Creamy Orange Pie is a bright, citrusy no bake dessert with a orange creamsicle filling and buttery graham cracker crust. You can even freeze it!
This recipe for no bake orange pie has NO jello, is made with fresh oranges, some whipping cream, orange juice, and tastes like a more natural version of an orange creamsicle. Think orange mousse in pie form.
You could make whipped cream with cream cheese for this (I do for my strawberry sour cream pie), but I like to use either sour cream or even unflavored greek yogurt for the filling. It's delicious.
It's different than something like key lime pie, it doesn't have the same texture (this one is lighter with whipped cream mixed in instead of on top). I do use oranges and whipped cream in frog's eye salad too, they're both fun fruity summer bbq desserts or for Easter in the spring!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Taste: Creamy and cool orange creamsicle but in a pie. Real orange flavor, no fake or artificial flavors or dye.
- Ease: Making the crust, homemade orange pudding, whipped cream, then assembling everything! No baking required (unless you want to bake the brown sugar graham cracker crust), just a little stove top cooking for the pudding. You could even use a store bought crust to make it even easier.
- Time: About 5 minutes to make the crust, 10-15 minutes for the pudding (not counting chill time)
📝 Ingredient Notes
- Orange juice - I usually use store bought since oranges usually only produce about ¼ cup of juice, and I use 2 for this recipe for the zest. Fresh oranges can be a little too sweet sometimes, store bought is usually reliably tart and full of flavor which is what you need for the pie filling.
- Heavy cream - You could also use Cool Whip, just be aware that the texture may not be as firm.
- Thickeners - I use a combination of eggs and cornstarch, no gelatin needed.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- Sour cream - you can use light sour cream, cream cheese, mascarpone, or unflavored greek yogurt all work well in this recipe, just make sure the cream cheese or mascarpone is softened first.
- Use a gluten free crust for the gluten free version!
- You can substitute ¼ cup of orange juice for lemon juice if you want a more tart version. I wouldn't use all lemon juice though.
🧑🍳 Instructions
- Step 1. Make the graham cracker crust! Crush the graham crackers either in a blender or large zip close bag. Add melted butter and brown sugar and mix well.
- Step 2. Press into a 9 inch pie pan, and use a cup or bowl to help even out the bottom and make firm. If making ahead, now is the time to bake it for 10 minutes.
Tip
If making the pie ahead, baking the crust for 10 minutes helps to prevent it from getting soggy and crumbly. Just make sure it's completely cooled before putting filling into it!
- Step 3. Make the orange pudding! Start by combining the sugar and orange zest and stirring it together really well to help release the oils from the zest into the sugar.
- Step 4. Add in the orange juice, eggs, and cornstarch and blend in a blender for 20-30 seconds until smooth and there are no noticeable egg pieces left. An immersion blender makes this super easy!
- Step 5. Heat over low/medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often until the mixture thickens a LOT. We don't want it to boil, just to get to a low simmer. It will be thick, and be even more thick once cooled.
- Step 6. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool to at LEAST room temperature before adding whipped cream. Do NOT add the whipped cream while it's warm or it will melt and become runny.
- Step 7. Make whipped cream! Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and whip with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Refrigerate until orange mixture is cooled.
- Step 8. Spoon half of the whipped cream into cooled orange pudding mixture (it might need a good stir first if it's been refrigerated) and stir in thoroughly. Then add the other half of the whipped cream and gently fold in until it's all incorporated.
- Step 9. Spoon mixture into pie shell and smooth the top. Chill for 2-3 hours to set for more firm slices. (You can always serve right away if you don't mind looser slices.)
- Step 10. Serve with orange zest, slices, mandarin oranges, whipped cream, or mint leaves as a fun but beautiful garnish. Enjoy!
Tip
Make sure to mix the whipped cream into the pudding in 2 batches. Mixing in half of the whipped cream first helps to keep the mixture fluffy instead of becoming runny.
📌 Troubleshooting
- Runny Filling - it could be a few reasons.
- The orange pudding wasn't cooked long enough (the cornstarch wasn't activated)
- Orange pudding wasn't cooled enough and it melted the whipped cream.
- Whipped cream wasn't whipped to stiff peaks or got too warm.
- Sloppy slices - it wasn't quite set enough. You can flash freeze it (after chilling for a few hours) for 30 minutes or so to help with more neat edges without compromising the whipped cream.
❄️ Make Ahead, Store, and Freezing Tips
You can easily make this ahead! This is the process I like to use.
- Make the crust, orange pudding, and whipped cream the day before, but keep them separate and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, Mix the whipped cream into the cooled orange filling and fill the pie crust. You can serve right away or chill for 3-4 hours for more defined slices.
Freeze the pie at least 6 hours or overnight for a fun ice cream -like version!
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! It still needs stabilizers, and this recipe uses cornstarch and eggs.
The setting agent (cornstarch) wasn't activated properly or cooked enough, or possibly the orange filling was too hot to add the whipped cream, which can melt it.
It's also important to whip the cream to stiff peaks and refrigerate it until ready to add to the orange filling.
Yes! Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight to make a frozen version that tastes like orange creamsicle ice cream!
🐣 More Delicious Easter Desserts
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
Creamy Orange Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 11 graham crackers
- 7 Tablespoons salted butter
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
For the Pie filling:
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest 1 large orange
- 1½ cups orange juice
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¾ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- optional: orange zest, slices, or mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Crush the graham crackers either in a blender or large zip close bag. Add melted butter and brown sugar and mix well.3 Tablespoons brown sugar, 11 graham crackers , 7 Tablespoons salted butter
- Press into a 9 inch pie pan, and use a cup or bowl to press the crust down and help even out the bottom and make it firm. If making ahead, now is the time to bake it at 350 ℉ for 10 minutes. See Note 1.
- Combine the sugar and orange zest and stirring it together really well to help release the oils from the zest into the sugar.½ cup white granulated sugar , 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- Add in the orange juice, eggs, and cornstarch and blend in a blender for 20-30 seconds until smooth and there are no noticeable egg pieces left. An immersion blender makes this super easy!1½ cups orange juice , ¼ cup cornstarch, 2 large eggs
- Heat over low/medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often until the mixture thickens. It will be pretty thick, this is what we want. We don't want it to boil hard and curdle the eggs, just to barely get to the bubbling point.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the butter, sour cream, and vanilla. See Note 2. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool to at LEAST room temperature, preferably chilled before adding whipped cream, it should not be warm at all. See Note 3.½ cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- Meanwhile, make the whipped cream. In a mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes on high speed until it forms stiff peaks.Refrigerate until orange mixture cools.1¾ cups heavy whipping cream, ⅓ cup powdered sugar , ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Spoon half of the whipped cream into cooled orange pudding mixture and stir in thoroughly, then add the other half of the whipped cream and stir in until smooth and creamy. See Note 4.
- Spoon mixture into pie shell and smooth the top. Chill for 2-3 hours to set for more firm slices. (You can always serve right away if you don't mind looser slices.)
- Serve with orange zest, slices, mandarin oranges, whipped cream, or mint leaves as a fun but beautiful garnish. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Sara!
Registered Nurse by day, food blogger by weekend. Perfect dip tester & snack quester. I love short walks on the beach and long naps. Sharing my love for food, one bite at a time.
Sara says
Tasted like fresh orange cream popsicles. Husband's new favorite!