This easy lemon pie doesn’t require any baking and the pie filling is just 2 ingredients. The pie has a creamy lemon custard filling. It’s a great easy dessert that can be made ahead of time to bring to summer events and parties.
With the weather warming up, I wanted to share an easy dessert to serve at picnics, BBQs and other summer events. This pie is best enjoyed cold which makes it the perfect dessert to eat when the weather is warm.
Ingredients
- Lemon Juice
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Graham Cracker Pie Crust
The pie filling is just 2 ingredients. Some people may point out that it’s really a three ingredient recipe if you count the pie crust. I discuss why it’s called 2 Ingredient Lemon Pie below in the next section of this post.
Lemon juice: This recipe works best with fresh squeezed lemon juice. You will need approximately four large lemons though it may vary depending on how much juice each lemon produces.
Sweetened condensed milk: Make sure to use full fat sweetened condensed milk.
Graham cracker pie crust: This recipe uses a premade pie crust so you don’t need to make it from scratch. Of course, you can make your own if you want.
2 Ingredient Lemon Pie
This is a popular old-fashioned recipe that has been around for a long time. I did not name this pie. It is often referred to as “2 Ingredient Lemon Pie” or “No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie.” There are actually two variations of this recipe. The “2 Ingredient Lemon Pie” features a filling made with 2 ingredients. The filling is like a lemon custard. There is also a “3 Ingredient Lemon Pie” which has a filling made with 3 ingredients. The three ingredient version swaps out half of the condensed milk for cream cheese.
No Bake Lemon Pie Texture
The pie filling is like a thick creamy custard. When you first take it out of the fridge, it will be set enough for you to slice through and for the filling to hold its shape. As it warms up though, the filling will start to thin out a little and spread. So it is best to keep the pie chilled until just before serving.
This pie filling is also very sweet. So if you prefer less sweet desserts, you may want to make the version with cream cheese which only uses about half the amount of sugar.
More No Bake Desserts
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Breakfast Brownies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Key Lime Pie
Recipe now updated with video. You can also find all my recipe videos on my youtube channel.
2 Ingredient No Bake Lemon Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 oz/236 ml) lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 2 cans (28 oz/794 g) sweetened full fat condensed milk
- 1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust
Instructions
- Add lemon juice and condensed milk to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until lemon juice is fully incorporated.
- Pour filling into premade pie crust. Use a spatula to smooth and even out the surface. Place pie into fridge for several hours to set. I like to refrigerate overnight. Keep pie in the fridge until ready to serve. If you want to decorate the pie, wait for the filling to set and then decorate. Then place pie back into fridge until ready to serve. You can make the pie 2-3 days in advance.
Video
Notes
- This recipe uses two (14 oz) cans of condensed milk, for a total of 28 oz. The measurement refers to weight, not volume.
- This recipe will not work with coconut condensed milk. Many readers asked this and we recently tested it. Unfortunately, the filling will not set if you use coconut condensed milk.
- 8 oz of lemon juice refers to volume, not weight. You will need approximately four large lemons.
- You can use either a 9-inch or 10-inch graham cracker pie crust. Keebler brand sells both. If you use a 10-inch one, your filling won't quite reach the top of the pie crust, but the filling will be more stable. A 10-inch pie crust will also have more slices of pie. I liked the 9-inch pie crust for appearance but enjoyed eating the 10-inch pie crust version more.
- This pie is very sweet. If you prefer less sweet desserts or are looking to cut down on the sugar, there is a version of this pie that uses cream cheese. For the cream cheese version, you need 1 (14 oz) can of condensed milk, 1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Bring the cream cheese to room temperature first to soften it, then beat it with a mixer until light and fluffy. Then mix in the condensed milk and lemon juice.
- I added whipped cream on top for decoration.
- I recommend refrigerating this pie rather than freezing. I've seen other recipes that say you can freeze it but I found that the pie didn't set up properly when frozen.
