color of lemons and hints to the flavor of the pie.
  • Allow ample time for the crust to cool before adding the filling. Likewise, allow ample time for the filling to set before slicing.
  • You can store this easy lemon pie chilled in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
lemon-pie-recipe

More Easy Ice Box Pies Recipes to Make

I can’t imagine an occasion when a pie wouldn’t be a yummy desert option to serve. More easy pie recipes you may like to try:

easy-lemon-pie-recipe

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Lemon Ice Box Pie

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Chill Time6 hours
Total Time6 hours 35 minutes
Course: Dessert, Pie
Cuisine: American, Southern
Keyword: lemon-ice-box-pie
Servings: 8 pieces
Calories: 414kcal
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • 2 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 Tbsp butter melted
  • 2 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cup sweetened fresh whipped cream or whipped topping
  • lemon slices and mint for garnishing
  • few drops yellow food coloring [optional]

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spritz a 9 or 10 inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.
  • In a small bowl toss together the vanilla wafer crumbs, granulated sugar and melted butter. Press firmly onto the bottom and sides of he pie dish.
  • Bake for 15 minutes until golden and set. Cool completely.
  • Filling: In a medium bowl use a mixer to whip together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
  • Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest whipping until fully combined and smooth. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring, if desired. The color of the filling is more ivory than pure yellow.
  • Pour evenly into the cooled crust.
  • Chill thoroughly at least 6 hours prior to cutting and serving.
  • Garnish with fresh cream or whipped topping and lemon slices.

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece | Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 192mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 673IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!



18 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Really love the flavor of this pie. We even like it without the whipped cream for more lemon flavor. I didn’t add the sugar to the crust since seemed like the cookies would make it sweet enough and it was. Do not skip the lemon zest, it adds so much! Thanks for the recipe. Will be making many times in the future!

  2. 5 stars
    This is the best of the best pie. Can’t make it enough My neighbors are the door for this pie.
    Thank you so much

  3. 5 stars
    This pie was delicious!! I only had one package of cream cheese so used it along with an 8 oz. tub of mascarpone. Makes a beautiful pie (I put a little bit of yellow gel food coloring to make it a very pale yellow). The vanilla wafer crust is thick and crisp and very tasty. I think it would also work well in little cups or glasses if you bake the crust then crumble it, then layer crumbs and pie filling with whipped cream on top. Thank you for the recipe!

  4. Melissa this looks and sounds soooo YUMMY! Can’t wait to try it out…. Love your recipes, thanks so much for sharing them 🙂

  5. This looks amazing! I also, had a special Gram who cooked from memory. I try to recreate her recipes, but it never tastes quite the same… So thankful for the love of cooking from scratch she instilled in me:)
    –Lil (www.freshmama.net)

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