Key Lime Pie
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Made with ordinary limes, this “Key lime” pie tastes every bit as authentic as the real deal — plus it’s easier to make.
I use Persian limes, otherwise known as ordinary supermarket limes, to make my “Key lime” pie. Unless you live in the Florida Keys, key limes are near impossible to find. Furthermore, they’re so tiny that you’d need to juice at least twenty of them for this recipe. No thank you! Ordinary limes make an exceptional Key lime pie, and they are a much better alternative to bracingly tart bottled Key lime juice. This pie tastes every bit as authentic as the real deal — plus it’s easier to make.
Similar to coconut cream pie and lemon meringue pie, key lime pie can be made with a graham cracker/cookie crust or a traditional pie crust. I always opt for a graham cracker crust because it’s quick to prepare. Plus, why fuss with finicky pie dough when a graham cracker crust tastes so good?
What You’ll Need To Make Key Lime Pie
- You’ll need 8 to 10 limes total for this recipe. Choose plump limes that give a little when you squeeze them; they will be easier to juice. You should get about 2 tablespoons of juice from each lime. Be sure to zest the limes before you squeeze the juice from them, as it’s near impossible to do afterward.
- Sweetened condensed milk is canned milk from which water has been removed, and sugar has been added. Be sure not to confuse it with evaporated milk, which is usually sold right alongside.
- With no eggs, it may be hard to believe that this pie will set, but have faith — it will.
How To Make Key Lime Pie
Step 1: Make The Crust
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Stir with a fork first, and then your hands until the mixture is well combined.
Using your fingers and the bottom of a measuring cup or glass, press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in deep-dish pie pan. The crust should be about 1/4-in thick. (Hint: do the sides first.)
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then let the crust cool a bit while you make the filling.
Step 2: Make the Filling
Begin by zesting the limes.
It’s best to use a rasp grater, which is a long, skinny tool that works well for grating hard cheeses and zesting citrus.
Juice the limes using a citrus reamer, then combine the juice with the sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, and lime zest.
Whisk to combine.
Pour the filling into the cooked graham cracker crust.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the filling is almost set.
Let the pie cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly, about 3 hours.
Step 3: Make the Topping
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or beaters), beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until medium peaks form. (Alternatively, the cream can be beaten by hand with a whisk.) Top the chilled pie with whipped cream and decorate with lime slices and zest.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
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Key Lime Pie
Made with ordinary limes, this “Key lime” pie tastes every bit as authentic as the real deal — plus it’s easier to make.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1½ cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs, from about 12 whole graham crackers
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling
- Two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (2% or whole milk)
- 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
- ¾ cup fresh lime juice
For the Topping
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
- 8 to 10 thin lime slices
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat oven to 375 °F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter; stir with a fork first, and then your hands until the mixture is well combined. Using your fingers and the bottom of a glass or dry measuring cup, press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 x 1.5-inch (deep-dish) pie pan. The crust should be about ¼-inch thick. (Tip: do the sides first.)
- Bake for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Let the crust cool on a wire rack.
For the Filling
- Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour the thick mixture into the warm graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, until the filling is almost set; it should wobble a bit. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly, about 3 hours.
For the Topping
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until medium peaks form. Top the pie with the whipped cream. Decorate with the lime zest and lime slices. Store the pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Slice the pie into wedges, wiping your knife clean between slices, and serve cold.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: You can make the crust a day ahead of time, but the filling should be added on the day of serving, otherwise the crust will get soggy.
- Note: The nutritional information was calculated using 2% Greek yogurt.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 481
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Sugar: 54 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Sodium: 183 mg
- Cholesterol: 76 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Omg. Made this on random and it came out delish!! Will use this recipe again!
We live in South Africa and some of the ingredients for some of the US recipes are different but your Key Lime Pie with digestive biscuits was so good I’m about to make it a second time, it’s a recipe to keep.
