This is a wonderfully easy, no-bake strawberry dessert, similar to an icebox pie. It has a graham cracker crumb crust, a layer of strawberry sauce, and condensed milk in the filling. You can have it frozen for a month or more, so it's perfect to plan ahead.
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It's sweet, fresh, and creamy
This frozen dessert is made for Summer eating with its buttery graham crust and cream cheese filling.
- Easy-to-make pie shell: a simple graham cracker crust is used that takes 10 minutes to put together and can be made ahead.
- Great strawberry flavor: there's a lot of it with the strawberry sauce on the bottom and the strawberry puree swirled into the creamy filling.
- Most effortless filling ever: mix cream cheese with condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. And that's it. No need for gelatin or whipped cream.
- Plan ahead: it lasts a month in the freezer, so you can have one frozen and not worry about dessert for your next gathering. Or when the craving hits!
- Year-round dessert recipe: if you use frozen berries or purchased strawberry pie filling, this is a fruit pie you can make any time you want.
But differs from our other favorite no-bake desserts, the passionfruit swirl cheesecake, as it doesn't use heavy cream.
It only needs a few chopped strawberries on top to serve. No need to have ice cream or whipped cream ready. That would be redundant.
Summertime always calls for a new fruit pie, and strawberry ones are a staple here. From the popular strawberry pie with jello to my grandmother's strawberry cream pie, we love them and make them often despite the hot weather.
Ingredient list
- Graham crackers. I'm sure you have your favorite type, so use those. I use the original or honey graham crackers. You can avoid a homemade crust and use a premade graham cracker crust from the grocery store.
- Unsalted butter.
- Strawberries: I always use fresh strawberries when available. They're used for the first layer, the swirl, and to serve this pie. But you can use frozen strawberries to make the homemade strawberry sauce or pie filling in this recipe. Or even use a store-bought filling that you like.
- Sugar: white granulated sugar is used for the sauce and the puree. Brown sugar is used for the crumb crust.
- Cornstarch: it's used to thicken the sauce that makes the first layer of this pie.
- Lemon juice: fresh is always better than bottled.
- Sweetened condensed milk: it's a must ingredient and can't be substituted. Use the regular type, not unsweetened or evaporated milk.
- Cream cheese: regular, full-fat cheese is needed for the right consistency and richness.
- Vanilla extract.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Assembling this no-bake strawberry pie
There are three parts to this strawberry graham cracker pie:
- Crumb crust: we always use our homemade graham cracker pie crust recipe, but you can cut corners and buy one.
- Creamy filling: it's a lemon-flavored no-bake cheesecake filling with condensed milk and a swirl of fresh strawberry puree.
Step 1
The bulk of the strawberry flavor comes from this part. We make a simple strawberry topping or sauce and spread a thick layer on the bottom of the pie shell.
No-bake cream cheese filling
Filling
Condensed milk is used as the sweetener and mixed with the cream cheese. The result is smooth and silky.
Top layer
Be careful when spreading the filling on top of the strawberry layer, so you have distinctive layers.
Strawberry swirl
How much should you mix the strawberry puree? Not too much, so the swirl stands out on its own.
What type of utensil should you use? The tip of a knife is the best way to lightly swirl this fruit puree. You should not reach the strawberry layer with the knife.
Freezing the pie
- Wrap it: or cover it. I like to use plastic wrap and then aluminum foil after the initial few hours that allow the filling to solidify so the wrapping doesn't cling to it.
- Label it: so you know what it is and the date you froze it.
- How long does it keep: it keeps well for a month, maybe a few weeks more. After that, it starts to have some freezer burn, in my experience. The flavor is not as sharp.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Strawberries: fresh strawberries are always my favorite, and homemade strawberry sauce is highly encouraged. But this pie is meant to be easy, so you can use purchased pie filling.
- Strawberry swirl: it's made by pureeing part of the strawberry sauce, but you can also use homemade strawberry puree if you happen to have some. And you can also omit it and simply use the total amount of sauce for the bottom layer of this pie.
- Storing this strawberry dessert: this pie is not meant to be kept in the refrigerator because the strawberry juice from the sauce will eventually seep into the crust, and you'll have a soggy bottom.
- Serving a frozen pie: take it out 10-15 minutes before serving so you serve it cold, but it has softened a tad so it's easier to cut. That said, some people in my family eat it almost at room temperature if the pie has been at the table for a while, but I find it lacking in structure, a little soggy, and too soft to cut.
