This No Bake Cranberry Orange Cream Pie is sweet, creamy, and perfectly dreamy. An easy cranberry orange sauce is swirled with an orange cream filling and topped with homemade orange whipped cream. This no bake holiday dessert frees up the oven space while still being full of fall and winter flavors.
I love cranberry and orange together, and this No Bake Cranberry Orange Cream Pie might be my newest favorite Thanksgiving dessert!
It’s sweet, citrusy and light as air. Basically, it’s perfect.
Thanksgiving.
T-minus 4 days and counting to the big day.
If you’re anything like me, you know almost exactly the entire menu, but are still trying to nail down the dessert portion…
…because there are so many pies and far too few people to eat them all.
I love all Thanksgiving foods (minus green bean casserole—that mushy side is one I can’t get behind), but the desserts are, hands down, the best part (next to my mom’s stuffing recipe).
Considering I blog mostly about desserts, the idea that Thanksgiving desserts are my favorite part should probably come as no big surprise to any of you. Perhaps to you, deciding what desserts to make is no big deal. Or maybe you delegate that duty to another family member.
But to me? The decision is agonizing (in a completely unimportant-it-doesn’t-really-matter-first-world-problem kind of way).
There are just so many things to consider.
For instance, should I go really traditional? Or Should I go a little more fun-traditional, like this Cinnamon Roll Dutch Apple Pie and this German Chocolate Pecan Pie?
Should it be something like this No Bake Cranberry Orange Cream Pie (umm, YES)? Or should it be this Cranberry Orange Cake?
Maybe it shouldn’t be pie or cake at all, and instead it should be pumpkin cheesecake with a side of maple snickerdoodles.
See what I mean? It’s a tangled web of weird and complicated running up there in my mind and I still have yet to come to a final decision.
While I can’t tell you all the desserts that will make the cut this year, I can tell you that this No Bake Cranberry Orange Cream Pie will most definitely be making an appearance on the table.
Why? Ohh, I’ve got some reasons.
- Flavor. I adore cranberry and orange together and this creamy no bake pie totally complements those flavors. Between the graham cracker crust, the cranberry filling and the orange whipped cream, the flavors stand out and blend perfectly all at once.
- It’s a no bake pie, and when it comes to preparing a meal as large and complicated as Thanksgiving dinner, oven space is at a premium.
- Along those no bake lines, this orange cranberry pie can be made a couple of days in advance.
- If you’re over super traditional flavors but don’t want to stray too far from the norm, this cranberry orange pie is the way to go. Cranberry and orange are classic enough flavors to satisfy the traditionalists in your family yet unique enough to add a new spin on holiday desserts.
Tips & Tricks for this No Bake Cranberry Orange Cream Pie:
- You could potentially use leftover cranberry sauce for this pie. The homemade cranberry pie filling is a very similar recipe to a homemade cranberry sauce, so in theory, you could use about 1/2 cup of leftover cranberry sauce in place of the cranberry filling I use here. I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work.
- Use fresh orange in this recipe. For the flavors to really work in this recipe, you need fresh orange zest and fresh orange juice.
- This orange cranberry pie calls for a graham cracker crust. I opted for regular honey graham crackers, but I’m sure cinnamon graham crackers would work great here as well.
All the heart eyes for this pie.
- 14 graham cracker sheets (or 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- orange zest, if desired
- sugared cranberries, if desired
- candied orange peels, if desired
- In a food processor, pulse graham cracker sheets until they are crumbs. Add in sugar, vanilla extract and melted butter and mix until well combined.
- Press graham cracker crust into a deep dish 9” pie plate. Set aside.
- In a small or medium sized saucepan, bring cranberries and orange juice to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to med-low.
- Mix the cranberries with orange zest, sugar and vanilla extract. Allow to simmer 6-7 minutes, or until the cranberries have cooked down and the mixture has thickened. Allow to cool.
- With a hand mixer or a standing mixer, whip heavy cream until it begins to thicken. Add in fresh orange juice, zest, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Continue whipping until stiff peaks begin to form. Set aside.
- Mix cream cheese and cranberry filling together until well combined. Fold half of the orange whipped cream into the cranberry filling, gently mixing until combined.
- Spread the cranberry filling over the graham cracker crust. Spread the remaining orange whipped cream over the top.
- Chill cranberry orange pie for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- If desired, top with more orange zest, candied orange peels, sugared cranberries, if desired.
- Enjoy!
Patty Pugh says
Would cool whip work instead of home made whip cream? I’m kinda of strapped for time.
Michelle says
Hi Patty! I haven’t tried it with cool whip, but I do think it would work!
Jamila says
Its very hard for me to find fresh cranberries, because i live in the netherland, can i just use frozen?
Michelle says
Hi Jamila! I haven’t used frozen in this recipe, but I think they would work just fine. 🙂
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!