Lemon Icebox Cake
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An easy lemon icebox cake recipe made with just 4 simple ingredients: lemon pudding mix, milk, Cool Whip, and graham crackers. The easy no-bake dessert is perfect for hot summer days, backyard BBQs, special occasions, or as a little something sweet for the family after dinner.
This lemon cake is cool, light, and creamy. I love how it has just the right amount of lemon flavor so that it isn’t too lemony.
Like a no-bake eclair cake and strawberry icebox cake, you won’t believe how easy this lemon pudding icebox cake is to make. The hardest part is waiting the 4 hours for it to chill in the fridge.
Lemon Icebox Cake vs. Lemon Lush
I have heard this no-bake dessert called a lemon lush or lemon dream dessert. However, a lush or dream dessert typically has a cream cheese layer, unlike this recipe. I think the names lemon icebox cake, lemon icebox dessert, or no-bake lemon pudding cake are better-suited for this delicious treat.
If you love easy lemon desserts, give these 3-ingredient lemon cake mix cookies a try too. You will love them!
Ingredient Notes
This section includes ingredient notes and substitution options. Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
- Lemon instant pudding mix – Make sure you get instant lemon pudding mix and not cook and serve pudding. For a milder lemon flavor, you can use one box of lemon pudding and one box of vanilla pudding.
- Milk – Use whole milk for an extra creamy filling – although 2%, 1% or skim milk will work, too.
- Cool Whip Whipped topping – Two 8 ounce tubs or one 16 ounce tub, thawed. Cool Whip or Cool Whip Lite both work well for this recipe. Homemade stabilized whipped cream can be used as well.
- Graham crackers – You will use just about the entire box of grahams for this recipe.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- For neater slices, give the lemon dessert plenty of time to chill and wipe your knife clean after each slice.
- Be careful when covering your cake. I used the lid that came with my 9 x 13 glass casserole dish but it wasn’t high enough and left a large hole in the top layer of my cake. Now that I know better I ordered an extra deep glass baking pan to use next time I make a no-bake cake… which will probably be next week, knowing me. You could use toothpicks and plastic wrap, too.
- Make a day or two ahead and keep it refrigerated until serving. It actually gets better with time as the flavors meld together.
Variations
This easy icebox cake recipe is versatile and you can customize it to your liking. Try:
- Placing fresh berries like fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries between the layers to provide a burst of flavor and color.
- Adding a bit of vanilla extract to the pudding mixture to enhance the flavor.
- Increasing the number of layers like I did with this banana pudding icebox cake.
- Switching up the toppings- crushed vanilla wafers, graham cracker crumbs, or fresh raspberries are all great options.
Storage and Freezing
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving. Icebox lemon cake is delicious slightly frozen, so it really doesn’t even have to thaw completely before you dig in!
More easy ice box cake recipes
Or check out all of my favorite icebox cake recipes!
Lemon Icebox Cake
Ingredients
- 6.8 ounces lemon instant pudding mix (2 boxes)
- 3 cups whole milk
- 16 ounces whipped topping thawed and divided
- 14.4 ounce graham crackers (1 box)
- fresh lemons optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk instant pudding mix and milk together for 2 minutes. Fold in one container (8 ounces) of whipped topping.
- Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking as needed to cover the entire bottom of the dish. Add half of the pudding mixture and gently spread into an even layer.
- Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and then the rest of the pudding.
- Top with a final layer of graham crackers and the remaining whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
- Top with lemon slices and/or lemon zest before serving, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Originally published on 6/17/2019. Updated 6/6/2024 with new photos and a slight change to the recipe (milk was increased from 2 1/2 cups to 3 cups).
I love how light and summer this lemon icebox cake recipe is! I am going to have to grab a lemon off our tree for a garnish.
I love that I can use sugarfree ingredients for a diabetic-friendly treat.
Recipe does not specify if graham crackers are whole or crumble.
whole graham crackers 🙂
Love this recipe! Going to make this soon. Yum!
I followed your instructions and I have to say that the cake was very good and so easy to make. I used blackberries and they worked perfectly as well…next time I’ll try with raspberries
Lemon is the perfect summer dessert flavor! I love that I can make this without having to turn on the oven or stand over the stove, thank you!
The flavor of lemon in this cake is superb. And I loved how simple it was to make. The perfect cake for summer!
I took this to a potluck today at church. This was the only dessert that was completely gone at the end – and people were begging for the recipe! This is definitely a winner!!
Looks absolutely amazing and would be perfect for summer parties or even a weekend brunch. Love how easy to follow your recipe is.
Do you think it would make any difference if cooked lemon pudding (cooled) was used in place of instant?
While I haven’t tried it myself, I think that homemade pudding would work fine as well! If you do decide to give it a try, I would love to hear how it comes out 🙂