Easy Jello Pie Recipe

No bake Jello pudding pie is a light and fluffy 4-ingredient pie recipe with Jello, pudding, and Cool Whip in a graham cracker crust. It's an easy dessert and perfect for Thanksgiving, Easter, and summer potlucks.

✅Jello Pie Recipe: At a Glance

• Cool and creamy icebox pie. This old fashioned Jello Cool Whip pie is the perfect light and fruity pie for spring and summer parties, and after a big holiday meal. 
• Just 4 Ingredients. Jell-O gelatin, Jell-O pudding, Cool Whip (or whipped cream), and graham cracker crust (plus water and ice cubes)
• Easy no-bake recipe. It takes minutes to mix together -- the fridge does most of the work. 
• Versatile. Easy to customize with different flavors of Jell-O and pudding. It's also delicious partially frozen.

I'm not a big fan of straight-up Jell-O. But as a dessert ingredient? Heck yeah! It adds bright, tangy flavor and structure to this Lemon Jello pie with Cool Whip, so it's soft and fluffy, but still holds its shape when sliced. 

Of course, you can swap in any flavor of Jell-O you like. I make it with strawberry Jell-O for Easter, and it's always the first dessert to go. And orange Jell-O pie tastes like a creamsicle!  

For more fruity Jell-O dessert recipes, try my fresh Strawberry Pie, Lemon Poke Cake, and creamy Orange Fluff Salad. And when only chocolate will do, here's my Chocolate Pudding Pie with Graham Cracker Crust recipe.

🥧Graham Cracker Jello Pie Ingredients

This easy lemon Jello cream pie comes together with simple ingredients you can find in any grocery store.

• Any flavor of Jell-O (I used Lemon Jell-O). Two 3 oz. boxes of Jello (4-serving size) give this easy no bake Jello pie flavor and structure. I made a lemon Jello pie here, but you can use different flavors of Jello. Strawberry, orange, peach, pineapple, blue raspberry, or cherry Jello would all be delicious!
• Jello Instant pudding, vanilla. You'll need one 3.4 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding. Or French vanilla, cheesecake, or white chocolate pudding. I find using Jello lemon pudding mix with lemon Jello tastes too artificially lemon. 
• Do not use cook-and-serve pudding -- it'll come out clumpy and weird. Even though the mixture is cooked, instant pudding gives this pie the perfect smooth consistency. Trust. 
• Cool Whip or whipped cream. One 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip makes this pie light and fluffy. If you're not into Cool Whip, Truwhip is a great alternative. For a less-sweet option, whip 1 ½ cups heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to make 3 cups of lightly sweetened whipped cream. 
• Graham cracker crust. Use a premade graham cracker crust or make your own homemade graham cracker crust, Oreo Cookie Crust, or Shortbread Cookie Crust.

🥣How to Make Lemon Jello Pudding Pie with Cool Whip

Step 1: Place the pudding mix and gelatin mix in a medium saucepan with 1 ¼ cups of water. Bring to a boil. Simmer and whisk frequently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add enough ice cubes to ½ cup of cold water to get 1 ¼ cups of ice water. Add the ice water to the pudding and gelatin mix, and stir until the ice melts.

Step 2: Pour the gelatin mixture into a heat-proof bowl.

Chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has cooled and slightly thickened. If necessary, whisk the mixture to break up any clumps of Jello.

Prefer whipped cream instead of Cool Whip? 

Whip 1 ½ cups cold heavy cream with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to stiff peaks. Fold it into the cooled jello and pudding mixture.

💡Tips for Jello and Pudding Pie

• Use Jello instant pudding (even though you're cooking it -- odd, I know). Cook-and-serve pudding will not work. I tried it. 
• For a crispier graham cracker crust, bake it for 8-10 minutes at 350 and let it cool completely before adding the lemon pie filling. As an option, brush it with an egg wash before baking to keep it from softening.
• Swap out lemon Jello for your favorite Jello flavor. No bake strawberry pie and orange Jello pie are two of our favorites.
• Place the pie in a pretty pie plate like the one in the photos to dress up the aluminum store-bought pie tin and give the bottom a little extra support.   
• Swap out the Cool Whip for fresh whipped cream in the pie filling for a creamier, silkier texture. Add fresh whipped cream on top immediately before serving to prevent weeping.  

🫐Serving Suggestions

• Creamy toppings. Cool Whip, Truwhip, and fresh whipped cream. Lemon Whipped Cream and Orange Whipped Cream are delicious!
• Fresh fruit and fruit sauces. Fresh raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries; fresh compote like my Easy Blueberry Compote, or a smooth pureed fruit sauce like this raspberry dessert sauce. 
• Nuts or coconut. Toasted sliced almonds, chopped pistachios, or coconut for crunch. 
• Citrus zest. Sprinkle the whipped cream topping with lemon, lime or orange zest for punchier citrus flavor. 
• Fruit sorbets. Serve alongside a small scoop of raspberry, strawberry, or lemon sorbet. 

🧊Storage & Freezing

• Refrigerator. Store leftover pie covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. 
• Freezer. To freeze, wrap in a double layer of plastic wrap and again in foil. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or enjoy it frozen (slightly thawed is best!). 

🕰️Make Ahead 

Jello and pudding pie is best served within 24 hours, especially for holidays or entertaining. After a day or so, the graham cracker crust begins to soften, though we happily enjoy the leftovers for up to 3-4 days.  

❓FAQs