Lemon Pie
This easy Lemon Pie is light, creamy, sweet and tart lemon pie with a thick graham cracker crust and a creamy lemon filling. The famous Magnolia Lemon Pie by Joanna Gaines is an easy dessert that takes 10 minutes to throw together.
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LEMON CREAM PIE RECIPE
I think I might have been the last person in this world to watch the show Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines.
If you haven’t seen the show, run and watch it now and you’ll immediately fall in love with them. I happened to be on a really long flight and started binge watching their show.
Here’s why I love them. They’re genuine. I don’t think they feel like they have to put on a show, they’re just themselves.
Of course I gravitated to her easy Lemon Pie…which literally is done in under 20 minutes. My kind of pie.
And you know why I’m making pie, right? It’s almost Pi day. March 14th? 3.14? Did I lose you? 3.14 is the digital reading for March 14th and constant for the symbol Pi.
My sister-in-law Kim had her heart transplant 4 years ago on March 14th so every year we make a pie (or eat one if we’re out of town) on that day to celebrate her new chance at life.
We made this Banana Cream Pie a couple of years ago on her heart-anniversary. Yum.
This year we will be on a plane once again so I’m here early to share this pie with you. It’s an easy recipe made with simple ingredients. As I was making it, I realized it’s very similar to the Key Lime Pie in my cookbook, except obviously made with fresh lemons instead of limes.
Her original recipe calls for 3 cups of sweetened condensed milk which is about 2 1/4 cans. I stuck with just 2 cans. It definitely doesn’t make a difference so unless you really want to open an entire can to just use a tiny bit of it, do it my way.
I was invited to go on a trip to check out the Magnolia store and meet Chip and Joanna and couldn’t go so this is my way of living vicariously through my friends who went. Enjoy!
LEMONS
I use regular lemons here but you can use Meyer lemons if you have them.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON PIE
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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For the Crust: Spray a 9-inch pie dish with non-stick spray. Combine crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar. Press mixture into prepared pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes.
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For the Pie Filling: Using a mixer, mix the condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon juice and salt together. Beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. Pour into pie crust and bake lemon pie for 10 minutes at 350. Little bubbles will start to surface. Cover the crust with foil if it starts to brown too much towards the end.
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Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
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For the Whipped Cream: Mix the cream, sugar, and vanilla with the whisk attachment. Whip until fluffy, and add to cooled lemon pie.
OTHER PIE RECIPES
- Key Lime Pie
- Banana Cream Pie
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Key Lime Pie on a Stick
- Peaches and Cream Pie
- S’mores Pie
- Blueberry Custard Pie
- Cherry Cheese Pie
- Boston Cream Pie
- Apple Pies on a Stick
Lemon Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- ⅓ cup sugar
Pie Filling:
- 2 (14 ounce) cans Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (about 2 3/4 cup)
- 3 egg yolks
- ⅔ cup lemon juice
- 1 dash salt
Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- For the Crust: Spray a pie dish with non-stick spray. Combine crushed graham crackers, butter, and sugar. Press into prepared pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes.
- For the Pie Filling: Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, mix the condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon juice ans salt together. Beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. Pour into pie shell and bake for 10 minutes at 350. Little bubbles will start to surface. Cover the crust if it starts to brown too much towards the end.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. As the pie cools, prepare the whipped cream.
- For the homemade Whipped Cream: Mix the cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until fluffy and stiff peaks start to form and add to cooled lemon pie. Garnish with lemon slices and lemon zest.
Notes
We call this magical lemon pie. My grandma made it with meringue instead of whipped cream.
I lov ethat
So much arguing about how Joanna Gaines does it. I just googled her recipe and went from there. Seems best to go to the source?
I cooked for 10 min and it bubbled but was way under done when I took out of fridge after two hours! Will definitely cook for 30 next time. The flavor rocks but texture not great when under cooked. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks. Maybe your oven runs cool?
I’ve just seen the Eagle Brand recipe with the 1 can of evaporated milk. They suggest the cooking at 320 for 30 minutes. Your 10 mins seems not long enough. What do you think. I love the meringue idea with the whites
You can definitely cook it longer but it doesn’t need it in my opinion.
