Lemon Ricotta Pie with Ritz Cracker Crust
This pie is delicious! Our Lemon Ricotta Pie with a Ritz Cracker Crust is a light and refreshing lemon pie made with ricotta cheese, eggs, lemon juice, and more! We love it served for spring holidays, like Easter and Mother’s Day. Make the cracker crust ahead if you need to. Make the pie and enjoy the next day!
If you are looking for an elegant spring-y dessert, then give our Lemon Ricotta Pie a try. It’s made in a Rizt Cracker crust, and we love it served with fresh whipped cream, with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios on top! Delish!
Lemon Ricotta Pie with Ritz Cracker Crust
This lemon pie recipe has a very moist ricotta cheese filling, sweetened with “sweetened condensed milk” and fresh lemon. The light crust with hints of butter and brown sugar flavors is perfect as the bottom crust under the lemon-ricotta cheese filling. Be ready to wow your guests! I would recommend that you make this pie the night before serving—the longer it sits, the more the crust and custard meld together.
Read more: Lemon Ricotta Pie with Ritz Cracker Crust
Talk about a creamy pie with perfect textured pie crust. Not too sweet–make ahead and enjoy the next day! We love this pie served with these kebabs, this salad, and this air fryer cheese bread. The perfect summer meal.
Why I love this recipe
- It’s light, springy (and summery) and perfect for holidays or special occasions, like Easter and Mother’s Day.
- Makes a great dinner party dessert.
- You can replace the lemon for lime, for Cinco de Mayo!
Gather these ingredients
Ritz Cracker Crust
- Ritz Crackers
- Unsalted butter
- Kosher salt
- Brown sugar
Lemon Ricotta Pie:
- Whole milk ricotta cheese
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Fresh lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Whipped cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Pistachios
How do you make a Lemon Ricotta Pie with Ritz Cracker Crust?
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Make the crust: In a food processor, or by hand, pulse or crush the Ritz Crackers into coarse shards, then mix in the butter, sugar,, and salt–pulsing with your processor or breaking the cubes apart with your fingers until the crackers and butter stick together when squeezed, but the texture remains rough and crumbly.
- Transfer the crust into a standard pie dish and press into the center and sides. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and browned.
- Make the filling: In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, yolks, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix until smooth and thick.
- When the crust has baked, pour in and smooth the lemon ricotta mixture. Return pie to the oven for for 18-20 minutes, or until edges are firm but center jiggles. When the edges have appeared to set, turn off the oven and prop the door open just slightly, using a heatproof spoon or spatula (or open the door as little as possible if you don’t have a heatproof spoon).
- Allow the pie to sit in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until the center no longer wiggles.
- In a small bowl, whip the cream for a few minutes until thick. Add the powdered sugar.
- Transfer the pie to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
- Serve with whipped cream and chopped pistachios!
Tips and substitutions:
- Once you open a container of ricotta cheese, it lasts 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Close the container and refrigerate it promptly.
- This pie is great up to about 5 days. The flavors settle in, the longer it sits.
- Freezing this pie definitely changes the texture. The flavors are still good though! Freeze without the whipped cream topping on top!
- Use your favorite chopped nut on top (almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, or even pecans).
- Swap out the lemons for lime (and use lime zest).
More pies you may want to try:
No Bake Margarita Pie with Ritz Cracker Crust
Oregon Marionberry Galette Recipe
Peanut Butter Pie with Oreo Crust
Get the Recipe:
Lemon Ricotta Pie with Ritz Cracker Crust
Ingredients
Pie crust:
- 5 oz Ritz Crackers
- ½ c unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1/2’’ cubes
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
Pie filling:
- ½ c whole milk ricotta
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ c lemon juice, about 2 large lemons
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 yolks
Whipped cream:
- ¾ c whipped cream
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp pistachios, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a food processor, or by hand, pulse or crush the Ritz Crackers into coarse shards, then mix in the butter, sugar,, and salt–pulsing with your processor or breaking the cubes apart with your fingers until the crackers and butter stick together when squeezed, but the texture remains rough and crumbly.
- Transfer the crust into a standard pie dish and press into the center and sides. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and browned.
- While the pie bakes, make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, yolks, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix until smooth and thick.
- When the crust has baked, pour in and smooth the lemon ricotta mixture. Return pie to the oven for for 18-20 minutes, or until edges are firm but center jiggles. When the edges have appeared to set, turn off the oven and prop the door open just slightly, using a heatproof spoon or spatula (or open the door as little as possible if you don’t have a heatproof spoon). Allow the pie to sit in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until the center no longer wiggles.
- In a small bowl, whip the cream for a few minutes until thick. Add the powdered sugar.
- Transfer the pie to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours before serving with whipped cream and chopped pistachios!
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Just put this in the oven and realized that salt is listed as an ingredient in the crust, but in the directions, it is actually added to the filling. Wish I had caught that sooner! Hopefully my crust won’t be too salty. You may want to correct that. Thanks!
You made it right! The salt is in the crust! Thanks!
Wondering where to use the condensed milk??
Yes, it’s added. Thank you! :)