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    Home » Recipes » Summer Recipes

    No Bake Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

    Published: May 22, 2023 Modified: May 22, 2023 by Nina

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    A slice of pie on a white plate. Two slices of lemon are on the plate in front of the pie.

    This no bake lemon cream cheese pie is a refreshing dessert that is perfect for summer. It has a graham cracker crust, a creamy lemon cream cheese filling, and is topped with whipped cream.

    A slice of pie on a white plate.  Two slices of lemon are on the plate in front of the pie.

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    Jump To Recipe
    • 🥧A perfect pie for summer
    • 🥘Ingredients
    • 🔪Instructions
    • ✔️Expert tips
    • 💭FAQs
    • 🔖Related recipes
    • 📋 Recipe

    🥧A perfect pie for summer

    No bake pies and cakes are perfect for summer - who wants their hot oven running in the middle of a hot day!?! I'm a fan of no bake cakes (see my no bake chocolate Kahlua cheesecake!), as I'm not blessed with air conditioning in my house.

    Lemon desserts are so fresh and tart, and compliment cheesecake so well (lemon meringue cheesecake). The creaminess of the filling and the crunch of the graham cracker crust are a perfect pairing as well. I'm a huge fan of this no bake lemon cream cheese pie, and I hope you will be too!

    For more lemon recipes, try lemon raspberry poke cake, lemon pound cake loaf, lemon lovers trifle or lemon poppy seed muffins!

    🥘Ingredients

    Ingredients needed to make no bake lemon cream cheese pie.

    Ingredient notes

    • Lemons - you will need fresh lemons for this recipe as it calls for lemon zest as well. About two lemons will be needed, plus more if you want to decorate the pie with lemon slices.
    • Cream cheese - make sure you use brick cream cheese which is for baking purposes. The cream cheese that comes in tubes, will not work in this recipe, or any other.

    🔪Instructions

    First, make the crust. Grease a 9-inch round pie dish with butter. Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together in a medium bowl. Pour crust mixture into prepared pie dish and press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Freeze for 30 minutes so crust can firm up.

    Recipe step 1-4 for no bake lemon cream cheese pie.

    While crust is firming in the freezer, make the filling. In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined and smooth.

    Whip heavy whipping cream in a medium sized bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, being careful to not deflate the whipped cream. Transfer pie filling on top of pie crust and smooth the top. Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight so the filling can firm up.

    If you want to decorate the top of your cheesecake pie with a whipped topping, whip heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl, until stiff peaks form. Decorate the top of the pie with whipped topping and lemon slices. I used an Ateco 849 piping tip.

    For more step-by-step photos and instructions, see the web story for no bake lemon cream cheese pie!

    A top view of a pie in a white pie dish.

    ✔️Expert tips

    • Make sure you freeze the crust for 30 minutes. The melted butter needs to firm up with the graham cracker crumbs to make a solid crust.
    • Pull the cream cheese out of the refrigerator at least an hour before needing it. Cold cream cheese will not mix properly and leave the filling chunky instead of smooth.
    • Zest the lemons before squeezing the juice out of them. It's much easier to zest a whole lemon!

    💭FAQs

    Do you need to bake the crust?

    Usually you have to pre bake a pie crust before putting a no bake filling in it, but not for this recipe. The crust holds well after freezing for 30 minutes.

    What is the difference between baked and no bake cheesecakes?

    The texture is very different. A baked cheesecake has a silky firmer texture, and a no bake cheesecake has a lighter and more fluffy texture.

    Why didn't my no bake cheesecake set?

    A no bake cheesecake has to be refrigerated for at least 6 hours to firm completely. If you skip this step, the cheesecake will be more mousse like.

    A slice of pie on a white plate. Two slices of lemon are on the plate in front of the pie.

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    Let's Bake Together!

    Step-by-step instructions are all written in my recipe below. If you liked it, please rate me 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!

    If you tried this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram. You can also find me on Facebook and Pinterest.

    📋 Recipe

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    Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

    Save Recipe

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    A slice of pie on a white plate. Two slices of lemon are on the plate in front of the pie.

    No Bake Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

    Nina
    This no bake lemon cream cheese pie is a refreshing dessert that is perfect for summer. It has a graham cracker crust, a creamy lemon cream cheese filling, and is topped with whipped cream.
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 0 minutes mins
    Cooling time 6 hours hrs
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine North American
    Servings 8 slices
    Calories 592 kcal

    Equipment

    • one 9-inch round pie dish

    Ingredients
     
     

    Crust

    • 1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
    • 5 tablespoons salted butter melted

    Lemon Cream Cheese Pie Filling

    • ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
    • 12 ounces cream cheese room temperature
    • ¾ cup powdered sugar
    • 2 tablespoons lemon zest
    • 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    • 1 teaspooon vanilla extract
    • ¾ cup heavy whipping cream

    Whipped Topping

    • ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
    • ½ cup powdered sugar
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 5 lemon slices halved, optional

    Instructions
     

    Crust

    • Grease a 9-inch round pie dish with butter.
    • Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together in a medium bowl. Pour crust mixture into prepared pie dish and press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Freeze for 30 minutes so crust can firm up.

    Lemon Cream Cheese Pie Filling

    • In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined and smooth.
    • Whip heavy whipping cream in a medium sized bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, being careful to not deflate the whipped cream.
    • Transfer pie filling on top of pie crust and smooth the top. Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight so the filling can firm up.

    Whipped Topping

    • Whip heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Whip until stiff peaks form. Decorate the top of the pie with whipped topping and lemon slices. I used Ateco 849 piping tip.

    Notes

    • Make sure you freeze the crust for 30 minutes. The melted butter needs to firm up with the graham cracker crumbs to make a solid crust.
    • Pull the cream cheese out of the refrigerator at least an hour before needing it. Cold cream cheese will not mix properly and leave the filling chunky instead of smooth.
    • Zest the lemons before squeezing the juice out of them. It's much easier to zest a whole lemon!

    YOUR OWN NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes

    Nutrition

    Calories: 592kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 7gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 327mgPotassium: 244mgFiber: 1gSugar: 41gVitamin A: 1534IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 169mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe? Follow me on Instagram!Mention @ninakneadstobake or tag #ninakneadstobake!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Terry Fowler

      January 15, 2024 at 1:49 pm

      5 stars
      yummy I used coconut flour crust. and used swerve for powder sugar. (take just too get rid of it) I like sugar. the filling yummy.

      Reply
      • Nina

        January 17, 2024 at 2:24 pm

        Hi Terry! Thanks for your wonderful review 🙂

        Reply
    2. Myrna Webb

      August 04, 2023 at 4:19 pm

      Could you do the same thing but substitute lime just and lime zest for a "key lime" flavor pie?

      Reply
      • Nina

        September 08, 2023 at 6:29 am

        Hi Myra! you can absolutely substitute lime juice and zest wherever the recipe has lemon juice and zest.

        Reply

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