Lemon Lush

This homemade lemon lush is the best dessert lasagna. You'll love the delicious shortbread crust topped with layers of cheesecake, pudding, and Cool Whip.

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A Southern favorite, this one-pan lemon lush is so simple to make. A quick pecan shortbread crust is baked for the first layer. Then no-bake layers of light and refreshing cheesecake, creamy lemon pudding, and Cool Whip finish this perfect dessert lasagna. Cut into squares and you’re ready to serve these dreamy bars. 

If you love lemon recipes, make sure you try our lemon poke cake, white chocolate lemon truffles and these lemon sugar cookies for more sunny citrus treats. Our pumpkin delight and chocolate lasagna are two other dessert recipes that our readers love.

MORE LEMON RECIPES:
Starbucks Lemon Loaf | Lemon Lasagna

LEMON LUSH INGREDIENTS

You will need:

FOR THE CRUST

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup butter, softened
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup crushed pecans

FOR THE CHEESECAKE

• Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

FOR THE PUDDING

• Two (3.4-ounce) boxes of instant lemon pudding mix
• 3 cups milk

FOR THE FROSTING

• 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip
• Garnish with grated lemon zest

SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS

WHIPPED CREAM: If you want to make homemade whipped cream instead of using Cool Whip and you have heavy whipping cream on hand, check out our recipe here.

LIME: Replace the lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon pudding with the lime equivalent for a tangy lime version of this dessert.

CRUST: Instead of the pecan crust, you could opt to make a graham cracker crust instead.

PRO TIP: If you can’t find crushed graham crackers, you can crush them yourself by placing them into a Ziploc and crushing them with a rolling pin.

HOW TO MAKE THIS LEMON LUSH RECIPE

STEP ONE: Stir the crust ingredients together and then press by hand into a 9×13 pan sprayed with nonstick spray.

STEP TWO: Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, and let the crust cool while you work on the rest of the recipe.

PRO TIP: Make sure that your crust is completely cool before going on to your second layer. It’s important that the crust is cooled so that the following layers set properly on top of it.

STEP THREE: Cream the cream cheese and sugar together with a hand mixer. Add lemon juice and lemon peel and mix.

PRO TIP: Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature, otherwise, you will end up with lumps in your mixture.

STEP FOUR: Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled crust.

STEP FIVE: Whisk together in a medium bowl the instant pudding mix and milk until a thick yet pourable consistency.

STEP SIX: Immediately pour the pudding on top of cheesecake layer.

STEP SEVEN: Chill for at least one hour.

STEP EIGHT: Immediately pour the whipped topping on top of the lemon cream cheese layer.

STEP NINE: Chill the entire dessert in the fridge for at least one hour up to overnight.

PRO TIP: Chilling overnight will allow all the flavors to mingle and blend together even more!

STEP TEN: Before serving, spread Cool Whip on top of the lemon pudding layer and garnish with grated lemon peel.

STEP ELEVEN: Slice into bars and you’re ready to eat! 

HOW TO SERVE

This luscious lemon lasagna is an amazing layered dessert that would be perfect to share at barbecues or other summer gatherings this summer. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and our iced tea, raspberry iced tea, sweet peach iced tea, or our southern strawberry sweet tea on the side.

STORAGE

IN THE FRIDGE: If you have lemon lush leftovers, be sure to store them in the fridge in an airtight container or covered in aluminum foil.

IN THE FREEZER: You can also freeze this creamy dessert in an airtight, freezer-safe food storage container for up to three months. 

Cool and creamy, this lemon lush dessert (also called lemon delight) is a bright and sunny citrus-flavored classic sweet treat you’ll love. I hope you’ll indulge in all of the delicious layers in this fresh dessert soon! Everyone loves this simple, traditional dessert lasagna that is packed with fresh lemon flavor.

FAQ

MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

• Banana Split Cake
• No-Bake Chocolate Pudding Pie
• Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
• No-Bake Oreo Pie
• Chocolate Pudding Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Bread
• Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

Lemon Lush

5 from 2 votes

This homemade lemon lush is the best dessert lasagna. You'll love the delicious shortbread crust topped with layers of cheesecake, pudding, and Cool Whip.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 12

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Ingredients

  

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Crust

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter softened
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup pecans crushed

Cheesecake

• 16 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon peel grated

Pudding

• 6.8 ounces instant lemon pudding
• 3 cups milk

Topping

• 8 ounces Cool Whip
• lemon peel grated

Instructions

 

• Stir all the ingredients together and then press by hand into a 9×13 pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Let the crust cool.
• Cream the cream cheese and sugar together.
• Add lemon juice and lemon peel and mix.
• Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of cooled crust.
• Whisk together the pudding and milk until a thick yet pourable consistency.
• Immediately pour the pudding mixture on top of the cheesecake layer.
• Chill for at least one hour.
• Top with Cool Whip and garnish with grated lemon peel.

Nutrition

Calories: 590kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 378mg | Potassium: 200mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 1115IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 1mg

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