You Can Make This Creamy Old School Pie With A Pouch Of Kool Aid

Summer is the time when no-bake desserts can truly shine: You can keep that oven turned off and prep work to a minimum. Plus, as is the case with Kool-Aid pie (or these other vintage no-bake desserts), they may be served alongside a dose of nostalgia and with a refreshingly light and creamy texture. The common consensus seems to be that Kool-Aid pie originated in the 1970s — roughly 50 years after Edwin Perkins invented Kool-Aid in Hastings, Nebraska, and at least four years after Cool Whip first hit shelves in 1966. Many social media users recall making this unique pie with their grandmothers back in the day, and some have carried on the tradition themselves. After all, it's only three ingredients (plus a pre-made pie crust), so what's not to love?

To make Kool-Aid pie, all you need to do is blend a packet of Kool-Aid powder into a can of sweetened condensed milk. Fold in a tub of Cool Whip, and place the resulting mixture into a graham cracker crust. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before slicing and serving. It couldn't be easier — and with so many flavors of Kool-Aid to choose from (22, as of June 2025), the pie is extremely customizable. While Kool-Aid, sweetened condensed milk, and whipped cream are the required ingredients, some bakers may add citrus zest and juice to their Kool-Aid creations. And of course, you can garnish the pie with additional swirls of whipped cream and fruit.

Kool-Aid pie is very similar to some other no-bake desserts, such as no-bake cheesecake (sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, and a graham cracker crust) and Jell-O pie (Jell-O powder, water, whipped cream, and graham cracker crust). Although both are made using brightly-colored sugar powder, the Kool-Aid pie is a probably better bet than the Jell-O pie if you really want a whipped, fluffy texture, as it lacks gelatin.

There is quite a bit of overlap between Kool-Aid and Jell-O flavors (both are owned by Kraft Heinz), but Kool-Aid has several lemonade varieties that might be particularly delicious in a pie. These include classic lemonade, pink lemonade, strawberry lemonade, and even blue raspberry lemonade. Strawberry-kiwi is another summery-sounding Kool-Aid powder flavor that doesn't seem to be available as a powdered Jell-O at the moment. And don't shy away from goofy-sounding flavors like Sharkleberry Fin, which is really strawberry-orange, especially if you're making this dessert during Shark Week. Garnish it with a few gummy sharks!

Finally, a fair warning to all you artificial grape lovers: When social media personality and vintage foodie B. Dylan Hollis made a Kool-Aid pie using grape-flavored Kool-Aid, the mixture was a very unappetizing gray color for a bit. But by the time the pie was chilled and ready to be eaten, the purple hue had come forward, and it looked just fine. So if your pie goes through an "ugly phase," don't despair. It should all come out alright in the end.