Subscribe for our free How to Host Thanksgiving eBook – including a printable timeline checklist, links to our favorite family recipes, and tips & tricks to keep your holiday running smoothly!
This Lemon Cream Pie is just the right blend of light, creamy, tart, sweet and absolutely luscious. It’s perfect for any time of the year from Thanksgiving to summer!

Oh how I love pie season, and lemon. So this Lemon Cream Pie really takes the cake. The recipe is from the original Salt Lake Jr. League Heritage Cook Book. It’s easy to make, and so refreshing after a heavy meal. Perfect for Thanksgiving, right? That light lemon flavor perfectly compliments the creamy sweetness of the pie.

Need another reason to put Lemon Cream Pie at the top of your pie repertoire? It’s an any time of year, any season, any holiday pie. It’s a timeless treat for summer BBQs, spring celebrations and of course, the holiday season! I promise, there will be constant ooooohs and aaaaahs from the family.

I make Lemon Cream Pie with my Best Flaky Pie Crust recipe, but you can also make it with this Graham Cracker Crust recipe. Once you have baked the pie crust and it’s cooling, simply combine sugar, cornstarch, butter, freshly grated lemon rind, lemon juice and egg yolks in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir in milk until it thickens. Let it cool and fold in sour cream, then pour it into a baked pie shell and let it chill. The most difficult part about this recipe is letting the pie chill. I promise it’s worth the wait!

If you’re a true fan of graham cracker crust, give this Lemon Tart Recipe a try. It’s just as luscious and topped with a delicious fresh lemon curd! And if you’re a lime lover, this recipe for Key Lime Pie is for you, another refreshing option for your holiday dessert table.
This Lemon Cream Pie is about as dreamy as it gets. I love how easy it is to make this from-scratch filling! It keeps in the fridge for a day or two if you want to make the filling ahead of serving time. Just wait to fill the pie crust until the day of serving. The combination of tart with a little sweet make this the ideal dessert after a hearty holiday meal. Happy pie making season!

Lemon Cream Pie

Ingredients
- 1 9 inch baked pie shell or graham cracker shell
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon grind, grated
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3 egg yolks, unbeaten
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup sour cream
topping
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 fresh lemon for garnish
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, butter, lemon rind, lemon juice and egg yolks. Whisk together.
- Add milk. Whisk again. Turn heat to medium and cook until thickened, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
- Remove pan from heat when mixture thickens. Let cool and fold in sour cream.
- Pour into baked pie shell. Let chill for 3 hours in fridge.
- Whip cream and powdered sugar together until thick.
- Serve with whipped cream and garnish with lemon slices just before serving.
Notes
- To speed up the cooling process, I place the cooked mixture in a clean cool bowl after cooking. When cooled, fold in sour cream.
- Do not garnish with lemon until just before serving to prevent juice on top of pie.
- The filling can be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated.
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment and rate this recipe! I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!
Mary Catherine
Absolutely delicious and easy! I may prefer the pie without the sour cream addition at the end though. It is so velvety smooth, and the lemon flavor is light enough to taste incredible without the sour cream. Either way, this is a very tasty pie that I will make again soon in my kitchen! I cannot wait to eat an entire slice for dessert tonight; I just tasted the filling with and without sour cream as I made it this morning.
Lacy
This sounds delicious! Any suggestions for a substitute for cornstarch? We have some corn (& corn byproducts) allergies at our house. Thanks!
Si Foster
Hi Lacy!
Flour can work as a substitute for cornstarch.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
XO,
Si
Jessica
I made this with grapefruits instead of lemons and it was a hit! I think it will become a staple for our pi day celebration!
Si Foster
Jessica, good idea on substituting the lemons with grapefruits, I will have to try that! Thanks for your positive review.
Xo
Si
Dawn Ross
I love all things lemon and go crazy baking lemon treats in the spring. This pie is absolutely delicious and everything a lemon pie should be. My friends and neighbors also love it.
margaret Jeffries
Love everything about this pie…fresh, creamy, sweet and tart. It’s beautiful too. We made it during the holidays and again for Easter dinner. It slices picture perfect! Lemon just makes people happy.
Kami Tressler
This was delicious! My first lemon pie and it turned out great.
Si Foster
So glad you loved this pie Kami! Thanks for reading ABK 🙂
xo
Si
Kumari Marshall
Hi!
Is it better to use sour cream in this lemon or does a cup of cool whip work like in a coconut cream filling?
Thanks!
Si Foster
Hi Kumari, I prefer to use the sour cream because it brings out the lemon flavor more, cool whip will make the pie sweeter and it might not set as well. Thank you for asking and for reading ABK!
Si