- Variation: substitute the strawberries for other berries, such as blueberries or raspberries. Or a mix.
Related recipes you might like:
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Frozen Strawberry Pie
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This is a wonderfully easy, no-bake strawberry dessert, similar to an icebox pie. It has a graham cracker crumb crust, a layer of strawberry sauce, and condensed milk in the filling. You can have it frozen for a month or more, so it's perfect to plan ahead.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 can, 14oz of condensed milk
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the strawberry sauce:
- 1 pound strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons water, divided
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Fresh strawberries, to serve
Instructions
For the strawberry layer:
- Wash, hull, and cut the strawberries into pieces.
- Put half a pound of strawberry pieces in a medium saucepan and add ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook until it breaks into a boil and foams, stirring occasionally.
- Dissolve 1 teaspoon cornstarch in the remaining 2 tablespoons water and add to the strawberries in a thin stream. Stir constantly and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and add the remaining half pound of strawberries. Mix and let cool.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to a week in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid or other types of airtight container. It can also be frozen for a month and thawed at room temperature.
For the strawberry swirl:
- Place ¼ cup of the strawberry sauce (above) in a small bowl and process it until completely smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender or other appliance to puree it, you can omit the swirl and use the whole amount of sauce for the bottom layer.
For the crumb crust:
- You can make a no-bake crust or bake it for 10 minutes (it will make it firmer).
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C) if choosing to bake it.
- Have ready a 9-inch round pie dish (pie plate).
- Grind 1 and ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs in the food processor. Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar and pulse once or twice to mix.
- Drizzle ½ cup melted butter over the crumb mixture and pulse until combined and no dry spots remain. It will look like wet sand. Or transfer the crumbs to a medium mixing bowl, add the brown sugar and mix it with a spoon until it is well combined. Add the melted butter and mix with a spoon or spatula until the mixture looks like wet sand.
- Put this mixture in the prepared pie pan and press firmly onto the sides and bottom. I recommend you start with the sides and make sure the angle where the side meets the base is firm.
- Refrigerate or freeze until ready to fill OR bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack while making the filling.
For the cream cheese filling:
- Mix 8 oz cream cheese in a large bowl until very smooth and no lumps remain. It's easier if you use a handheld mixer but you can do with a hand whisk.
- Gradually add the 1 can condensed milk and mix until well incorporated. Scrape the sides a few times with a rubber spatula.
- Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice and mix. The batter will instantly stiffen and thicken.
- Add ½ teaspoon vanilla and mix. I use a spatula at the end to fold everything and make sure it's all one well-integrated mixture.
To assemble:
- Spread the strawberry sauce on the bottom of the cold graham cracker crust.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture over the strawberries and spread it carefully to cover them completely.
- Add dollops of the pureed strawberry sauce on top and lightly swirl it a few times with the tip of the knife.
- Freeze the pie until firm, about 3 hours, but it will depend on how cold your freezer is. Cover it well with plastic wrap when it's solid and you can keep it frozen for a month.
- Take out from the freezer 10-15 minutes before cutting, and serve with fresh strawberries.
- Freeze leftovers, covered.
Notes
Strawberries: fresh strawberries are always my favorite, and homemade strawberry sauce is highly encouraged. But this pie is meant to be easy, so you can use purchased strawberry pie filling.
Strawberry swirl: it's made by pureeing part of the strawberry sauce, but you can also use homemade strawberry puree if you happen to have some. You can also omit it and simply use the total amount of sauce for the bottom layer of this pie.
Storing this strawberry dessert: this pie is not meant to be kept in the refrigerator because the strawberry juice from the sauce will eventually seep into the crust, and you'll have a soggy bottom.
Serving a frozen pie: take it out 10-15 minutes before serving so you serve it cold, but it has softened a tad, so it's easier to cut. That said, some people in my family eat it almost at room temperature if the pie has been at the table for a while, but I find it lacking in structure, a little soggy, and too soft to cut.
Variation: substitute the strawberries for other berries, such as blueberries or raspberries. Or a mix.
Ingredients I use:
Cream cheese: regular, full-fat cheese is needed for consistency and richness.
Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.
Cream cheese: regular, full-fat cheese is needed for consistency and richness.
Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.
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