Been making and eating this for 70 years Mom hade made this when I was born and I’ve been following the tradition. Our Receipe is off of the Eagle Brand can from years ago when they put a little folded Receipe pamphlet on the lid. The original recipe is 1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk, 3 large egg yolks, 1/2 cup lemon juice (I always put extra to make it a little tarter), 1 T. Lemon Zest. Mix all together and put into graham cracker crust the make meringue from the egg white, put on top of pie filling and bake at 325-350 for about 15 minutes till meringue is a nice golden brown.
DELICIOUS
I absolutely love this pie. I have made it several times. I made one for my neighbor and she said her husband ate the whole pie and love she didn’t get any. So I’m making her one now. Thank you for sharing. ❤️
Awesome to hear!
Love getting new recipes. Thanks
You’re welcome!
I made this lemon pie last night and it was quite sweet. I’d definitely make it again but reduce the added sugar to the crust or skip it all together. The lemon flavor and consistency of the filling was great! If I could find another use for a bit of the condensed milk I’d reduce that too again just because of the sweetness. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome!
Shelby,
I, too, thought the pie, though delicious, was way too sweet. I will skip the sugar in the graham cracker crust in the future, but don’t know how to cut the sweetness a bit from the filling. Did you just reduce the amount of condensed milk you used or should I add more lemon juice to the filling? I also thought of substituting evaporated milk in place of some of the condensed milk. Any thoughts?
I just made this pie and it was amazing. Thank you for such a great recipe. How long do you think it will last?
Up to a week in the fridge.
I’m making this pie right now and can’t wait to eat it! I’m not an experienced baker, but I don’t think 10 minutes will be enough in my oven. Is there a temperature I can check for to ensure the eggs are cooked thoroughly? I think my bubbles are from the top getting hot enough, but not sure about the filling all the way through. Thanks!
I’m sure it’s fine but you can add up to five minutes if you need to!
It was a good pie.
Thank you!
Joanna Gaines’s recipe calls for 3 CUPS sweetened condensed milk, which is 24 ounces, NOT 3 CANS. Sweetened condensed milk comes in 14 ounce cans, so to follow her recipe exactly, you would need 2 cans which is 28 ounces. So, you would not use 4 ounces of the condensed milk from 1 of the cans. I think it is a very good idea for people to read a recipe more than once before beginning. This has served me well and kept me from making many mistakes in my years of cooking and baking. Also, the difference between fresh lemon juice and the bottled is “light years”. 🙂 I love lemon, so I have added lemon zest to this.
Jane,
I know it is confusing but one can of sweetened condensed milk is 14 ounces but because it is a fluid measurement it doesn’t translate the way you would think. When you actually measure it out it is 1 1/4 cups per can (20 tablespoons per the back of the can). So you would need 2 cans to have 2 1/2 cups. My point is that you would not need to open a 3rd can. It’s already very sweetened condensed milk tasting and almost overflowing. There’s no way you should add more. Just my input on why I adapted it.
AWESONE!!!!! LWMON PIE RECIPE
Thank you!
I just made this pie last night! I had a whole bunch of lemons I needed to use up, and found this recipe. It turned out pretty good, especially since I’ve never made a pie before. Some things I would like to mention:
You can use a premade, store-bought pie crust. Just pour in the mixture and bake for the regular time shown, 10 minutes at 350°f. I would use a bigger premade pie crust however. They tend to come in 6 ounce and 9 ounce at the store. Choose the 9 ounce one. I didn’t and had leftover mixture. The pie still tasted good without the homemade crust.
For me personally, I thought there wasnt enough lemon, so I added some lemon zest in as well. I used about 1/2 of a large lemon.
Speaking of lemons, if you are juicing them yourself, you’ll probably need 4-5 large ones.
As with most recipes like this, if you can let it chill overnight, then do it. It might have just been my fridge, but 1 hour wasn’t enough for it to completely stiffen up.
Overall this was a pretty good pie! It’s not that difficult to make, and it might be something fun to have kids help with.
Thanks Liz for your feedback!
Haven’t made this yet, thinking of doing it for Easter. But wondering if this gets a “skin” on it like a chocolate cream pie, and if so, would covering it with plastic wrap before chilling prevent this?
Mine did not develop a skin
Nope mine doesn’t!
Thank you for sharing! If you were going to make minis like cup cake size how long would you suggest baking it?
Ooh I’m not sure. 6 minutes maybe?
