Strawberry sour cream pie has a cream cheese topping and a sweet and tart strawberry filing nested in a buttery graham cracker crust.
This summery old fashioned strawberry cream pie is made from scratch, no jello or gelatin and no pudding mix. It's a cross between strawberry custard and curd, with sour cream to make it creamy!
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This pie is reminiscent of my creamy orange pie with my trusty old brown sugar graham cracker crust. HOWEVER. I don't mix the whipped cream into the strawberry pudding mixture. Instead, it's a strawberry base layer with a lovely cream cheese whipped cream on top.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Taste: Tart strawberry filling - think strawberry curd adjacent - with the cheesecake flavored whipped topping. Swoon.
- Ease: No-bake, but several steps like blending, cooking, cooling. Mid level difficulty.
- Time: About 4-5 hours total with cooling/setting time.
📝 Ingredient Notes
- Sour Cream - full fat preferred, light or fat free have a slightly softer texture and can impact how the pie sets when chilled.
- Cream cheese - fat free or full fat should be fine.
- Strawberries - I prefer fresh in season, but you can use frozen as well.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- I wouldn't recommend just using any fruit, since some fruits are sweeter or more sour and may require more or less sugar, cornstarch, liquid, etc.
🧑🍳 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 and let it cool.
- Step 3. Use a blender to pureé the strawberries. Should make about 4 cups of liquid.
- Step 4. Add strawberry puree to a pot with sugar and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes until reduced down to about 3.5 cups. Remove from heat and stir in Tablespoon of butter.
Tip
No need to simmer or cover, make sure the heat is high. We want to boil and reduce the liquid quickly and let steam out so there's less water & more flavor!
- Step 5. While the strawberries are simmering rinse out blender and blend together eggs, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
- Step 6. Add in a few spoonfuls of the hot strawberry pureé to temper the eggs. Then add the egg/cornstarch mixture into the pot of strawberry pureé. Whisk well and heat to simmering over low/medium heat. Simmer 1 minute until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Step 7. Stir in sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. (If you want it more lemon flavored, now is a great time to stir in 2 teaspoons of lemon zest.)
- Step 8. Pour it into the pie shell (it's fine that it's hot) and cover with plastic wrap to cool. Let it cool 15-20 minutes before transferring to the fridge, and chill for 3-4 hours until fully set.
Tip
Speed up the chilling process by putting pie in the freezer (covered) for about 2 hours.
- Step 9. Make the whipped cream! Mix powdered sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla and whip with an electric mixer on medium/high speed until creamy and smooth. Add cream about 4 Tablespoons at a time and mix well in between each addition until thinned out. Then whip on high speed for 3-4 minutes until stiff peaks form and whipped cream is scoopable.
- Step 10. Scoop, spread, or pipe the whipped cream cheese topping onto the chilled pie and top with sliced strawberries and/or lemon zest.
📌 Troubleshooting
- Pie isn't set - too warm still, or too much liquid or not cooked/reduced enough.
❄️ Make Ahead, Store, Reheating Tips
You can easily make this ahead! This is the process I like to use.
- Make the crust, strawberry pudding, and whipped cream the day before, but keep them separate and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, fill the pie crust and top with whipped topping. You can serve right away or chill for 3-4 hours for more defined slices.
❓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 the strawberries produced too much liquid. Weighing them helps!
It makes it creamy, acts as a thickener (just a bit) and gives a little bit of tart flavor to the pie.
🥧 More AMAZING Pie Recipes
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📝 Printable Recipe
Strawberry Sour Cream Pie
Ingredients
For the graham cracker crust:
- 11½ graham crackers
- 7 Tablespoons salted butter
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
For the strawberry pie filling:
- 2 lb strawberries
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the cream cheese whipped cream:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Crush the graham crackers either in a blender or large zip close bag. Add melted butter and brown sugar and mix well.11½ graham crackers, 7 Tablespoons salted butter, 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 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 at 350℉ to help make sure the crust doesn't get soggy.
- Use a blender to pureé the strawberries. Should make about 4 cups (945 mL) of liquid.2 lb strawberries , ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- Add strawberry puree to a pot with sugar and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes until reduced down to about 3.5 cups. Remove from heat and stir in Tablespoon of butter.1 Tablespoon salted butter
- While the strawberries are boiling, rinse out blender and blend together eggs, cornstarch, and lemon juice.¼ cup cornstarch, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice , 3 large eggs
- Add in a few spoonfuls of the hot strawberry pureé to the egg mixture and stir temper the eggs. Add the egg/cornstarch mixture into the pot of strawberry pureé. Whisk well and heat to simmering over low/medium heat. Simmer 1-2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Stir in sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. See Note.½ cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pour it into the pie shell (it's fine that it's hot) and cover with plastic wrap to cool. Let it cool 15-20 minutes before transferring to the fridge, and chill for 3-4 hours until fully set.
- Mix powdered sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla and whip with an electric mixer for 1 minute until smooth. Then add in cream a 2-3 Tablespoons at a time and mix well in between each addition. Then whip on high speed for 3-4 minutes until stiff peaks form.½ cup powdered sugar, 4 oz cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Scoop, spread, or pipe the whipped cream cheese topping onto the chilled pie and top with sliced strawberries and/or lemon zest. 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.
Elizabeth S says
I might be missing it, but how much cream is in the whipped topping? The ingredients list just has the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla but not the cream. Is it the same as in the linked recipe for the whipped topping? I really want to make this, but I wanted to check.
Sara says
Yes! It’s the same as in the whipped topping recipe. Thank you for catching that I appreciate it!
Sara says
Easy to make a day ahead, delicious with Cool Whip on top too!