This pie is amazing! I (inherited) 2 bags of key limes and then hunted for a recipe. I will never juice that many key limes again, though the results were incredible. I substituted Vanilla flavored Greek yogurt, since I couldn’t get the plain variety at our local store. The only other change to the recipe was to add a couple drops of lime essential oil to the filling and topping, and omit the lime zest in the topping. Other than juicing the key limes, this pie was quick and easy to make. My husband loved it! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Hi Jen! Your recipes are always a big success in our house, so I’m going to try this one my husband’s birthday, which is in a couple of days. He loves Key Lime Pie & we both know that your recipes are unfailingly yummy! This will be my 1st attempt at this flavor of pie but I’m looking forward hopefully to a delicious result, as is usual with your recipes. I would like to make whatever I can as far ahead of time as possible (starting today, if possible!) Can the crust be made 2 days ahead & chilled? Would it be ok to chill the filling in the refrigerator for 24 hours or more? I would make the topping & put it all together just before the birthday dinner. Since our house will be filled with guests for several days, I am hoping to accomplish as much as possible ahead of time. (A further question — do you recommend using regular limes or actual Key limes?) Many thanks for blessing us all with your talent & expertise!
Hi Toni, Yes, it would be fine to make the crust 24 to 48 hours ahead and store them separately in the fridge. Hope everyone enjoys! 🙂
This is a decadent pie for sure! I followed the recipe as written except I put a ring of cream around the edge instead of covering the whole pie. Turns out one of our guests that we had over last night is a key lime pie connoisseur and said this pie was as good if not better than any he’s had in Florida which is where it originated. I’ll take that as a wonderful compliment! Thank you for posting this recipe!
I always come to your website first when I want to try something new and I’m never disappointed. I made this key lime pie for my Book Club and everyone loved it. I used extra lime zest, about 1 1/2 tbl in the filling and 2 tsp on top. It was delicious!
Next time, I’ll use gluten free graham crackers and my granddaughter with celiac will be able to eat it. Thank you.
My keylime pie turned out great, so much so, my husband ate two slices back to back. Best advice… be patient and let the pie set and cool as instructed. Next time I make this pie I am going to try keylime or coconut flavored greek yogurt. 🍈🥧
I’m located in Portugal and we don’t have graham crackers. Can you suggest some alternative that would be just as tasty?
Hi Katia, Do you have access to digestive biscuits? If so, those will work nicely.
I sure do! Thank you!
Amazing! So good! After I made and tried the pie as shown, I made a Mango Coulis (https://www.abakingjourney.com/easy-mango-coulis/) and spread it on top (after baking the pie), which brought the pie to a whole other level!
Made up perfectly. My family said it was the best key lime pie that they had ever had! I accidentally baked the filling for 15 minutes too long, but it came out perfectly!
My pie did not set well even though I cooked it for almost twice as long. Tasted wonderful, and looked beautiful until I cut it. Suggestions?
I’m sorry you had a problem with it! That’s really unusual for this pie; did you make any adjustments to the recipe? Were you cans of sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces each?
Can the filling be made one day ahead too and then placed in pie crust the next day?
Yep!
I made this pie for Father’s Day and it was amazing! I am making another one for a friends get together this weekend.
This is the most delicious dessert you will ever eat. Sublime!!!
Delicious!!!!! Such a wonderful recipe that I’ll be sure to save! All family who tried it couldn’t stop raving about it. Thank you for this simply amazing (and simple) recipe!
I am a rank amateur baker. This recipe made my friends and family think I am much better than I am. The recipe is amazing!! Thank you!
Another winning recipe from Jen! I have made multiple variations of this pie, including following the recipe exact, and al have turned out great! My dinner guests have raved it’s the best key lime pie they’ve eaten. My last pie variation I substituted bottled key lime juice for fresh and reduced the amount by maybe a 1/3 of a cup (just because key lime juice is quite tart), and used 3/4 cup regular whole milk Greek yogurt and a 1/4 cup of coconut chobani Greek yogurt (because it’s what I had available), and oh my goodness! Keylime slightly coconut sweetened delish! Thanks for another 5 star recipe.
I made the key lime pie; it was delicious. Is there a comparable substitute for the sweetened condensed milk? It was a lot of sweet 🙂
Hi Margaret, sorry that you found it to be too sweet! Some readers have commented that they’ve cut back on the sweetness by using a tad more lime juice and reducing the sugar a bit in the crust. Hope that helps!
Best key lime pie ever.
