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This layered Lemon Blueberry Delight dessert is a no bake, summertime favorite! Layers of graham cracker crust, lemon instant pudding, whipped cream, and blueberry pie filling – a new kind of dessert lush-iousness.
Layered delight desserts, also referred to as ‘lush desserts’ are a dessert favorite at my house. For more try this Strawberry Cheesecake Lush or Chocolate Peanut Butter Lush.
Lemon Blueberry Delight Recipe
These layered desserts have all sorts of names – lush dessert, layered delight, fat man’s delight (I’ve been told that this is a popular name for them… not where I’m from but somewhere).
Whatever you call it, this classic layered dessert usually consists of a cookie or cracker crust, an instant pudding layer, cheesecake layer, and either fresh fruit or canned pie filling. Sometimes they’re topped off with more whipped cream too!
The best part is that delight desserts or layered lush desserts are always a crowd favorite that get gobbled up everywhere I take it. With so many variation of this recipe, this lemon blueberry one is the newest addition to the collection.
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Pudding Blueberry Delight Dessert
- No Bake & Easy To Make – No bake desserts are usually simple recipes that anyone can make. You simply create each layer, and then layer it into a 9×13 baking pan. The only ‘work’ that has to be done is letting it refrigerate for at least 8 hours!
- Cool & Creamy! – You will love the luscious (lush) texture of this dessert. It’s light, fluffy, cool, and creamy.
- Feeds a Crowd! – This lemon blueberry lush makes plenty of servings so it’s perfect to take to a family gathering, picnic, potluck, or party.
- Canned Pie Filling – I don’t know about you, but I love using canned pie filling when making desserts. It’s a quick way to prepare a dessert with little effort. This Cream Cheese Cherry Pie and Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Delight both use canned pie filling as well.
Ingredients Needed
- Graham Cracker Crust
- Graham Crackers – You need 12 whole graham crackers for the crust. The recipe has been tested with honey graham crackers.
- Granulated Sugar – Just a touch of sweetener for the crust.
- Melted Butter – Unsalted butter or salted butter will both work just fine in this recipe. It really depends on your preference. I use salted butter.
- Lemon Cheesecake Pudding Layer
- Instant Lemon Pudding – Make sure that you are getting instant lemon pudding and not the ‘cook n’ serve’ kind. They look similar but are very different.
- Half and Half – The higher fat of milk is better. You could use whole milk but I would not recommend using anything lower in fat than whole milk. The instant pudding needs the fat from the milk in order to thicken up nicely.
- Cream Cheese – Make sure it’s softened so it mixes in smoothly without any lumps.
- Powdered Sugar – Sweetener for the cheesecake layer.
- Cool Whip – One 8 ounce tub of Cool Whip.
- Blueberry Pie Filling – This is the canned blueberry pie filling that you will find in the baking aisle at the grocery store.
- Cool Whip – Another 8 ounce tub of Cool Whip for the top layer.
How To Make Layered Lemon Blueberry Delight
- Place the graham crackers and sugar into a food processor and run at high speed until the crackers are in very fine crumbs. Turn the processor down to low speed, and slowly pour in the melted butter. Continue processing until all the crumbs are coated in the butter. Firmly press the crumbs into the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan. Freeze for 20 minute.
- In a medium bowl, use a whisk to combine the lemon instant pudding and half and half milk until it’s combined well and starts to thicken. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes so it can get even thicker.
- In a separate larger bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and no lumps remain in the mixture. Add in the thickened lemon pudding and blend on low speed to combine. Add the Cool Whip and stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until combined well.
- Smooth the lemon cheesecake mixture over top the crust in an even layer.
- Pour the blueberry pie filling over top and spread it out. It may not go all the way to edge and that’s ok. Just spread it out as best you can. It may be a thinner layer.
- Layer the remaining tub of Cool Whip over top the blueberry filling and spread it out. Cover the pan with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to overnight is even better.
- You can garnish with crushed graham crackers, fresh blueberries and/or lemon slices if wanted.
If you don’t have a food processor there are a few options – place the graham crackers into a food chopper and pulse/chop until fine crumbs. Add them into a mixing bowl long with the sugar + melted butter. Stir together until combined well.