- The pie filling is like a custard. When you first take it out of the fridge, the custard will be stiff enough for you to cut through and have pie slices. As the filling comes to room temperature, it will start to spread and thin out, which is why you want to keep it chilled until right before serving. If you want a more stable filling, try the cream cheese version.
- Because this pie is so sweet, I cut mine into very thin slices. I was able to get 10 slices.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
so easy…so good!
Thank you!! We’re glad you love this recipe!
love these receipts. Thanks
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I halfed the recipe and used 6 individual Graham cracker crusts. It was absolutely perfect for the barbecue.
Perfect for a barbecue! We’re so glad you loved this recipe!
Hi
I can’t wait to try this yummy sounding lemon pie.
I live in Johannesburg , and we don’t have what you use for the pie base + tin lining.
What do you advise thar I can use in place of the pre made pie crust ?
with kind regards
Gary Copeland
South Africa
Hi Gary! You can make your own pie crust if you would like!
My Momma loves all things lemon so I made this for her birthday this year. She has most of her food pureed so I just made the cream cheese version without the crust. I used the Minute Maid frozen lemon juice and increased it from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup. It was perfect and so good!! I am so glad I found this recipe!!
We’re so glad you both liked it. Thank you for sharing your adjustments, too!
I LOVE your recipes, they are healthy, easy to make and tasty! Thank you.
You’re welcome!
Thanks for ideas to make desserts.
You’re welcome!
I made this pie as a surprise for my mom as her birthday was the day before yesterday and the bday treat i made her didn’t turn out, and I can’t have dairy, soy or oat so I “wung it” tried it with condensed coconut milk ?. I’ve been waiting ALL day for it to solidify! It tastes delicious, just runny LOL. I wish I would have read these comments this morning!
Thanks for letting us know the challenge you had with condensed coconut milk. We haven’t tried it ourselves but other readers have commented that coconut condensed milk is not a good substitute for regular dairy condensed milk and it will not solidify if you use coconut condensed milk. We’re sorry it didn’t work but we’re glad the pie still tasted good!
I made mine with the cream cheese, very yummy, set well and froze well
We’re glad it worked for you!
Too sweet, watery filling even after chilling for 5 hours.
We’re sorry you had trouble with it setting – maybe let it chill overnight to see if that helps. Also did you make any substitutes? Like using fat free condensed milk or coconut condensed milk?
I make mine with cream cheese Perfection
We’re glad you enjoyed it!
This is an Amazing pie I make it all the time.Excellent FLIPPEN. Pie yummy for my tummy..
We’re happy you love the recipe!
Awesome Recipes to follow along with.
Thank you!
Hi is this different or is it somewhat a cheesecake?
There are two versions: one with cream cheese and one without cream cheese. The cream cheese version is more like a no bake cheesecake – we discuss how to make this version in the notes section in the recipe card.
Made the No Bake Lemon pie with the Cream
Cheese and it was delicious! Made it 3 more times, a hit for my family. Love, love the pie , so easy and it sets like a cheesecake; I love it for the convenience, takes no more than 10 minutes to make.
I give this recipe 5??????????
Thank you!
Jet
Thank you for your nice review!
I made this tonight for my son’s 29th birthday. I was skeptical because so few ingredients! But it is amazing! I did add a heaping spoon (big spoon) of whipped cream cheese, and the zest of one lemon. I can’t thank you enough for this recipe!
Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Have you ever heard of a mock cheese cake? The recipe was on the back of a lemon jello box! My mom use to make it, it was a great light summer dessert!
Made mych like this one, but after you whip the condenced milk (only one can)up you pour lemon jello into that has been in the frig not quite having set up yet!
That sounds so good!
I haven’t made it yet but when my mom used to make lemon meringue pie she , I think would use egg whites and sugar for the whipped topping and it was great! Am I right on the ingredients for the topping? My mom is passed so I can’t ask her.
Yes, a meringue topping is made with sugar and egg whites but we don’t have an exact recipe for you – also, that is usually used for a baked pie, so we wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe. We’re sorry for the loss of your mom – hope this info helps.
