This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure policy here.
Sour Cream Lemon Pie is a little piece of heaven on a plate. The pie starts with a graham cracker crust that is topped with a delicious lemon sour cream layer and then topped with whipped cream.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
This easy sour cream lemon pie is full of tangy flavor from both the lemon and the sour cream. And the creamy consistency is nothing short of heavenly. Every time I have a slice I am reminded just how good it is.
Ingredients Needed
- Graham cracker crust. Use a store bought one but a homemade one is so much better and so easy to make. Follow the recipe here.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar.
- Cornstarch
- Lemon. You will use the zest and the juice
- Eggs. You will only be using the yolks
- Milk. I use what I have on hand, usually 2 percent.
- Butter. Salted butter is what I use. If using unsalted butter, add in a pinch of salt.
- Sour Cream. I prefer a full fat sour cream. You can also use plain Green Yogurt.
- Heavy Whipping Cream
How to Make A Sour Cream Lemon Pie
- Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel, juice, egg yolks and milk in heavy saucepan and cook over medium high heat until thickened.
- Stir in butter and cool mixture to room temperature.
- Add in sour cream and pour into graham cracker crust.
- Whip cream and top pie with it.
- Garnish with lemon twists or thinly sliced lemons.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Allow a few hours for pie to set up.
Tips for Making the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:
- Use a combination of cake flour and bread flour. Don’t cheat on this one. Cake flour is finer than bread flour but the bread flour has gluten in it which is important. There is a difference in the texture if you don’t use cake flour and bread flour but they still taste delicious.
- Room Temperature Ingredients. Have eggs and butter at room temperature. You don’t want your butter really soft. Soft butter is when you can use your finger to easily indent into the butter.
- Cream your butter and sugar for 3 -5 minutes. This may seem like a long time but do it!
- Chill your dough. The recipe calls for you to chill it for 24-36 hours but seriously, who could wait that long. I chilled it for a few hours and baked a batch. They were delicious. I then exercised self control and chilled it for 12 hours – they were still delicious. Again at 24 hours – delicious! Maybe my chocolate chip cookie tastebuds aren’t that highly developed but I couldn’t see any big difference between those chilled only a few hours and those chilled the recommended 24 hours. So why wait!?
- Big Cookies! The other trick is to be sure and not make your cookies too small. The recipe calls for you to make them 1/3 cup. Do it! I use this cookie scoop to make large cookies.
- Sprinkle with sea salt. A slight sprinkling of sea salt on the top gives it that extra special touch and flavor. (I did leave the salt off of one of my batches and they were still the BEST.)
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will this pie last in the refrigerator?
The pie will last for 3-4 days stored in the refrigerator. I recommend keeping it covered to prevent the whipped cream from drying out.
Can I use a store bought pie crust?
If you need to save yourself some time, a store bought graham cracker crust or pastry crust will work just fine!
Can I use Cool Whip topping instead of whipping cream?
I don’t recommend it, real whipping cream is less sweet and is a better compliment to the lemon.
This pie is so delicious and the combination of lemon and sour cream give it the perfect lemon flavor. Not too tart, just enough sweet.
Check out more of my favorite pie recipes:
Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos.
Sour Lemon Cream Pie
The combination of lemon and sour cream give this pie a smooth texture and tangy taste. Just perfect with the graham cracker crust.
Prep:30 minutes
Cook:20 minutes
Total:50 minutes
Ingredients
Pie Filling
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch plus 1-1/2 tsp
- 1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 3 egg yolks lightly beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter cubed
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream whipped
- * Lemon twists for garnish
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 5 Tbsp butter melted
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
Pie Filling
- Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel, juice, egg yolks and milk in heavy saucepan
- Cook over medium heat until thickened. Stir in butter
- Cool mixture to room temperature and add in sour cream
- Pour into Graham Cracker Crust
- Top with Whipped Cream and garnish as desired.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve
Graham cracker crust
- Mix together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar with a fork
- Pour the crumbs into a pie plate
- Use your measuring cup to press crumbs into bottom and sides of pie plate
- Bake at 325 until the crust begins to brown – about 15-20 minutes
- Allow to cool and keep stored in refrigeator
Tips & Notes:
- If you prefer, you can use a pastry crust instead of a graham cracker crust. Use my recipe for the perfect pie crust found here.
- If using a graham cracker curst, use your measuring cup to press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of the pie pan to get a nice smooth, even crust!
Recommended Products
Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 523kcal (26%) Carbohydrates: 47g (16%) Protein: 4g (8%) Fat: 35g (54%) Saturated Fat: 20g (125%) Cholesterol: 166mg (55%) Sodium: 266mg (12%) Potassium: 148mg (4%) Sugar: 33g (37%) Vitamin A: 1160IU (23%) Vitamin C: 7.3mg (9%) Calcium: 108mg (11%) Iron: 0.9mg (5%)
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.
Debbie says
So very good! I put mine in a 9×9″ pan and made bars. Can you tell me if the filling is supposed to thicken after it cools?
DONNA says
Everyone I have served this pie to has asked for the recipe. It’s easy and very yummy.
Miss Bri says
This pie was heavenly! It was very creamy and refreshing with a great balance of sweet and tangy! My only adjustments was added an extra 1/4 cup of Graham crackers crumbs to the crust, and used my favorite whipped cream recipe with 2 TBSPs of granulated sugar with 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract.
Vicky says
Loved it
Robbie Potter says
Thank you soooo very much for sharing this recipe. I think this is my favorite pie hands down. My family loves it and I’ve served it to a large gathering and everyone thought it was the greatest pie.
Leigh Anne says
Definitely one of my favorites – so glad you enjoyed it too!