You can also use a Ziploc bag and a rolling pin or meat pounder to crush the crackers into fine crumbs. Again, add them into a mixing bowl along with the sugar and melted butter, and stir to combine.
FAQ’s + Expert Tips
- Fridge Time : Don’t try to rush this! It won’t work well, I promise. Allow for at least 8 hours of fridge time, but overnight is even better. Make the dessert the day before and leave it in the fridge until you serve it the next day. Cuts down on prep time the day of. The chill time allows all the layers to thicken up nicely and set, which makes it easier and prettier when you slice it for serving.
- Can I Use Something Different For The Crust? : Yes, there are so many fun ways to switch up the crust. Use Nilla Wafers, Honey Teddy Grahams, or try using lemon cookies or lemon Oreo cookies. If you are using cookies, you may want to omit the added sugar to ensure that it’s not too sweet. Or just use salted butter to help offset it.
- How Many Cups of Crumbs is 12 Graham Crackers? : When finely crushed, this will yield about 1.5 (maybe slightly more) of finely crushed cracker crumbs. So if you are using another cookie or cracker, finely crush them until you get about 1.5 cups of crumbs.
Can I Use Homemade Whipped Cream Instead of Cool Whip?
Yes, you can! To substitute homemade whipped cream for the 16 ounces of Cool Whip that the recipe calls for you will need 4 cups heavy whipping cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1 cup powdered sugar.
Beat all the ingredients in a bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer, until stiff peaks form. Start at low speed and increase speed as needed and as it thickens. This whole process takes about 5 minutes. So just continue beating until peaks form and it’s very thickened and fluffy looking. Use half of this in the lemon cheesecake mixture and the remaining for the top layer.
More Lemon + Blueberry Recipes
Lemon Blueberry Delight
This layered Lemon Blueberry Delight dessert is a no bake, summertime favorite! Layers of graham cracker crust, lemon instant pudding, whipped cream, and blueberry pie filling – a new kind of dessert lush-iousness.
Equipment
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 12 whole graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter melted
Lemon Cheesecake Layer
- 1 box (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding
- 1½ cups half and half
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 8 ounces Cool Whip thawed
Blueberry Layer
- 1 can (21 oz) blueberry pie filling
- 8 ounces Cool Whip thawed
Instructions
- Place the graham crackers and sugar into a food processor and run at high speed until the crackers are in very fine crumbs. Turn the processor down to low speed, and slowly pour in the melted butter. Continue processing until all the crumbs are coated in the butter.12 whole graham crackers, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
- Firmly press the crumbs into the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan. Freeze for 20 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, use a whisk to combine the lemon instant pudding and half and half milk until it's combined well and starts to thicken. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes so it can get even thicker.1 box (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding, 1½ cups half and half
- In a separate larger bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and no lumps remain in the mixture.8 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- Add in the thickened lemon pudding and blend on low speed to combine.
- Add the Cool Whip and stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until combined well.8 ounces Cool Whip
- Evenly spread the lemon cheesecake mixture over top the crust.
- Pour the blueberry pie filling over top and spread it out. It may not go all the way to edge and that's ok. Just spread it out as best you can.1 can (21 oz) blueberry pie filling
- Layer the remaining tub of Cool Whip over top the blueberry filling and spread it out. Cover the pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to overnight is even better. You can garnish with crushed graham crackers, fresh blueberries and/or lemon slices if wanted.8 ounces Cool Whip
- When ready to serve, you can garnish each slice or the layered dessert with crushed graham crackers, fresh blueberries and/or lemon slices if wanted.
Notes
Butter : I use salted butter because that’s what I buy and have in my fridge. Unsalted butter can be used as well, it just depends on your preference.
Graham Crackers : 12 whole graham cracker makes about 1.5 cups (like a heaping 1.5 cups) of finely ground crumbs. If you want to use Teddy grahams, crushed Oreo cookies, animal crackers, Nilla wafers, shortbread cookies, etc. measure out the crumbs once they’re crushed.
Variation : You can omit the final layer of Cool Whip and just have the blueberry pie filling be the top layer.
Nutrition
Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 456IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1mg
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