No Bake Lemon Pudding Pie has three layers of lemon pudding, fresh whipped cream, and fresh lemon juice. So easy to make and it's no bake! Perfect for summer and only 5 ingredients needed.
NO BAKE LEMON PUDDING PIE RECIPE
No bake lemon pudding pie has three fabulous layers of instant lemon pudding mix, fresh lemon juice, and freshly whipped cream! Layered in a no bake, store-bought graham cracker crust. So creamy, light, and fresh tasting. Perfect for summertime.
This no bake lemon pie literally takes 5 minutes to make and it's the perfect thing to make the night before so it can refrigerate until ready to serve the next day. And the leftovers just get better and better!
LEMON PIE WITH LEMON PUDDING FILLING
Graham Cracker or Shortbread Crust - These are the store bought ones that you will find in the baking aisle. Do not get the '2 extra servings' sized crust. You just want the regular (6 oz) sized crust. If I can find the shortbread one (not all stores have it) I will get it because it's my favorite but normally I just use a graham cracker crust.
Instant Lemon Pudding Mix - You want two of the small boxes of lemon pudding. Do not get sugar-free (I mean you could if you really want to, but it tastes much better with the regular pudding mix) and do not prepare the pudding according to the package directions. Just follow the recipe below.
Whole Milk or Half & Half - You want a higher fat percentage of milk for this recipe to help the pudding set up nice and thick.
Heavy Whipping Cream - Please whip your own cream! It only takes about 5 minutes and the taste is out of this world amazing. If wanted, you can replace the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar with 8-12 oz of Cool Whip. I highly recommend following the recipe as is.
Fresh Lemon Juice - It's not very much but it makes a huge difference and provides a fresh lemon taste for this lemon pie.
MY TIPS FOR MAKING LEMON PUDDING PIE
- This pie needs at least 8 hours of refrigeration time to allow the pie to thicken and set up. For best results, make this the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight and into the next day until you're ready to serve it.
- The leftovers of this pie are amazing and get better and better each day. Save the leftovers, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Use fresh lemon juice! Not the bottled lemon juice. You will need about ½ of a lemon to get 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
TRY THESE OTHER NO BAKE DESSERTS THAT USE PUDDING MIX
- pistachio cheesecake pie
- easy, no bake coconut cream pie
- lemon cheesecake pie
- triple layer oreo pudding pie
- chocolate peanut butter éclair dessert
- chocolate caramel cream pie
- jello pudding layer pie
No Bake Lemon Pudding Pie
Ingredients
- 1 ready-to-use graham cracker or shortbread crust
- 2 boxes (3.4 oz each) lemon instant pudding mix do not prepare according to package directions
- 2 cups whole milk or half and half
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Combine lemon instant pudding mix, whole milk, and fresh lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Whisk together until pudding is thick, about 2 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes so it can thicken.
- While the pudding is sitting to thicken make the whipped cream. In a mixing bowl with a handheld blender, or use the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. This takes about 5 minutes.
- Spread 1 ½ cups of the lemon pudding into the graham cracker crust.
- Add half of the freshly whipped cream into the remaining lemon pudding mix and stir together until combined. Spread over the lemon pudding in the pie crust.
- Top the pie with the remaining whipped cream. You can either spread it on as the 3rd layer immediately OR you can pipe it on the edges of the pie (as shown in the pictures) after the refrigeration time and before serving.
- Cover with the enclosed lid from the graham cracker crust and let refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. For best results make the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Making this for my daughters (who are mom's), sons in law and grand boys to enjoy after our Mother's Day dinner next weekend.
Yum! I know you all will love this one. So easy with lots of refreshing lemon flavor. Enjoy 🙂
I was disappointed. Not lemony enough. Would consider doubling or tripling the lemon juice.
So sorry you thought that! You could also add lemon zest which would give lots more lemon flavor. Thank you for coming back to leave your feedback 🙂
I just finished putting this in the fridge so I haven't tasted it put together, but I added extra lemon juice to my pudding mix plus zest of one lemon and tasted it and it was perfect! (We LOVE lemon/tangy in our household).
This looks divine!
Thank you so much Jenn! 🙂
Hi, i live in israel and we dont have lemon instant pudding, we have vanil instant pudding, can i use vanil and more lemon juice for that pie ?
Hi Linda! Thank you so much for being here. You could use vanilla pudding it just would not have the same lemony flavor. Add the lemon juice called for in recipe and some lemon zest, and some lemon extract if you can find it there. That will help a bit with the lemon flavor. Enjoy!
Thank you ? i will try and let you know how it came out ?
Hi, its me again linda from israel lol, im going to make the pie crust my self with butter and biscits beacuse we dont have ready pie crust, can you tell me pleas the size of the ready pie crust
Hey Linda. The size of the crust is a standard 9" pie plate. Hope that helps ☺️.
thank you for your help 🙂
too many ads on your blog.... very frustrating.