This recipe has been around for decades. It’s called a lemon icebox pie. You can use graham cracker crust or vanilla wafer crust. Why rename a vintage recipe? A delicious pie nonetheless.
I don’t know. ask joanna gaines? It’s her recipe
I made this yesterday and it was delicious. I didn’t have fresh lemons so used bottled lemon juice. Will use fresh lemon juice next time, there will be a next time! I used 2 cans of Eagle Brand milk and it was plenty. Next time will more than likely add zest.
This pie is easy and delicious!
Thanks! I agree!
Made this pie this weekend and it’s so good! My experience with baking it was different, though.. I ended up having to bake it for closer to 20 mins, and the top stayed perfectly smooth, no little bubbles to look for. My oven’s accurate, so who knows. It still came out amazing and addictive and I plan to make it a million more times.
Yes every oven is different and sounds like you made the right choice in cooking it longer.
Oh my Corbin!!! Take a NAP
A long one at that!!!
Baking in this Universe is called “Options”
There are 101 ways to make anything delish!
Christie I love your blog!!!
Can’t wait to make this for my momma on Thanksgiving!!!! She loves lemon Anything!
She always made meringue on top but I know she will love this too!!! Yummy
Thank You!
Hope you do! thank you!
Made this using a store bought graham cracker crust with the two extra servings. Turned out great will be making this again.
Awesome to hear that.
Can I make a Meringue instead of whipped cream? 🥰
I made this today but my husband and I thought it was a little too sweet. Any suggestions on lessening the sweetness?
You could use less sweetened condensed milk?
I made this pie 👌 it was so good !
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’m huge a huge fan of Fixer Upper and I’ve been curious about her cookbook. Love me an easy pie 🙂
It’s a good one to have on hand.
Hi Christy. I love this pie. I have a question regarding timing in the oven – only 10 minutes?
Yep, Sounds short but it’s all it needs.
This pie turned out great, even my husband who only eats chocolate desserts had seconds. Super easy and delicious!
Awesome to hear!
I made this pie this morning as my husband loves these. Perfect recipe! I did add lemon zest and fresh lemons from Phoenix that my daughter picked and brought back to Alabama.
Such a good pie!
Hiw many eggs in the lemon pie ??? 2 or 29 you dont say ???
3 egg yolks
It says 3 yolks!
Can you freeze this pie?
You must be making tons of money on this website because it’s so full of popup ads I cant even see the recipe. Cheers, and that’s the last you’ll hear from me.
I don’t ever reply to posts I see when looking for a recipe, but I will now. Margie, there is an old saying that comes to mind when I read your post – “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Christy Denney, thank you for your page. I needed to use up a few cans of Eagle Brand and this pie will fit the bill.
Thank you Jodi! 🙂
Oops, forgot to add that we’ve always made a Nila Wafer crust rather than graham cracker crust. Also, back in the day, they would make a meringue top so as to not waste the egg whites. My great grandmother was known for her delicious meringue- I was told the key to telling if you’ve made a great meringue is how many clear sugar balls formed on top of the meringue when baked. I don’t like meringue, so wouldn’t know if that’s true or not.
For those mentioning that 2 cans won’t fit in a pie plate, you should use a deep dish pie plate. Works perfectly.
Terri, thank you so much for your tips and wisdom.
This is call “lemon ice box pie” and has been in my family for as at least far back as my great grandmother who used to make it for every family get together for those who didn’t care for the lemon meringue pie she also made. My daughters always requested I make it for their birthdays and they now make it for their daughters. Thanks for sharing this wonderful pie. So happy for your sister-in-law.
Thank you. My sister-in-law is a blessing.
Can you use store bought graham cracker crust?
You can but homemade is always best.
Hi do you use lemons for the lemon juice or reconstituted lemon juice? Made it with actual lemons and it came out great, but thought it might be easier to use bottled lemon juice.
sorry just saw that someone already asked this question
Can’t wait to try this. Thank you for sharing your recipe’s.
Thank you Linda!
Looks delicious!!!!! 😊
Thank you!
DOES IT HAVE TO BE FRESH LEMON JUICE OR CAN YOU USE BOTTLED LEMON JUICE? PLEASE REPLY TO MY EMAIL, NOT COMPUTER SAVVY THANK YOU
You can use either but fresh is better.