I made this pie last Sunday for my birthday, and my husband and son said it was the best they’d ever eaten. Our son is a pilot who, every time he sees it on a menu of a nice restaurant in a city he’s in while traveling, orders key lime pie. He said this pie is vying for first place! It was so incredibly easy to make, and that’s a plus in my book. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Divine! Your directions are perfect and so appreciated. Now I don’t need to have this delicious pie in a restaurant. Easy to put together. Presentation is lovely. Thank you so much!
Sooo delish!! People who don’t like key lime pie still love this one
Delicious. Easy to make and a big hit among the eaters
Hi Jenn. This is my favorite key lime pie recipe, and I have tried many. Thank you!
We are planning a trip to Italy in September and are having a planning dinner with our travel partners this weekend. I want to try this pie using lemons to honor the Amalfi Coast. Have you ever tried this substituting lemons? Thanks!
Hi Kathy, so glad you’ve found your favorite Key lime pie! I’ve never tried it with lemon but some other people have commented that they have and have enjoyed it. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn, I made it with lemon this past weekend for our friends. It was perfection! Just as good as the key lime, and with the lemon flavor. I will use both recipes. I used the same proportions as the key lime. Thank you for this yummy recipe, so much better than the one I have been using for years.
I live here in Reston and follow you (have your books too), but interestingly my cousin from Cleveland sent me your recipe!
Thanks for the follow-up — nice to know that you enjoyed it just as much as the lime flavor!
This recipe was one of my favorites! I’m wondering if I made these as mini pies, how long I would bake it for?
Hi Nicole, So glad you like it! For minis, the bake time is likely to be less but not sure by how much as it depends on the size of your tarts so just keep a close eye on them. Hope you enjoy!
I made this yesterday for our 4th of July party. Everyone raved! I did make a change to the whipped cream (I’m a huge fan of stabilizing whipped cream with mascarpone and I really needed to as the home I was bringing the pie to was pretty warm). I also added two extra tablespoons butter to the crust recipe but that’s just because I’m a hedonist. It would’ve been delicious without I’m sure. Anyway, the filling tasted perfect, set up beautifully, and everyone couldn’t say enough good things. I wished there had been enough to sneak a second piece because boy, was it good!!
How much mascarpone did you use? I love mascarpone & whipped cream for frosting! Thank you!
Hello,
Looking forward to making this pie…I am however sugar sensitive and not able to have sugar…can I use something else with regards to the “sweetened condensed milk”? I use real maple syrup…please let me know your thoughts…thank you!
Unfortunately, I don’t know of a good substitute for the sweetened condensed milk here — I’m sorry!
Try Xylitol. It tastes and acts like sugar. Equal measurements as well.
You might want to give this a try. It uses coconut milk and maple syrup. I plan on trying it since dairy and I are not friends.
https://cleangreensimple.com/article/condensed-milk-substitute/
Brought this to a 4th of July party – everyone raved about. My first time making key lime pie and it was very straightforward compared to other recipes I found. Definitely going to make this again and try other recipes from Jenn Segal!
I tried this recipe for the first time this weekend and everyone loved it! My friend said it was one of the best pies he had ever eaten. Will do it again!
This pie is SO GOOD! I made two of them for a Beach Bash we had this past weekend. WOW! It was so easy and it was the hit of the party. I didn’t read the part about making the pie part the day of the event until it was too late. LOL And I had already prepared the pie to serve the next day. It mentioned that making it a day before would make for a soggy crust. Mine wasn’t soggy, maybe a little moist but still had a crunch and was delicious! Everyone raved about the pie and asked for the recipe. :). THANK YOU!
I made the key lime pie for my husband on Father’s Day. I followed your recipe, except I used key lime Greek yogurt and added just a touch of vanilla flavoring to the filling. The pie came out perfect. My husband and friends loved it. Thank you!
I made this per the recipe. It was very good, but seemed a bit too sweet for me. Is there a modification that would make it a bit less sweet?
Hi Patty, some readers have commented that they have cut back on the sweetness by using a tad more lime juice and reducing the sugar a bit in the crust. Hope that helps!
I didn’t even think I liked key lime until I made this for Father’s Day. We used our own crust recipe, so no comments there—but the filling texture and flavor is to die for. This is the real deal you guys.