I used 1 cup of bottled lemon juice and it came out running
We’re sorry you had trouble – we only make this recipe with fresh lemon juice and don’t have that problem. Maybe it was the bottle lemon juice that caused the issue.
I just made this…. I was all by myself, the house was quiet so I figured it was the perfect time to make this….I can hardly wait to taste it……..husband home soon….Surprise Honey 🙂
We hope it was a hit!
This is the worst pie I have EVEN ate!
We’re sorry to hear that – many readers have made and loved this recipe. Without knowing more it’s hard to say why yours might not have turned out right.
Ever ate. Really? You did something wrong
I have a question, have you ever use lemon juices that is not fresh squeezed. if so, how did it work out for you?
We only use fresh lemon juice for this recipe.
Awful taste of condensed milk dominates the flavor of the pie. Couldn’t finish and didn’t want to finish even one slice; neither did another adult. Tossed it. Waste of lemons. If you are an experienced baker, don’t waste your time – it’s that bad.
We’re sorry you didn’t enjoy it. Many other readers have made and enjoyed this recipe so sounds like it’s just your personal taste.
Sorry, it’s delicious!
I just finished eating this pie….. I LOVED IT
Thanks for letting us know!
My husband loves lemon, so I made this for him for Father’s Day. He really enjoyed it. I liked it too, even though I usually don’t like custard-type desserts. I was tasty as written, but added a couple of packets of True Lemon to amp the flavor. This is going to be my potluck go-to, if those ever become a thing again. Thanks for the simple, yet elegant recipe.
I’m so glad it worked out for you and your husband!
So easy, small amount of ingredients, delicious, prepared in a short time, no bake. Awesome preparation!
I’m glad you found it easy and delicious!
Have you tried this with canned coconut milk? My wife is vegan.
I have not tried with canned coconut milk, so I’m not sure if it will work. If you do try it, make sure you are using canned condensed sweetened coconut milk and please let me know how it turns out.
I just tried this with canned sweetened condensed coconut milk (but not with fresh lemon juice, I admit). It wouldn’t solidify at all overnight in the refrigerator or in 2 hours in the freezer. So I’d urge caution if you try it.
Great recipes
thank you!
Can I add blueberries to this recipe?
We haven’t tried that, but it might not work well. The blueberries may sink in the filling or cause the filling to not set up right. Maybe serve the berries on the side or as a decoration on top of the pie before you serve it – that will work better.
Hi Sheldon, I have not made this pie yet but I am very excited to make it this weekend. I really enjoy blueberry pies so I am going to try it with blueberry. And I don’t know if you like key lime pie but I am going to buy some key limes and squeeze them and try that. If you make this with blueberries I hope it comes out great.
If you try it with blueberries just know that the pie may not set up right. We’d love to know how it works if you do try it!
Can’t wait to try it!
All recipes sound wonderful
Thanks so much!
Made this dessert with the lemon juice, condensed milk and cream cheese. It was just yummy and so easy to make. This will be one of our favorite desserts. Thank you ?
I’m so glad it worked out for you!
Great recipes
re: 2 ingredient Lemon Pie
So sorry. I re-read the recipe again and realized it said “if you want a less sweet pie, try the cream cheese version. Once again. … . I am sorry for my last post.
no problem! I’m glad you figured it out
I have to seriously limit my fat intake for health reasons. Can I use one can full-fat and one can fat free condensed milk? Thanks!
I have not tried with fat free so I don’t know if it will set with fat free.
Sounds wonderful I can’t wait to try it
We hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for the recipe, super easy and yummy! I used 8 oz. store-bought whipped cream cheese, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, and about 6 oz of fresh lemon juice. The filling is simiar to a fruit tart filling, but super-creamy. Absolutely delicious. I agree that using a 10″ shell would make it more stable and you could use that extra space to top with fruit or jam. I used a 9″ shorbread crust and served fresh strawberries and blueberries on the side.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Wè can .ake this pie looks yummy yum
Enjoy!
