This no bake lemon pie has a filling that is light and airy, like a cloud. This easy pie only needs 4 ingredients and doesn’t require any cooking or baking. It is a cool and refreshing dessert that can be made ahead of time for an event.
I wanted to share one more easy no bake pie recipe. We may be saying farewell to summer, but the weather is still quite warm, so I prefer to make no bake recipes if possible. I came across this old-fashioned lemon cloud pie during my extensive lemon pie research and I love how easy it is.
Ingredients
- Lemons
- Cool Whip or Heavy Cream
- Condensed Milk
- Graham Cracker Crust
Lemons: This pie is flavored with lemon juice for a very zesty lemon pie flavor.
Cool Whip or Heavy Cream: You can use either Cool Whip or whipped heavy cream. The Cool Whip or whipped heavy cream is folded into the lemon filling to give it its cloud-like airy texture. More Cool Whip or heavy cream is added on top as well. The Cool Whip version will be slightly lighter, but the heavy cream version will be a little less sweet.
Condensed milk: The pie filling is made with sweetened full fat condensed milk. You need to make this with condensed milk and not dairy-free condensed milk alternatives. When the lemon juice and condensed milk are mixed together, the acid in the lemon juice reacts with the milk protein in the condensed milk, causing it to thicken. This allows you to have a set filling without the need for other thickeners or baking.
Graham cracker crust: I used a premade graham cracker crust. Other types of pie crusts will also work.
What is Lemon Cloud Pie
There are two main types of lemon cloud pie. One version involves folding in whipped egg whites into the lemon filling to create the airy cloud texture. The other version adds whipped cream into the filling to create an airy cloud texture. Since I try to avoid making filling with raw eggs, I am sharing the whipped cream version.
Most versions I came across use Cool Whip, similar to Lemonade pie. Since Cool Whip is not available everywhere, I also made a version using whipped heavy cream that works well too. This pie is also similar to my no bake lemon cream pie which I created after experimenting with substitutions for Lemonade pie.
How to Make Lemon Cloud Pie
Whisk together lemon juice and condensed milk until even combined. Fold in the Cool Whip or whipped heavy cream. Pour filling into the pie crust. Place into the fridge or freezer to set. Right before serving, decorate pie with additional Cool Whip or whipped cream, made to look like a cloud on top of the pie.
More Lemon Pie Recipes
4 Ingredient No Bake Lemon Cloud Pie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/118 ml) lemon juice
- 1 (14 oz/397 g) can full fat sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups (144 g) Cool Whip, thawed or 1 cup heavy cream (8 fl oz/237 ml)
- 1 (9-inch) premade graham cracker pie crust
Instructions
- Combine lemon juice and condensed milk in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until lemon juice is fully incorporated. The mixture should be thick.
- Using a spatula, fold the Cool Whip into the lemon mixture. If you are using heavy cream, first add the heavy cream to a mixing bowl and beat on highest speed until soft peaks form. Then fold it into the lemon mixture. I added the cream in 3 batches. You do want to be careful not to overmix. You want the cream fully incorporated but you want the mixture to stay thick and airy and not become too runny.
- Pour filling into the graham cracker crust. Use a spatula to spread the filling evenly across. Place pie into the fridge for several hours to set. Optional: 1-2 hours before serving you can place the pie into the freezer. While the filling sets with only refrigeration, it can be difficult to cut and serve clean slices of the pie because of how delicate the graham cracker crust is. If desired, decorate pie with additional thawed Cool Whip or whipped cream before serving. Use a large sharp knife to cut the pie into slices. Store uneaten pie in fridge or freezer.
Notes
- You can use fresh squeezed lemon juice or store bought lemon juice. I used store bought. If using store bought, make sure that the only ingredient is lemon juice. Just because it is labeled "100% lemon juice" does not necessarily mean there aren't other ingredients in the bottle so make sure to check the nutrition label. I used Santa Cruz Organic 100% lemon juice*. The RealLemon brand (sometimes in those little lemon shaped containers) will not work.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- This recipe does not work with dairy-free condensed milk alternatives. See post for more details as to why.
- 14 oz can for the condensed milk refers to weight, not volume.
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.
AMAZING PIE!!!!!
Thank you Terri!! We’re so glad you loved this recipe!