Try it with a saltine crust, it is known as an Atlantic Beach Pie here in NC. Love the salty/sweet contrast.
Ooh intriguing!!
In reply to the comment about a saltine crust…My friend owned a restaurant for many years and they made all their own desserts. When a recipe called for a graham cracker crust, she always used 1/2 graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 saltine crumbs, makes a great crust…YUM!
There’s no way you can use TWO (2) 14-oz. cans of condensed milk if you’re using one 9″ pie plate! Totally nuts! Plus you only call for the standard amounts of egg yolks and lemon juice that would accompany ONE can of milk in the first place! If anyone’s crazy enough to use two cans of milk (which would overflow the pan as well) combined with what you call for with the juice and yolks, they would NEVER taste enough sour. It would be sickeningly sweet because they would have used DOUBLE the condensed milk they should have used! And to top it all off, you’re missing a KEY ingredient — lemon zest! Hello? You need like 3 Tbs. of lemon zest for this!
This is Joanna Gaines recipe. Well actually she uses 3 cans of sweetened condensed milk. You can add lemon zest. Have you tried it? Hard to give a recipe 1 star that you haven’t tried. Just saying.
How RUDE of you, Corbin! Recipes are modified throughout the years and simply because you have a particular recipe in mind that does not match the one given here is no excuse for coming onto someone’s blog uninvited and sh*tting in their house. Hello, yourself! Learn some manners. By the way, have you never heard of a deep dish pie plate? If you were so spectacular, you would have thought about this. Zest that!
Ha thanks Terri for having my back girl.
wow if your so smart why are you even here.Your post shows your mentality .
corbin lol
Had to cook it longer, it filled up a deep dish pan….wanted to make sure it was cooked…I’m sure it will be FABULOUS THOUGH…..
Hope you love it Tina.
This pie reminds me of the one my mother made. She called it Eagle Brand Pie. Our family still makes the pie. It was my Dad’s favorite. The filling is very much like hers, but she made a meringue with the left over egg whites instead of using whipped cream.
She used 1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk, juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup), the zest of 1 lemon, and 2 eggs not 3. It is rich and tart!
Tip: Make sure you don’t cheat and use a pre-made graham cracker crust. It makes all the difference in the world to the deliciousness of this pie to make the crust homemade.
Yes, so true!
Thanks for the recipe, I will try to make pie at home, I hope this will work.
This looks so delicious! I’m excited to make this for Pi Day!
Hope you do!
I made this for Valentines yesterday because my husband loves lemon pie but I HATE meringue! It was pretty good. I doubled the lemon juice and added an extra egg to compensate for the extra liquid. I also added lemon zest. Personally I still wish it was more tart like a lemon curd but all in all it was tasty and my husband loved it!
Good to know! Glad he liked it!
I made this today and love it! I even got fancy and piped the whip cream on top. Thanks for the great recipe!
Ooh you fancy! Wish I had some right now.
I have made this several times We love it❤️ Not as tart or same consistency as a lemon meringue which is too tart for me Highly recommend 😀
This came out beautufil!
I used lemon juice from the shelf, key lemon lemon juice, don’t have the name sorry, but it was delicious.
Used store bought crust and did the prebake on it, it gave it a nice crunch and did not get soggy.
Used the two full cans of SCM, it fit in a 9” store bought crust.
Filling was tart and silky! Perfection.
Added lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and it turned out great. I watched it in oven until the tiny bubbles appeared over whole surface, took maybe 20 minutes but my oven temp may be off. Good stuff and will make it again.
Thank you!
we love lemon pie,
so delicious
Made this today with gingersnaps in a springform pan. Amazingly good!!
I bet gingersnaps are a great addition.
Too sweet!!!!
The filling tasted like condensed milk.
We all have different taste buds. Add more lemon juice for a more tart flavor if you like.
I made this and it’s delicious!
I’m so glad you agree.
This recipe is divine! Thank you so much for sharing! And I have the perfect solution for that extra sweetened condensed milk! If you want to make it per the original recipe, make 4 pies and give 3 of them away! Your friends will be thrilled! : )
I like the way you think.
This recipe doesn’t taste lemony. I checked my recipe for Key Lime Pie. It has 1/2 cup of lime juice to 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Those proportions are better. The lemon in this recipe gets lost and is overwhelmed by the sweetened condensed milk.
