This Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream Pie is an easy summer dessert the whole family will love! It’s wonderfully fruity, refreshingly tangy, and simple to throw together using just a few ingredients!
This Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream Pie—which my husband has called “ridiculously good” and my father-in-law has declared “seriously delicious” and my son has dubbed “harmphbsdfkjsldrooooool”—has its roots in a quick and easy dessert my mom used to make when I was growing up.
Believe it or not, I didn’t grow up in a big dessert-eating family. I’m the oldest, and when I was growing up, my parents were trying this crazy thing called “healthy eating” that involved a lot of vegetables (and a lot of me pouting at the dinner table) and a distinct lack of after-dinner treats. Of course, by the time my youngest brother came around, it was all Fruity Pebbles for breakfast and brownies every night for dessert, but that’s another rant for another time.
For now, all you need to know is that desserts were for special occasions, and little sugar-obsessed Baby Liz remembered every sweet bite with a mind like a steel trap.
One of my favorite things my mom made was a thrown-together dessert consisting of vanilla ice cream, graham crackers, frozen lemonade concentrate, and Cool Whip. (Is there a real name for this recipe? Leave me a comment and tell me if you know a name for this!)
She would crush up the graham crackers and put a layer of crumbs on the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan, then mix together softened ice cream, defrosted lemonade concentrate, and whipped topping, and spread it on top. Before freezing the whole dish, she’d add another layer of graham crackers on top. Once it was completely frozen, we’d eat square slices for dessert. It was tangy and refreshing, and somehow so much better than the sum of its parts. I remember LOVING it on hot summer days, and was always so excited whenever I saw a pan of this in the freezer.
Strawberries and lemons are already a match made in heaven, and when you combine the creaminess of strawberry ice cream with the tart bite of condensed pink lemonade, you have one heck of a refreshing, sweet-tangy dessert. If you have strawberries to spare after making this pie, take a look at my collection of strawberry dessert ideas!
I tried making this with both freshly whipped cream and Cool Whip, and I preferred the freshly whipped cream version. It just blended so nicely into the ice cream and gave the final dessert a really nice texture that was firm enough to cut cleanly, but not icy or hard. But you can substitute one for the other in equal amounts, so use whichever you’d prefer!
And, if you want to get really fancy, try serving this delicious treat with my Love Potion Valentine’s Day Drink!
My final change in classing up this dessert was to use a fluted deep-dish tart pan to make it a pie, rather than serving it in slabs from a rectangular pan. You can do it either way, but it’s not much more work to make a graham cracker crust, plus then you can feel fancy when you whip out a whole pie at the end of a meal. No one needs to know it’s just something you threw together from the contents of your freezer! A quick swirl of whipped cream and some freshly sliced berries on top will give you all the gourmet gold stars you could ever desire. And, speaking of gold stars don’t forget to try my beloved Key Lime Pie, Pistachio Pie with Lemon Whipped Cream and Grapefruit Meringue Pie! They are sure to please a crowd.
More Fun Frozen Desserts
Lemon Sour Cherry Ice Cream
No-Churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream Pie
Ingredients
For the pie filling:
- 7 oz unsalted butter
- 9 oz graham cracker crumbs, (2 ½ cups)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 quart strawberry ice cream
- 8 oz pink lemonade concentrate, defrosted
- 2 cups whipped cream, freshly whipped, or can sub whipped topping
For decoration:
- Whipped cream
- Fresh strawberries
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray a 10-inch deep-dish tart pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the butter in a large bowl, and microwave for 45-60 seconds, until melted. Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar to the melted butter, and stir until everything is well-mixed and the crumbs have the texture of wet sand.
- Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the tart shell. Press firmly so the shell is stable. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes, until the graham crumbs are fragrant and the shell just starts to take on a golden color. Cool completely before filling.
For the Filling
- Take the ice cream out of the freezer, and let it sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes, until softened. It should be soft and easy to stir, but not completely melted and liquid.
- Combine the softened ice cream, defrosted pink lemonade concentrate, and whipped topping in a large bowl. Stir until everything is well-mixed and no lumps of ice cream remain.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into the tart shell, and smooth it into an even layer. Freeze for at least 2 hours, until firm.
- Before serving, top the pie with whipped cream rosettes and slices of fresh strawberries. For the best taste and texture, let the pie sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving—it will be easier to slice through and tastes better when the texture has softened a bit.
- Any leftovers can be wrapped well in plastic wrap and kept in the freezer.
Recipe Notes
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Hi Elizabeth,
Made this for a get together with some friends and we all just loved it! My only disappointment was when I cut the pie after taking it out of the freezer and letting it rest for `15 minutes the bottom crust was so hard. I know it was frozen, but should I have put more of the cracker crumbs on the side and left the bottom a bit thinner? Great tasking and simple to make. Thanks Jan
Hey Jan, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! It does sound like it should have been thinner. Next time I would suggest making those adjustments according to the size of the pan. I do hope you try it again and let me know how it goes! Thanks for your feedback!
Just an update. I made this pie for the second time (review is down below) I had a problem with the crust. I took your advise and made the bottom thinner and turned out perfect. I had to substitute the pink lemonade with red raspberry lemonade and it tasted wonderful. Jan
Hey Janice, That does sound wonderful! I am so glad to hear it worked out so well, thank you for your feedback!
I didn’t want to make a whole pie, as we only needed 4 desserts, and didn’t want the temptation of dessert sitting in the freezer. So, I decided to make this as individual servings, like a parfait. I crumbled the graham crackers, put butter in a skillet and “toasted” the crumbs a little, then layered in a parfait glass the graham crackers, ice cream filling, more graham crackers and topped with homemade whipped cream. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Lynn! That’s brilliant! I love the way you modified this. Way to go!