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Home » Recipes » No Bake

No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie: Grandma's Favorite

Published: Apr 16, 2019 Last Updated: Jan 20, 2023 by Marye 813 words. | About 5 minutes to read this article.

Original Eagle Brand Lemon icebox pie recipe with just 3 ingredients is an easy dessert that is perfect for summer. A thick layer of puckery lemon filling is poured into a no bake crumb crust and chilled or frozen until ready to serve. Best of all - it tastes just like you remember it.
Total time 5 minutes
Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

Summer in Texas is hot -- but we still have to deal with the rampant Southern sweet tooth gene. No bake pies are the answer no matter what the question is.

Slice of lemon pie with title text overlay.
Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Storage
  • Variations
  • Eagle Brand
  • No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
  • 💬 Comments

Ingredients

This is a simple pie that goes together fast. You can keep all of the ingredients on hand without any problem. Nothing crazy here!

  • Crumb Crust of your choice
  • Lemon juice can be fresh squeezed or whatever you usually use (use lime juice for key lime pie)
  • Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk or your favorite
  • Vanilla
  • Lemon zest

Have a little more time? Try this lemon meringue pie - it's amazing.

Instructions

This lemon pie is so simple! It's a great recipe to start with when your kids want to learn to make things in the kitchen. Most 10 year olds can do this without help.

Step by step images for lemon icebox pie.
  1. Add the sweetened condensed milk to a bowl.
  2. Make sure it's NOT evaporated milk.
  3. Mix in the vanilla until smooth.
  4. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest.
  5. Stir until it begins to thicken.
  6. Pour into the prepared pie crust.
  7. Chill for 4 hours or freeze overnight.
  8. If frozen allow to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

Storage

Keep this pie in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

One of the things that I like best about this lemon pie is that you can serve it chilled or frozen. I personally like it better frozen.

I take it out about 20 minutes before I want to serve it... less if it is a very hot day. I thaw it just until it softens a little but still has the consistency of ice cream.

Slice of lemon icebox pie on a blue plate.

Variations

I used a combination of 'Nilla wafers and pretzels in the crust for this pie. If I happen to have some lemon cookies I'll use those sometimes.

Another good crumb mixture for the crust is to use lemon sandwich cookies and gingersnaps in a ratio of about 3:1. It enhances the lemon flavor.

Key lime pie

Here's something cool, too. You can substitute the lemon juice with key lime and have a no bake lime icebox pie.

Really, any citrus juice should work. Let me know if you try something besides lemon or lime.

Eagle Brand

Lemon icebox pie has been served on countless tables and caused countless families to smile at dinner time.

It's Southern recipe that's been around close to 100 years. I have tweaked it a TINY bit by adding vanilla. I think it calms the tartness of the lemon down a little, soothes it, and makes it more enticing. Feel free to leave it out.

Y'all know that I am not real freaky about brand names except there are some that I feel are higher in quality and produce a better finished product.

You can get the Eagle Brand or you can use what you like best but if you get an off brand of sweetened condensed milk I will not guarantee the recipe. I like Eagle Brand.

It's been around forever and the results are always good. They didn't sponsor the post or pay me... I just like the product that they create. End of sermon.

If you prefer a classic lemon meringue pie you'll love this one!

What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness!  Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!

I'll admit a preference for chocolate pies like this chocolate overload pie or this no bake s'mores pie. Still if you had this simple lemon pie and those two chocolate pies on a table and told me I could only have one there might be some tears.

OK. A lot of tears.