This. Pie is so easy to make. 5 minutes. I make it often.
I’m glad you like this pie!
Please do this cooking tutorial on utube. Thanks I just added u their
Thanks for subscribing!
I make the cream cheese version with key lime juice instead of lemon. So yummy!
thanks for sharing!
Have you tried making those lemon ? pie with low fat condensed milk ?
Sorry for the typo. I meant, has anyone tried making the no bake lemon pie with low fat condensed milk for a lighter calorie and lighter fat version ?
I made this pie on Friday[June 10,2022], but because it was going to be to sweet, I substituted the sugar with Equal. And my family loved it. Have any other dessert recipes that are easy and simple?
We’re glad it worked for you! We have quite a few dessert recipes that are 4 Ingredients or Less – we hope you check them out.
Amazing
I’m glad you liked it!
Perfect. I use cream cheese
Would it stay solid longer if a Tablespoon of cornstarch was added
We haven’t tried that, so can’t say for sure.
This recipe sounds great but I can’t eat it as I was diagnosed at the beginning of the year wheat free and dairy free plus alot more food that I can’t eat so maybe you have recipes that I can eat it will be much appreciated thanks Martha
You might like to browse our Gluten-Free Recipes.
Can I add corn starch to stablize it?
Can I swap out some regular milk for condensed milk to reduce the sweetness?
We haven’t tried it with cornstarch and can’t say how that will work. As far as the milk, we don’t recommend doing that – the pie won’t set up right.
Could you substitute lime just for a key lime pie? Could you use bottled juice for fresh?
Thanks!
Fresh lime juice would work – bottled lime or lemon juice doesn’t taste as good as fresh.
Just made this with cream cheese and it is delicious! It tastes so fresh!
We’re so glad you liked it!
This cake sounded amazing and I was interested in it but no it’s not two ingredients it’s three ???
We discuss that in the post if you want to learn why we call it that.
Going to try this two non bake lemon pie recipe for dinner on Sunday it sounds delicious I’ll let you know how it turns out
We hope it’s a hit!
Yummy
Thank you.
Looks great , I can’t wait to try it
We hope you enjoy it!
I remember this pie from child hood I will make this next time I have company for dinner
Let us know what you think!
Sounds delicicous! Hope to try this soon, thank you.
Enjoy!
Do you know of a recipe for no bake cheesecake using Knox gelatin and ricotta cheese?
We haven’t tried that one yet!
This recipe did not work for me. Perhaps I didn’t measure properly however I did follow the instructions.
Never really solidified into custard like consistency.
Hi, did you make any substitutions with the ingredients or amounts?
Interesting ?
We hope you give it a try!
Love food
Looking every nice send my the receipt
The recipe card is at the end of the post before the comments section.
Dear Kirbie, blessings.
Is it possible to use stevia or honey instead of the condensed milk? I’m looking for healthy recipes, so no sugary ingredients.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Ana
Sorry, The recipe will not work with stevia or honey.
Hi, can you make this with coconut condensed milk? My son is vegan.
Thanks.
We haven’t tested it with coconut condensed milk.
I would like to know how to make a diabetic version.
Sorry, but we aren’t sure how to do that.
Looks Delicious ? and I am ready to make this fabulous lemon summet cheese pie ? ?
We hope you do!
Do you have a lactose free version of this recipe?
Sorry, we don’t.
Noosa lemon yogurt as filling is even easier. Could fool customers as Key Lime pie at the best restaurants ?
Awesome recipes
Thanks so much!
What did you do for the frosting on top??
whipped cream.
The recipes sound great!
Can’t wait to try them.
We hope you enjoy them!
This is fantastic!! .. Used Ramekins to make individual servings. Homemade crust, and used the cream cheese version. Extremely delicious!! .. may try with lime juice next time. Thank you for sharing this amazing treat!
Individual servings sounds great! So glad it worked out for you
Hi, like your recipes but as well as egg free, do you have any egg free lactose/dairy free and gluten free recipes that I could try.