We could only find actual key limes, and juicing and zesting that many little guys is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. Can’t wait to try it the easy way, we’re thrilled at how trivial the rest is.
I have tried tons of recipes for Key Lime Pie like my husband had as a teenager. Finally, I don’t have to try any more. It is perfect.
Made this pie for Father’s day! We had Church in the morning so I made it the night before. The crust was perfect, not soggy at all! Family is full of food critics — they mainly enjoyed it. However, some thought it would be best without the cream on top… I thought it was amazing as is!
Love this recipe! Only change I’d make is to add more butter to rhe crust. First attempt following rhe recipe exactly was super dry and crumbly. The filling is absolutely delicious. My husband has requested this pie now twice since I found your recipe last week! Def a keeper!
Hi Jenn,
Love this pie. Have made it twice and both times the crust doesn’t hold its shape. It basically crumbles. What would solve this problem? More butter?
Thanks,
Phyllis
Hi Phyllis, The crust is a little crumbly by nature, but it should hold together. Adding more butter should help. 🙂
Love love love this recipe! Have made it successfully many times. Most recently made it with a bargain sweetened condensed milk and it was so watery that it soaked the crust. Lesson learned! Thought I’d pass it along.
Made this for my husbands birthday, as his favorite is key lime, and it was as a HIT. perfectly balanced with sweet and tart. also such a simple to follow recipe, my 6 year old easily assisted.
This is OMG sooo good. Nice and lite and the crust was crispy… just delicious.
I tried this recipe and LOVED it. I was wondering if you thought there might be a way to make theis into a key lime pie in a jar…even though its a baked recipe. I really like how this recipe uses greek yogurt. Thoughts?
Glad you liked it! I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s a way to adapt it to a jar. I think you’d have the best luck using a recipe that’s specifically intended for that.
Everyone loves it! And it’s easy to make (well I spent more time decorating the cake)
I used biscoff as the base and skipped the sugar. You have to add extra butter to compensate for that.
Amazing and very easy to make. Perfect mid-day summer alternative to ice cream. I am no cook, but I like cooking when the time and mood are right. Made this for my mom – she loved it! It’s not too sweet and very fragrant. Followed the recipe except that I only had 3 limes on my hands and had to add some bottled lime juice (Badia) to get 3/4 cup. Came out perfect. Thank you so much, Jenn!
This is the best key lime pie I’ve made! I used nonfat Greek yogurt and it was amazing!
Thank you for the recipe 😊
Hello, I made this last weekend for some friends and It was fantastic. Copied the recipe for her. I’m on my 2nd try just for us. Thanks so much! We love it!
I made this for my son’s birthday and it will definitely be a repeat. Wow! Not difficult and SO delicious. Thank you for another winner!
I love this pie and I made it so quickly. My family loved it too, even my mom who doesn’t like lime but I also made it in lemon and we still loved it. This is a great recipe
I’ve made this recipe several times now, and it is freaking awesome. The first time I made it, on a whim I put the excess filling in the freezer and oh my god, it is soooo good. It sets up in the freezer kinda halfway between an ice cream and a sorbet. I then immediately cut up and froze the whole pie. I like it better frozen. Since then I’ve played around with the recipe a bit. I add more zest, because I like it zingy. I’ve also frozen the filling, and then used graham crackers to make little ice cream sandwiches. (If you try this I recommend you plan on making only as many as you can eat within a day or two, the graham crackers start to get soggy after that).
Overall a super simple, fun recipe!
I used coconut condensed milk instead of regular condensed milk and it still came out lovely. Also made a gluten-free crust from oats, so the recipe can be successfully adjusted for intolerances. This is a keeper!
Best. Pie. Ever. And I’m lactose intolerant – which says something.
I made this recipe yesterday with a ready made graham cracker crust and I used lime flavoured Greek yogurt. It was delicious!
Just take Lactaid and enjoy all the dairy you want! That’s what I do. 🙂
this is my go to key lime pie!!! I follow the exact instructions and it is awesome!!!!!
used the Nellie & Joe’s lime juice. Everyone thought it was fabulous, best they had ever had! thanks for sharing the recipe
This was amazing, I live in South Florida so I was able to use key limes, and it definitely made a difference. Quick and easy, everyone loved it! Thank you so much.