This Brazilian grilled pineapple and no bake root beer float pie are more great summer desserts you'll love.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Closeup of a slice of lemon pie with a bite taken out of it for social media shares.
4.59 from 590 votes

No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie

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Original Eagle Brand Lemon icebox pie recipe with just 3 ingredients is an easy dessert that is perfect for summer. A thick layer of puckery lemon filling is poured into a no bake crumb crust and chilled or frozen until ready to serve. Best of all - it tastes just like you remember it.
Course Dessert- Pie
Cuisine Southern
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Chill: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings:8
Calories:430
Author:Marye Audet-White
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment Needed

  • Pie Pan

Ingredients

  • 1 crumb crust
  • ¾ cup lemon juice
  • 2 cans Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

I earn a commission from Instacart from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

  • Mix the Eagle Brand and vanilla.
  • Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, stirring with a whisk until it thickens.
  • Pour into the chilled pie crust.
  • Chill for 4 hours or freeze overnight.
  • If frozen allow to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 430kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 226mg | Potassium: 414mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 11.7mg | Calcium: 289mg | Iron: 0.7mg

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    First Published: May 30, 2015... Last Updated: April 5, 2020 for easier reading and better user experience.

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    About Marye

    With a 40 year focus on the importance of family and a passion for southern comfort food, Marye Audet-White is an expert in melding the two together effortlessly. Marye's a NY Times Bestselling author with 10 cookbooks under her belt and her recipes have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Today, House Beautiful, Texas Living, Food & Wine, and many more.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. william l burgess

      February 25, 2022 at 9:08 am

      Can you leave out lemon zest and it will still be good

      Reply
      • Marye

        February 25, 2022 at 9:45 pm

        Yes, you can omit lemon zest from this lemon pie but it won't be quite as lemony.

    2. Mary

      February 24, 2022 at 7:55 am

      This pie is a staple in my family. No family gathering is without at least one or two, but I always added 1 egg yoke per can of condensed milk.

      Reply
    3. Beverly

      February 03, 2022 at 9:19 pm

      I have a question. Probably a stupid question but I don't bake much. Do you need to use lemon juice from real lemons or can you use store bought lemon juice in the container?

      Reply
      • Marye

        February 04, 2022 at 10:19 am

        You need to use real lemon juice but you can buy the lemon juice from the store - you don't need to squeeze it yourself.

    4. Tracy

      January 12, 2022 at 3:09 pm

      Can sweetned condensed coconut milk be used for a vegan version? This looks and sounds sooooo good would love to try it dairy-free!!

      Reply
    5. Dirk

      December 29, 2021 at 2:45 pm

      I substituted condensed coconut milk. It still turned out great! Also, I opted not use pie crust as well. Still wonderful!

      Reply
      • Tracy

        January 12, 2022 at 3:11 pm

        Awesome!! Thanks so much for the quick response!! Trying this weekend!!

    6. Jan

      August 15, 2021 at 10:07 am

      Is there suppose to be cream cheese in this recipe???

      Reply
      • Marye

        August 15, 2021 at 8:05 pm

        No?

    7. Lisa

      July 25, 2021 at 9:53 am

      2 stars
      It’s a good idea. How much lemon juice? How much vanilla??

      Reply
      • Marye

        July 25, 2021 at 12:01 pm

        Hi Lisa - the whole recipe plus instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom. You can even print it out.

    8. Sherry

      July 05, 2021 at 12:01 am

      5 stars
      This has always been my favorite pie! I had to stop keeping Lemons on hand because I love to eat them!! Dentist said this was not good at all for my teeth. 🙁 I love Lemon ANYTHING. From cookies to this pie to pound cakes to icing to lemon cake in a box, with lemon icing...if its lemon. I will eat it. (and the garnish too, if its a lemon slice!)
      Sherry 🙂

      Reply
    9. Lizabeth

      June 19, 2021 at 1:22 pm

      My husband's grand-aunt used to make this pie, but she folded in a couple cups of whipped topping to make it fluffy. Soooo good!

      Reply
      • Marye

        June 20, 2021 at 8:16 am

        Yum!! I'll have to try that next time!

    10. Wendy

      May 27, 2021 at 6:42 pm

      5 stars
      Everyone loved it.. easy to make..

      Reply
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