I guess we all have different tastebuds.
Pie in the oven right now! My mother in law loves anything lemon so I hope she likes this. I did take some suggestions and add the zest of one lemon, and I and using an eight serving pre-made graham cracker crust. The filling amount is perfect for this size crust. Can’t wait to try it and have my MIL’s review.
Hope she loved it!
Made this today. It was good, but as others mentioned there was way more filling than a 9 inch crust can hold. I made it exactly as Joanna’s recipe is written and I wish I would have cut back on the condensed milk and added more lemon. Good recipe that could be great with some tweaking. And Christy, your pics are beautiful.
Thank you!
I made this for dessert for Father’s Day and once again, Christy, you did not steer me wrong. It was delicious! I was really excited there were leftovers. 😉
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
What size pie dish? Can boxed graham cracker crumbs be used?
a 9 inch pie dish and yes boxed crumbs work great!
I’m making this right now with a shortbread cookie crust. Fingers crossed!
Ummm yum!
As mentioned by others, this pie has been around for decades – at 65 – This pie has been made by my grandmothers since I was just a baby, and my favorite. We know it as Icebox Lemon Pie. Back in the 50’s nothing was wasted so the whites of the eggs were used to make a meringue topping for the pie. Instead of using crushed graham crackers, my family has always used crushed ‘Nilla Wafers for the crust. I don’t care for meringue, so I used fresh homemade whip cream. Time to go make a pie….
Glad to know it’s a tried and true recipe.
Just made this and it was so easy! I had a store bought crust waiting in my pantry for something yummy to go inside. However, the volume of filling was so much that I ended up having to make a home made crust. So, next time I will either make one home made crust or use two store bought, but we all know which one will taste better… 🙂 Also, didn’t even notice that the sweetened condensed milk was less than originally called for, there was plenty of filling and the flavor was great. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Yes, I agree! And I’m so glad you liked it!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! It looks easy enough and the picture is making my mouth water!
Thank you! It’s really addicting!
My grandmother added a 1/2 cup of sour cream to this while mixing the filling…… 0 man…. was sooo good!
Ooh. I think I might need to try that.
Is this crust really thicker and/or better than a store bought graham cracker crust?
Thinking of taking a short cut and buying the crust. Unless the recipe is noticeably thicker.
The recipe is definitely thicker and kind of makes this pie. But I wouldn’t mind eating it with a store bought crust either.
I used a store bought crust and store bought whipped cream just cuz I was in a hurry and it was still AMAZING so maybe next time I’ll try the homemade crust.
Glad you liked it!
This looks amazing <3
Thank you! It is.
made this pie this week…..OH MY….made half a recipe….just 2 of us here….husband loved it….thanks
You’re welcome!
This is the lemon meringue pie that my Mom’s been making for decades! It’s been around a long time.
Shelly
Yep… My mom too ! We called it Graham Cracker Pie, been making it for 65 years in our family.
SO YUMMY
3 cups = 24 oz
2 cans = 28 oz (@14 oz cans)
So you are actually using 4 oz more, not less of the sweetened condensed milk. I don’t know why her recipe uses an odd amount of scm. I would also just use 2 cans.
True but I actually poured the condensed milk from each can into measuring cups and it was less than 3 cups. About 2 1/2 to 2 3/4
The cans weigh 14 oz. They are NOT 14 oz, pourable. You are right, Christy. This is not a good recipe. It COULD be. I might make it again with maybe 2 cans or slightly less and use a larger pie pan.
I need help.input really.i made this pie.it was too big for my pie pan,but that was ok i just poured the rest in a ramkin.when i toom the pie out it looked like it had curdled.is that normal?my first lemon pie with this recipe.
Yum! We have some lemons in the fridge we need to use up! Totally making this tomorrow!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
You will love it!
It’s not tart enough😟Just tastes like custard!!!!
I agree. At least this recipe uses slightly less sweetened condensed milk than Joanna’s original, but I would use even less. This, and a little zest “IN” the filling, will make it tart, and only then, will it really be able to fit into the 9 in pie pan. Not sure why no one has mentioned this.
If you are Concerned about it not being Lemony enough
A little lemon zest should do the trick
about 2tsp
MInced fine
😉
That looks so delicious! Perfect for summer!
Kari
http://sweetteasweetie.com/
Thank you!