This refreshingly tart and sweet No-Bake Sour Cream Lemon Pie is what summer dreams are made of! A golden Oreo crust crust, silky soft lemon custard filling, and swirls of sweetened whipped cream without ever heating up your kitchen by turning on the oven make this no-bake pie recipe the perfect dessert for summertime!
For other amazing no-bake recipes, be sure to check out my Easy No-Bake Blueberry Delight, Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies, Strawberry Pretzel Icebox Pie, Easy Lemon Icebox Cake, and No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake.
With summer upon us and the weather heating up (it was in the high 80's here just the other day!), I'm already looking for ways to avoid turning on the oven and heating up my kitchen. Enter the easy, wonderful no-bake pie!
When it comes to no-bake desserts, my go-to's are typically banana cream pie (which I make in the microwave!), grasshopper ice cream pie, and chocolate cream pie.
Except honestly, every time I've made those I've baked the crusts, and it's really just the fillings that are no bake! So I decided that with this no bake sour cream lemon pie I was going to try making it truly 100% no bake by chilling the crust to help it firm up rather than baking it in the oven an it worked like a charm!
The butter, which goes into the crust melted, helps bind the packed crumbs once it resolidifies somewhat in the fridge. The texture isn't quite the same as baking the cookie crust for 10 minutes in the oven - you won't have the crunch that heat gives to a baked Oreo cookie crust - but you also don't have to turn on the oven at all, so it's a worthy trade-off.
And the same approach would work for the other almost no-bake pies I mentioned earlier, except that you would need to do a graham cracker crust for the banana cream pie rather than a traditional blind-baked pie crust.
This particular no-bake sour cream lemon pie has a crust made with golden Oreos and a creamy, smooth filling thanks to a homemade lemon custard that only takes about 10 minutes to make.
It's light and refreshing, with just the right level of lemon tartness the gets balanced out by the addition of sour cream, and the sweetened whipped cream that goes on top is an absolute must because it pairs so well with the lemon custard.
No-bake pies are a fun, easy way to get kids involved in the kitchen - crushing cookies or graham crackers for crusts, mixing and pouring, pressing crusts into pans, etc. - and everybody gets a sweet, cool reward at the end!
Lemon Sour Cream Pie Recipe Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar
- Golden Oreos
- Salted Butter
- Cornstarch
- Whole Milk
- Lemons
- Egg Yolks
- Sour Cream
- Heavy Cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
How to Make No-Bake Sour Cream Lemon Pie
- Pulse the golden Oreos into fine crumbs in a food processor (affiliate link) with some melted butter, then press it into a pie plate (affiliate link) and let it chill in the fridge while you make the filling. If you don't have a food processor (affiliate link), you can also crush the cookies by putting them in a heavy duty zip-tight back and pounding them with a rolling pin (affiliate link) or meat mallet.
- Make the homemade lemon filling by whisking the sugar and cornstarch with the milk and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat just until the custard starts to thicken and bubble. Then you will drop the heat down to low and continue to cook for 2 minutes more, stirring frequently while the mixture bubbles, filling your kitchen with the smell of sweet lemony lemon pudding.
- Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring about 1 cup of the hot liquid over the yolks, whisking so that the yolks come up to temperature, then pouring the tempered egg yolks back into the saucepan with the rest of the lemon filling and cooking another 2 minutes over low heat, whisking constantly.
- Pull the lemon custard off the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and butter until it melts, then (and this is the hardest part) wait until the custard cools before stirring in the sour cream and pouring the lemon filling into the cookie crust.
- Let the pie chill completely in the fridge for 4 hours before topping with the sweetened whipped cream and garnishing with lemon wedges.
Like most cream pies, this no-bake sour cream lemon pie can be tricky to slice and get a clean serving. It might be slightly easier if you make this in a springform pan and can just slide the pieces out, instead of lifting them out, but honestly, after one bite, no one will care if their slice of pie isn't shaped in a perfect triangle!
Tips for making No Bake Lemon Pie
- If the lemon custard hasn’t thickened to be a pudding-like texture but is still soupy instead, then you will need to cook it longer or double check that ingredients weren’t mismeasured.
- Don’t skip tempering the egg yolks by adding a small amount of the hot lemon custard liquid to them and whisking before adding them to the pan. Otherwise they can easily scramble if added directly to the pot.
- Let the pie chill thoroughly before topping with whipped cream and serving so that it has time to set up and slices well.
Sour Cream Lemon Pie Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Try adding blueberries or raspberries! You can stir some fresh blueberries or raspberries into the filling before pouring it into the pie crust. Or pour half of the filling into the pie crust, then arrange a layer of sliced strawberries before pouring the remainder of the filling on top. All of these fruits pair really well with lemon flavor.
- Try switching out the lemon for another citrus like orange or lime for a different flavor profile.
- Instead of Golden Oreos for the crust, you can use lemon sandwich cookies or Nilla Wafers for a different taste.
How to serve Lemon Sour Cream Pie
A slice of this pie is delicious all on its own, but it wouldn’t hurt to serve it with some fresh berries and more whipped cream on the side. You could even drizzle some raspberry sauce over the top.
How to store No Bake Lemon Pie
Store the pie in the refrigerator until just before you are ready to serve, then return it to the fridge, covering with plastic wrap, if the whole thing isn’t eaten. It will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. I don’t recommend freezing this particular pie.
More Pie Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Sour Cream Lemon Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 24 Golden Oreos, finely crushed
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted
Lemon filling
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ⅔ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup salted butter, cubed
- 1 ½ Tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 ¼ cups sour cream
Whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Make the crust by adding the golden Oreos to a food processor (affiliate link) and crushing into fine crumbs. Drizzle the melted butter over the cookie crumbs and process again to combine, then pour into a pie plate (affiliate link) and press into the bottom and sides using the flat bottom of a measuring cup or glass. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Lemon filling
- Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in the milk and lemon juice and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently while the mixture bubbles.
- Meanwhile, lightly beat the egg yolks in a large bowl. When the lemon custard mixture has thickened and cooked for 2 minutes, remove it from the heat and slowly pour about 1 cup of the hot liquid into the egg yolks, whisking as you pour to temper the eggs. Place the pan of hot liquid back over the heat and whisk the tempered egg yolks in to the hot liquid, bringing it back to a gentle bubble for 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Remove the hot custard from the heat and immediately stir in the butter and lemon zest, whisking until smooth, then transfer to a clean bowl and allow the custard to cool to room temperature.
- When cool, whisk in the sour cream until completely combined. Pour into the crust and refrigerate for 4 hours, until chilled.
Whipped cream
- In a cold bowl with high sides, whip the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla using a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. I used a 1M tip to pipe it on with a piping bag around the edges, but you could just spread it on in an even layer on top and garnish with thinly sliced lemons.
Lemon is such a fun summer flavor! This is a great idea to have some no-bake sweet treats. Summer is so hot & humid I try to avoid my oven at all costs... but one can only eat so much ice cream haha, glad I have a new desert recipe now!
This lovely lemon pie has the perfect balance of tart and sweet and that cookie crust is wonderfully delicious. Such a great dessert to welcome in summer.
Wow! This is is the ultimate summer dessert! Love that it is no bake! Definitely need to make this for my next summer BBQ!
During the hot summer months I enjoy making no-bake pies. This beautiful sour cream lemon pie was incredibly delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your special recipe.
Are you supposed to scrape the filing out of the cookies before crushing them? I would think that it would be really good with the filling left in.
No, leaving the filling in! It helps the crust bind together.
Hi, there! What size pie baking dish should I use?
Just a regular 9-inch pie pan will work!