No-Bake Frozen Margarita Pie

BySamantha Skaggs August 19, 2022

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

No-Bake Frozen Margarita Pie is cool and creamy, with a salty-sweet pretzel crust and a frosty filling flavored with fresh lime juice, tequila, and triple sec! Or substitute extra-lime juice for an alcohol-free version!

No-Bake Frozen Margarita Pie with text overlay.

The heat this summer has been a doozy, and while relief is on the horizon, we're not quite there yet. So before it's time to move onto pumpkin, it seems like an appropriate time to reshare a recipe that I make each summer (right around the time I get my annual urge to move to Colorado)...Frozen Margarita Pie! Because who needs a cocktail when you can enjoy a frosty piece of spiked pie instead? 😉

Frozen Margarita Pie on table with pretzels and limes.

The first time I ever made dinner for my then-boyfriend/now-husband back in '01, I cooked my famous King Ranch Chicken Casserole with a side of Slow Cooker Charro Beans and culminated the meal with this pie for dessert. It was a huge hit that night... and every time I've made it since, it continues to get rave reviews. In fact, the pretzel crust component is so yummy that I've lent it to other pie recipes on several occasions.

Alcohol-Free Version

I used to always make this Frozen Margarita Pie with the tequila and triple sec included, while whipping up a second dessert option for my kids. But a few years ago, I decided to increase the lime juice a bit and leave out the liquor to see if a family-friendly version of this recipe would work.

Sure enough, it did...and the kids loved it! In fact, my eldest enjoyed it so much that he requested it for his big birthday bash that year. Margarita Pie to celebrate turning 9? Why not! Just tell your friends your mom made you Frozen *Lime* Pie, m'kay?

Aerial view of Frozen Margarita Pie with slice cut.

Ingredients

For the Crust:

Salted pretzels. Finely crush 'em in a food processor or in a sealed bag, using a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat mallet. You can use any shape of pretzels so long as they weigh a total of 5 ounces.
Granulated sugar.
Butter. Melted. I typcially use unsalted butter, since the pretzels are already salty, but salted would work as well.

For the Margarita Pie Filling:

Heavy cream.
Sweetened condensed milk.
Fresh-squeezed lime juice. An all-natural bottled lime juice is also fine, but try to make sure the only ingredient is 100% lime juice.
Lime zest. I love using my trusty Microplane grater for this.
Tequila + triple sec. To put the "margarita" in your Frozen Margarita Pie! 😉 Or make your pie alcohol-free, as mentioned in the previous section, by increasing the lime juice in place of the liquor.

No-Bake Frozen Margarita Pie on plate and in pan.

How to Make Frozen Margarita Pie

Aside from its cooling effects and obvious deliciousness, the other thing you'll love about this Frozen Margarita Pie is how easy it is to make. No need to roll out a pie crust! No need to turn on the oven and further stress the A/C on a hot summer day!

Combine the pretzel crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until well-combined (I actually like to use a food processor to make this step totally effortless). Press mixture into a glass pie plate.

Bowl of ingredients to make pretzel crust.

Whip some heavy cream until soft peaks form.
In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining filling ingredients until well combined.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the filling mixture until just incorporated.

Combining filling ingredients in a bowl.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust, spread to the edges, and sprinkle with additional lime zest, if desired.

Garnishing the top of the Margarita Pie with lime zest.

Freeze, uncovered, for at least six hours. Cover with plastic wrap and re-freeze until ready to serve.

Aerial view of Frozen Margarita Pie in pan, on plate, an d with pretzels and limes scattered around.

And then prepare yourself for frozen dessert bliss!

Close-up of side of slice of No-Bake Frozen Margarita Pie.

Slicing Your Pie

I feel the need to warn you that you may as well consider the first slice of this pie to be sacrificial. In other words, there's no easy way to remove it from the dish without the pretzel crust breaking into frozen fractals all around.

But that's okay...simply remove the ugly slice (and take one for the team by quickly eating it before anyone realizes that it even existed). The next slice will come out much more cleanly since you'll have the empty space from the now-missing first slice in which to maneuver your knife and/or pie server.

Just be sure to let your pie thaw at room temperature for about ten minutes before carefully slicing with a sharp knife, ensuring that you press through all the way to the bottom of the dish.

Aerial view of Frozen Margarita Pie slice on plate.

Frozen Margarita Pie would be the perfect dessert to cap off your favorite Mexican or Tex-Mex meal.

But honestly, it would be good after just about any meal...or, you know, in the middle of a sweltering summer day when your stir-crazy offspring are driving you crazy.

Your call... 😉

Aerial view of Frozen Margarita Pie in pan, sliced on plate, plus ingredients on table.

More Frosty, Boozy Treats