23 Easy Pie Recipes for Low-Pressure Dinners and Desserts
Sometimes, you have the stamina of a winning pastry chef. You challenge yourself to make gourmet Oreos, you won’t rest until that cake is perfection. These easy pie recipes are not for those times. They’re for the times when you have just enough energy to make something at home, but it had better be easy, it had better be quick, and if it isn’t absolutely delicious, the comments section had better watch out!
A few notes on the lazy cook’s guide to pie: When in doubt, opt for a press-in pie crust recipe, the most popular of which is the classic graham cracker crust. If you go with a premade pastry pie shell, note that some are better than others (find our favorite grocery store pie crust here). You can also use puff pastry for easy individual pies.
So save the pristine latticed blueberry pie for a day when you feel more ambitious. For now, our easiest pies are waiting just below.
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua1/23Triple Citrus Creamsicle Pie
Our first easy pie recipe is a sweet, sour, cream cheese-y, make-ahead, no-bake pie that requires about 30 minutes of prep time. As for the rest of the job? Your refrigerator will take care of that.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk2/23Blackberry and Dried Apricot Slab Pie
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Maya Rossi3/23Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk4/23Ruffled Milk Pie With Raspberries
Working with phyllo takes a little time, sure, but it doesn’t require much finesse—and it’s certainly easier than rolling out pie dough. If you’re into it, here are two more easy phyllo pie recipes to try: Cinnamon Crunch Crinkle Pie and Guava and Goat Cheese Phyllo Pie.
Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh5/23Strawberry-Pretzel Ice Cream Pie
Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski6/23Banana Cream Pie
We take the old-school route, making the vanilla custard on the stovetop, but there’s no shame in cutting corners with instant pudding mix. This professional pastry chef does.
Photo by Laura Murray, styling by Judy Mancini7/23Tomato and Roasted Garlic Pie
This savory fruit pie—remember, the tomato is a fruit—is giving French-style lazy summer lunch vibes. Serve it with simple mixed greens tossed in our three-minute vinaigrette.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin8/23Cherry Lemonade Beach Pie
Photographs by Josephine Schiele. Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich9/23Ham and Cheese Hand Pies With Honey Mustard
Thanks to store-bought frozen puff pastry and a pie filling that consists of sliced deli ham and cheese, these hand pies—yes, hand pies are pies—are super simple to assemble.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca11/23Cheater’s Berry Crumb Pie
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Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni12/23Chocolate and Coconut Cream Pie
Though technically a no-bake dessert, this recipe does require toasting the graham cracker crust in the oven. It must be fully cooled (at least to room temperature) before pouring the pudding into it. For ease, you’ll make one base, then melt chocolate into a portion of the filling for the bottom layer.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Paola Andrea14/23Sweet Potato Pie With Marshmallow Whip
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua15/23Salted Coffee Custard Pie
16/23One-Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
Rotisserie chicken, store-bought puff pastry, and just one skillet keep this easy pie recipe from feeling too fussy—or from taking all day to make.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Alison Attenborough, Prop Styling by Summer Moore17/23Sheet-Pan Hazelnut Breakfast Tart
We realize that this is called a tart, and we realize that tarts and pies are different, but this one makes that distinction hard to discern. Some say, for example, that a tart is defined in part by its having only a bottom crust. (Ahem: Look at the photo.) So, we say this is a confused slab pie
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Christina Allen18/23Sweet Potato Pecan Pie
Alex Lau19/23BA’s Best Key Lime Pie
Follow our best Key lime pie recipe closely and you’ll end up with a custardy, cheesecake-like filling, a tangy whipped cream topping (thanks to a hit of Greek yogurt), and a graham cracker crust with a tropical edge.
Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski20/23Chocolate Pudding Pie
This homemade pie crust has a high-hydration dough (i.e., there’s more water), which makes it forgiving to beginners. If you’re gluten-free, here’s a store-bought pie crust mix that will make life easier.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards21/23Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie
We love an apple pie recipe that gives us lots of texture. This one has a crunchy brown sugar-and-cinnamon-spiced crumb topping to complement the buttery soft fruit and crisp crust. After that, the only other thing that could make this dessert recipe even better is a side of vanilla ice cream.
Photo by Heidi's Bridge22/23Frozen Margarita Pie
Your favorite summer drink goes sweet with this no-bake, no-cook, just whisk-and-freeze dessert. Commenters report adding a round of parchment to the bottom of the pie plate helps release the slices once frozen.
Jonathon Kambouris23/23Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie
How could we give you a list of easy pie recipes without including a pumpkin pie? We couldn’t. It’s the best pie there is. But, Would we call this our best pumpkin pie recipe ever? Probably not. Easiest? With just nine ingredients and one step, you be the judge.