Many Thanks.
Valerie
Not all of our recipes meet those requirements, but you could check out our Gluten-Free Recipes to find some ideas.
Pies pies I love pies chocolate , vanilla pudding pies. All Berry pies . Brownies ,
I haven’t made any of these yet but I plan on it very soon. Thank you for all these cookie, pie and cake recipes.
Donna Ketcher
You’re welcome – we hope you try the recipes soon!
I love lemon pie I’m going to try and make it this weekend
Delicious.
Delicious. Made me wanna take one home and chow down
I love learning this quick and easy no bake needed pastries.
We hope you try it soon!
Very good and tasty love it.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I subscribed to your emails. I would like the recipe for the Cream Cheese version. Thank you
The cream cheese version is in the Notes section of the recipe card of this post
I would love to try these new recipes, especially the 3 ingredient lemon no bake pie
Let us know when you try it!
Awesome, awesome and Amazing
I’m enjoying your website. I love trying new recipes.
Expectualy no bake!!
We love no bake recipes, too!
Thank you!
This Lemon Pie will be dessert today. I will post a pic before I eat a slice. Thank you for sharing
We hope you love it!
I’m going to make the lemon pie today. I can’t wait for the results. I’m sure it’s going to be delicious.
Let us know what you think!
Thanks, I’ll deffo try this ??
Looks great.i want to try it
You know the sistem is stupid when you have to mention: “The measurement refers to weight, not volume.
8 oz of lemon juice refers to volume, not weight.”
Imperial ftw
We like to make our instructions as clear as possible as we have millions of readers from all over the world.
Why call it 2 ingredient lemon pie when you list 3 ingredients????
Because that’s the name of the pie. I didn’t name it. This is explained in the post.
You said you have a 3-ingredient lemon pie. But I cannot find it anywhere. It would be very helpful if you had a list of all recipes and we did not have to go through each section.
Marguerite
I didn’t say I have a 3 ingredient pie. I said there exists another version of this recipe that is called 3 Ingredient lemon pie. I also explain how to make that version in the Notes section of the recipe card.
I did this in a cup alternating the filling with whipped cream and crumbled Graham cracker crust. It is more stable and easier to eat. Great dessert.
That’s sounds like a fun idea!
This “two ingredient” pre literally has three ingredients, how hard would it be to just call it a three ingredient pie?
If you bothered to read the post, I explain exactly why it is called 2 ingredient pie instead of 3 ingredient pie
Have you ever made a vegan version of this pie? I was thinking substituting the sweetened condensed milk with sweetened condensed coconut milk would work as a possible swap for the filling. I just might have to try that. Thanks for sharing this recipie.
Sorry I have not tried. I know sweetened condensed coconut milk works as a good substitute for condensed milk in a lot of recipes. But I don’t know if it will work in this one. The lemon juice when mixed with the condensed milk makes the mixture turn into a custard-like consistency. I don’t know if the same reaction happens if the lemon juice is mixed with coconut condensed milk.
I make this but I add 8 oz bar of cream cheese to it. It also makes an incredible filling for crepes that I top with blueberry pie filling.
Thanks for sharing!
We’re going to try this out looks wonderful
Give it a try and let us know what you think!
This is very good.I have also made it with frozen lemonade
Thanks for sharing!
I haven’t made it. I was wondering how to make it without sweetened condensed milk (cannot tolerate real sugar). Might there be some way to use coconut milk and cook it down? Or use coconut cream. And add sweetener.I’m not good at altering receipes myself.
Sorry, but we haven’t tried a substitute.
For this lemon pie, i use the variation of 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 -8 ounce block of cream cheese, and a half cup of lemon juice. The lemon juice is convenient and tastes just as good. For the topping i use cool whip. Its convenient and you just plop it on your slice of pie when you cut a piece. Thanks for your variation, all are good. I think I’ll make a lemon pie soon!
I’m glad it worked out for you!