I apologize you feel this way. Running a blog like this one with free recipes costs several hundred dollars a month + not to mention the hours and hours of work I put into it each day to maintain it and keep up with everything. If there is a specific ad please let me know, I work closely with my ad management company and can see about fixing it. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend 🙂
Would I be able to use cool whip instead of making my own whip cream?
Sure. Just use an 8 oz tub of thawed cool whip.
This pie looks delicious and sounds simple to prepare - I have no doubt that I'll be ever so happy I came across your recipe on Pinterest! Thank you for your hard work and dedication!
Thank you so much! It is really so simple and delicious too 🙂 Thanks for being here.
I don’t enjoy cooking. So this recipe was just the kind I like....simple and delicious. I’ve actually made it 3 times in the past month, and everyone who had a piece raves about it. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Oh Carol, that makes me so happy to hear. That's exactly what I want with this blog is to share easy, approachable recipes that anyone can make. It means the world to me that you cam back to leave your sweet comment. So excited you love this pie!
I can’t wait to try it. I’ll take lemon any day over chocolate! I couldn’t find the other crust recipe and thought I’d try it. Can you please add it.
Thank you so much for your time. I love these recipes.
Do you mean a homemade graham cracker crust instead of buying a prepared one? If so, this is the one that I use when I want homemade (I don't have a recipe for it on my blog yet) https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-graham-cracker-crust Enjoy! 🙂
I have been sick and needed to take a 9x13 pan dessert. I made 2 of these instead the day before...so simple. Thank you(I’ll Be making this a lot, my adult son loves lemon!?
Oh yummy! I love the idea of this recipe in a 9x13 cake pan. I think I may have to try that out. Perfect for a picnic, potluck, and to take somewhere. Thank you for sharing your idea! 🙂
Do you use the same amount of all the ingredients for 9×13 pan?
I have never made this into a 9x13 dish. The pie is 9" so yes it seems like you would need to double the ingredients for the larger pan. I've never done it so I am hoping it works at well for you if you try it.
Hi, I searched for a recipe on Pinterest called Triple Layer Lemon Pudding Pie and yours is the first one I hit! And it’s the one I was looking for! How’s that for getting the first hit!? Anyho, my Question is...each box of instant lemon pudding asks for 2 cups of milk to make but your recipe asks for two boxes and to only use 2 cups milk for both boxes, am I reading your recipe right? Only using two cups milk would make the pudding really thick, is that right?
Disregard the box directions. It is 2 boxes with only 2 cups of milk. You want it thick so it holds up when sliced and what not. Enjoy and I'm so happy you found me!! ?
Mine didn't set ?. I left it in the fridge for 6 hours. What did I do wrong?
Weird. I have never had this pie not set before. I can only think of two reasons why it would not set. 1) did you prepare the pudding mix before or just add the dry powder to other ingredients as called for in the recipe? Because if you prepared the pudding according to the box and then added the other ingredients then that would definitely make it too much liquid to even set at all. 2) When you stir the pudding mix, lemon juice, milk you need to let it sit for at least 3-5 minutes so that it can get thick. It takes a couple minutes to thicken up and then you add to the pie in the layer as the recipe calls for.
Thanks for your reply. Maybe I didn't give it long enough, but it seemed thick. We all loved it anyway. I'm going to try the recipe again. Fingers crossed.
Easter Dinner Dessert Hun, Thanks for Sharing..I Love Lemon, Can I Use Heavy Cream Instead of Milk?
Yes, of course! It would make it so thick and creamy. Yum!
If I want to double this could I use a 13 x 9 x 2 dish? Instead Of 2pie crusts.
You could always try it. I've never done that so I can't say for sure. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Enjoy!
Think this could this be done with sugar free pudding?
Not sure, I have never tried using the sugar free pudding. The boxes are a much smaller size so either the layers will be thin or you will need several boxes. Not really sure as I have never done it.
I do everything sugar free have diabetes in our house. In fact before. Diabetes my family like the sugar free stuff better has more if the favor you are going for. More chocolatey. Lemony butter scotch. So we have just stuck with it. I have a question for you all. I have a daughter we have to change her diet to Vegan Gluten free in addition no soy, oats, coconut, limited sugar, nuts, dairy, basically only Gain she can have is Rice. Vegetables and Fruits. Do you think I could use water instead of milk Rice cake for crust we just can't give up our butter. I have not read labels on whipped topping. Georgia
Can also do a chocolate triple layer pie, which I have been doing for 20 years.
