Lemon Icebox Cake
This light and creamy no-bake lemon icebox cake is easy to make with layers of graham crackers, lemon pudding, and whipped topping. Everyone loves it!
Refrigerated desserts are the perfect no-bake solution for an easy, make-ahead treat especially for summer, special occasions, or potlucks. Try my chocolate icebox cake or this eclair icebox cake as well!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Easy – This lemon icebox cake comes together so fast and requires very little skill. If you can stir and spread, then you can make this dessert! Plus, there’s very little measuring and dishes.
- No-Bake Dessert – Don’t want to turn the oven on? You don’t have to with this no bake dessert. All you do is layer ingredients in the pan and put it in the refrigerator to set up.
- 4 Ingredients – There’s only four simple ingredients for this recipe and they’re easy to find in any grocery store.
- Make-Ahead – This dessert needs time in the fridge to soften the “cake” layers. Plus it lasts up to 4 days in the fridge, meaning you can make it a day or two in advance.
- Versatile – Swap the pudding for another flavor, top it with fresh berries, toasted coconut or sprinkles to make your own icebox cake creation.
This lemon icebox cake is so easy, yet impressive looking with all the layers inside. Plus you can make the top pretty by creating this easy bakery swirl and topping it with fresh or candied lemon slices.
This lemon dessert is great for spring, Easter, Mother’s Day, or any summer potluck. It’s so light and refreshing, that it won’t weigh you down. The perfect treat after any meal.
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Ingredients You Will Need
This four-ingredient lemon refrigerator cake is so easy to make, a child could do it. Here’s what you need to make it:
- Lemon Instant Pudding Mix: Not the cook and serve kind. Instant pudding and pie filling is what you want because it thickens almost instantly with the addition of cold liquid. No cooking required.
- Milk: I prefer to use whole milk for an extra creamy filling and thick consistency – although 2%, 1% or skim milk will work too.
- Whipped Topping: aka Cool Whip, thawed. Both original and light whipped topping works. Or you can double my recipe for homemade stabilized whipped cream, if you’d prefer that instead.
- Graham Crackers: The moisture from the lemon filling absorbs into the graham crackers to soften and make it cake-like. You will use almost 1 whole box of graham crackers, or 3 sleeves, with very little leftover.
How to Make Lemon Icebox Cake
- Make the Filling – In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon instant pudding mix and milk until combined and thickened. Add one 8oz tub of whipped topping, and fold together with the lemon pudding.
- Layer the Graham Crackers – Cover the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking them up as needed to cover the bottom of the dish. (About 1 sleeve or 9 crackers.)
- Spread the Filling – Dollop then spread half of the lemon pudding mixture into an even layer over the graham crackers.
- Repeat with another layer of graham crackers, and the remaining pudding mixture.
- Add the Final Layers – Top with a final layer of graham crackers. Dollop then spread the remaining 8oz tub of whipped topping evenly over the crackers. You can smooth it over or make this easy bakery swirl.
- Chill the Dessert – Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
Serving and Storing
- This lemon icebox dessert is easiest to cut when the graham crackers have softened sufficiently. Give it a full 4 hours or more before being tempted to cut into it.
- Rinse and dry the knife between cuts for clean slices. Cut into 3 rows by 5 rows for 15 servings. Top with lemon slices, if desired.
- TO STORE: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- TO FREEZE: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving. Icebox lemon cake is actually delicious slightly frozen, so it really doesn’t even have to thaw completely before you start eating it.
Recipe Notes
- More Lemon Flavor: While this no bake lemon pudding cake is light and refreshing, it’s not tangy like some of my other lemon desserts. To amp up the lemon flavor, swap 1/2 cup of the milk with 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice. (Not the bottled kind.)
- Chill Time: It’s important to allow the lemon icebox cake time to chill sufficiently before serving. This will help the dessert hold its shape, and it will also help the graham crackers absorb the moisture from the filling so it will soften into “cake.”
Substitutions and Variations
- Crackers – Try shortbread cookies or vanilla wafers instead of graham crackers.
- Pudding – You can use vanilla, coconut, cheesecake, banana, or any other flavor of pudding mix to switch things up. Just make sure it’s instant pudding and not the cook and serve variety.
- No Cool Whip – Make homemade stabilized whipped cream instead. You will want to double this recipe, or make two batches.
- Smaller Cake – You can cut this recipe in half and make it in an 8×8-inch dish.
FAQs
Why is it called an icebox cake?
In the 1920s, ice boxes were used before the modern-day refrigerator. The no-bake cake is layered and then chilled in an icebox, or refrigerator, before serving. This is why the dessert came to be known as an icebox cake.
How long does an icebox cake need to be refrigerated?
The longer the better. Icebox cakes need a minimum of 4 hours to overnight to set up, and for the crackers to absorb and soften.
How long does icebox cake last?
An icebox cake will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days, or you can freeze it for up to 1 month.
More No Bake Desserts
Lemon Icebox Cake
This light and creamy no-bake lemon icebox cake is easy to make with layers of graham crackers, lemon pudding, and whipped topping. Everyone loves it!
Yields servings
Ingredients
- 6.8 oz (192 g) lemon instant pudding mix, (2 small 3.4oz boxes)
- 3 cups (710 ml) whole milk
- 16 oz (452 g) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided (two 8oz tubs)
- 14.4 oz (408 g) graham crackers, (1 box/3 sleeves)
- fresh lemons, optional for decoration
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon instant pudding mix and milk until combined and thickened. Add one 8oz tub of whipped topping, and fold together with the lemon pudding.
- Cover the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking them up as needed to cover the bottom of the dish. (About 1 sleeve or 9 crackers.)
- Dollop then spread half of the lemon pudding mixture into an even layer over the graham crackers.
- Repeat with another layer of graham crackers, and the remaining pudding mixture.
- Top with a final layer of graham crackers. Dollop then spread the remaining 8oz tub of whipped topping evenly over the crackers. You can smooth it over or make this easy bakery swirl. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the dessert into 15 pieces (3 rows by 5 rows). Rinse and dry the knife between cuts for clean slices. Top with lemon slices, if desired.
Notes
- TO STORE: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- TO FREEZE: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving. Icebox lemon cake is actually delicious slightly frozen, so it really doesn’t even have to thaw completely before you start eating it.
- More Lemon Flavor: To amp up the lemon flavor, swap ½ cup of the milk with ½ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice. (Not the bottled kind.)
- No Cool Whip – Make homemade stabilized whipped cream instead. You will want to double this recipe, or make two batches.
- Smaller Cake – You can cut this recipe in half and make it in an 8×8-inch dish.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 285mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 101IU | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 1mg
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
Did you make this?
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Just wondering why you cannot use the cooked variety of lemon pudding and pie filling. Thank you.
This recipe was developed using the instant pudding mix. I did not test it with the cook and serve variety which is why it says not to use it. It’s hard to say for sure if the cook and serve pudding mix would work the same or not with the amount of milk I have listed – it may be quite a bit thicker. Plus, you’d have to let it cool completely to even be able to use it. I would stick with the recipe as-is. It’s quick and easy, plus it’s already cold, so the layers will set up faster.