Yummy! Sounds amazing 🙂
Can I use lemon pie filling that you have to cook can't find instant
No. You need the instant lemon pudding. It’s very common so maybe the store is out of it. Possibly try a different store to see if they have it.
would this recipe be firm enough to hold its own in a spring form pan?
I don't think so. It does well in the pie crust and is firm enough to cut. It's a softer pie but not a fall apart soft pie. But again, I don't think it would do well in a spring form pan but I've never tried it so I could be wrong!
I love lemon recipes and this one is great for my family which has several diabetics. I just replace the pudding with sugar free lemon pudding and use either the heavy cream with a sugar replacement or just a little sugar. I also use Cool Whip which comes in a sugar free variety or actually has less carbs in the regular variety. I always have both the pudding and Cool Whip on hand. Thanks I also make an almond flour crust on many of my recipes - more protein and less carbs.
I am loving your changes and that you were able to adapt it for your needs. Thanks for your comment 🙂
Hi, I'm going to try this recipe, which looks delicious and "summery." I want to use sugar-free pudding also, but I can't find the sugar-free lemon. So I got sugar-free vanilla and thought I would try adding a package of sugar-free lemon jell-o to boost the lemon flavor and get some extra thickening going. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome! Thanks!
How far in advanced could I make this recipe? Day before or just hours before?
You can easily make this 1-2 days ahead of time. I always make it the day before. Definitely not hours because the pie needs time to set up in the fridge.
I have my family members over for meals on special occasions. One Member is glucose intolerant so instead of making the pie, I skip the crust, layer it in pudding dishes and just call it Lemon Pudding. It is a hit with everyone!
I love your adaption for gluten free. Great idea.
I only did 2 layers. Did not read enough and put it all in. The mixture with wip cream. Hope it turns out!
Oh, I am sure it will still turn out fine. Enjoy!
Do you think this would work as individual desserts in a cupcake tin?
I think so.... never tried it but I see not reason why it would not work. You would have to do a homemade graham cracker crust first and then layer the ingredients. It just seems like it would be easier in the pie tin 🙂
What do you think of the idea of scattering fresh raspberries over the top? Have you ever tried that? Or has anyone else?
I've never tried it but it sounds delicious. The fresh berries will stain the white cool whip mixture on top so maybe garnish each slice with raspberries or the whole pie if you know it will all be served the first time (rather than having leftovers).
my husband is a lemon fanatic so I am so anxious to make this. I have a great crust recipe that I like that is so easy and is a shortbread like. What I was wondering was if I could do this in a 9x13 pan with the existing recipe or if I would have to double it for the bigger pan.
Good Question! I actually don't *think* you would need to double the recipe for a 9x13 baking pan. I have not made it in the 9x13 baking pan so I can't say for sure, but the pie as is, is pretty thick and tall, so I think it would be fine in the larger dish. If you want it as thick and tall as the pie, then maybe double it but it would probably need a lot more refrigeration time. Hopefully that helps a little..... 🙂
I made this last year and loved it. I would like to make it again, but preferably dairy-free so everyone can enjoy it 🙂 Is there anything that can be substituted for the milk?
I don't have any experience with dairy free baking or cooking. Maybe try like an almond milk but that would change the taste of the pie so I am not really sure.
Hi, this is Aarti from India. My family love lemon. My challange is that we do not have any lemon pudding mix available in the country. Instant or otherwise. Is there a way to make this with unflavoured gelatin powder and lemon juice mixed with light cream and whipped cream for the two layers? The base will be homemade with butter and crackers.
I am not sure. I wish I could help. I just have never made this any other way but with the instant lemon pudding mix.
Oops. Forgot to ask. If possible, what would you suggest be the quantity of gelatin powder, lemon juice and sugar.
this was delicious. My guests loved it as well as my hubby and me....and I don’t eat many desserts. YUM! ?
This recipe has been in my family for many generations, my grandmother made this for us all through our childhood. We loved it so much that we requested it be made in place of our birthday cakes and still is over my 33 years and longer for my siblings, its also a traditional dish in my family to make for Thanksgiving and Christmas, You just can't get enough of this dessert! We call it "Lemon Lush" Very small differences, we make our own crust with smashed graham crackers and melted butter, but I prefer it to have a more crumbly type of crust so its not so pressed down with the butter but still comes out with ease, made in a 13 × 9 cake pan. First layer after the crust is a mixture of cream cheese, powder sugar and whipped cream blended together, then separately using 2 boxes of lemon pudding mixed with 3 cups of milk and half a lemon (or to taste) squeezed, poured on for the next layer. Then chilled in the fridge for an hr or until right before serving. Spread some whipped topping over the top and enjoy! I like to drizzle a small amount of more crushed graham cracker on top for decor and for that extra powdered goodness! You should definitely give this a try!
- small town Tennessee gal.
Oh yum! This sounds delicious. Thanks for letting me know!