Key Lime Pie
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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)
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Amazing recipe! Thank you! It turned out perfect, wasn’t sour or sweet. Love it!
I enjoyed making this pie and my family loved it, however, it was too sweet for me. Could I cut down to just 1 can of condensed milk?
Hi Ria, sorry that you found it to be too sweet! I wouldn’t recommend using only one can of sweetened condensed milk, but 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!
Made this Key Lime Pie yesterday to take to friends for dessert. This was absolutely DELISH!!. I ended up using Nellie and Joes Key Lime juice instead of the limes in the recipe. It worked out perfectly and everyone raved about the pie. I used the zest from regular limes and decorated the pie just like the picture. This will definitely be the recipe I continue to use in the future. So YUMMY!!
Hi Jenn
I just realized i bought whole milk plain yogurt will this work or should I substitute sour cream?
Thanks
Hi Melissa, You can use the regular yogurt — just strain it because it’s not as thick. Sour cream would also be fine with no straining. Enjoy!
If I could give this recipe six stars, I would! User friendly recipe and tastes as good as any key lime pies I’ve had in the Florida Keys. I had thought about buying the bottled key lime juice but opted to use fresh regular limes as directed and I was not disappointed.
***I read one review that said that the pie did not set. I think using greek style yogurt is subjective because there are so many variations. Since I always have low fat plain yogurt on hand, I decided to drain the yogurt with a couple tablespoons of cultured sour cream overnight with cheescloth and a strainer. The texture and tang was spot on and the pie was perfectly set and looked gorgeous. Following the cooking instructions, the filling was creamy and silky. Just yum.
This dessert was so heavenly! I received many yums and signs of contentment while eating. Your recipes are always a hit and I really don’t use anything else. “Is this a Jennifer recipe?” is a frequent question asked in our house.
❤️
Looking forward to making this pie! Can I make it a week ahead and freeze it?
I’ve never frozen it so I can’t say from experience, but I think with all the dairy it has, it may not be the best candidate for freezing. If you decide to make it and freeze some, please report back!
I have made many Key Lime Pie recipes over the years and this is by far the easiest and the best!
My bestie’s husband swooned over it 🙂 It’s nice and tangy and not too sweet. Perfect!
I got some real Key Limes and am going to make this pie using them. Hope it turns out well. Your pie looks amazing!!! This has to be one of my all time favorite pies as well. Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Hi Jenn!!
Question. Can I use Nellie and Joe’s Key lime juice in the same quantity for your pie. I love it and it tends to lend more to the “key lime” taste. Just wondered. Thanks for your opinion :))
Hi Audrey, I like this with fresh lime juice, but it will certainly turn out with the bottled juice you’re referring to. 🙂
Hi! I will start by saying I live in a rural community and it is a bit of a drive to get to the store. That said, I went grocery shopping, and purchased the ingredients for the pie…. but forgot the yogurt. UGH! Is it possible to sub sour cream for the yogurt or will it change the taste? My husband is “patiently” waiting for me to make this pie!!! Thank you for your help.
Hi Marilyn, Sour cream should work well. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for your reply! Made the recipe with the sour cream. Wow! My husband (and I) absolutely LOVE this pie. I moved from Florida to Michigan and I have to say, I no longer miss key lime pie. My husband is ecstatic. Best recipe ever!! Thank you, Jenn!!
I was skeptical. Our family LOVES Key Lime Pie, and we have always made it with Cream Cheese. But Jenn declared this the “best ever”, and she has never steered me wrong, so I tried it. It truly WAS the BEST EVER! Sweet, creamy velvety loveliness!
I just LOVE this recipe so much! This is the best key like pie I’ve had, and my go to ever since I started making them myself instead of buying. I have made it 3 times perfectly, with the following changes to cut the sweetness: much less sugar, less condenced milk and more key lime juice for extra tartness.
Then, tonight, while working on the filling and a after full day of cooking- I messed up! Lets hope it’s still edible. I misread the recipe and added the heavy cream into the filling itself instead leaving it for whipping at the end! Just silly. It came out of the oven looking right, so hopefully it’s just creamier but not ruined. OOOPS.
Just means I need to bake it more often to know by heart (:
I just made this for a party and got RAVE reviews! Seriously everyone loved it and said it’s the best they’ve ever had, and it was my first time making a key lime pie. This recipe will not disappoint!
was not a fan of the greek yogurt addition – it felt way too thick and yogurt-y and it didn’t have the typical key lime light texture.
I loved this pie! I made it for my mom for Mother’s Day and it was a hit! It’s so easy and tastes so good.
It didn’t set up. It’s beautiful but it’s like raining ice cream. What I do wrong?
Hi Christina, I’m sorry you had a problem with this! It’s usually pretty predictable; did you make any adaptations to the recipe or ingredient substitutes?
Bake it longer. The first time I tried this recipe, my yogurt was kind of watery thin and didn’t set up as well as later pies. Since that time I make sure to stir the yogurt in its container, making sure I get to the bottom where it is thicker and stir it about 10 times to incorporate the runnier top layer.
Looking forward to trying this out based on all the rave reviews! Assume I can use the Graham cracker crumbs that come in a box?
Sure!
I’ve never much liked key lime pie. It’s usually cloyingly sweet and lacks depth of flavor, but made it for a friend for their birthday because it’s a favorite. Wow, did this recipe change my mind. I loved everything about it. It’s fast and easy to make, has great flavor, wonderful texture, and it’s not overly sweet. The Greek yogurt is genius, adding a level of complexity that’s delightful. I even found a leftover slice made for a tasty breakfast with a cup of coffee. I will make this pie again and again. Thanks for a great recipe.
I had never baked a Keylime pie, or ever tasted one. It was my son-in-law’s birthday and that happened to be his favourite pie. So I thought here goes nothing. I made it exactly to the recipe. It was the biggest hit ever with the whole family, especially my son-in-law. I tasted it for the very first time, I must admit it was SO good. I am making it again today for dessert for special friends. Thank you so much for an amazing recipe. I have made the NY cheesecakes several times, as my family requests it for birthdays now. Love your recipes 🥰🥰
Loved this recipe! Fantastic flavor and good consistency. The slices were beautiful. I cheated and used prepares crusts and bottled lime juice and had great results. Much easier and cheaper than recipes calling for egg yolks.
I made this last night and brought it to work and everybody raved how delicious it is. Thanks so much for this recipe.
-Jules
DELICIOUS! QUICK AND EASY!! Greek yogurt (yay protein!) Baking is great to set but not a must as there are no eggs (I found this out by putting the extra that we had in a jar in the fridge and eating it the next day.)
This pie filling is a perfect recipe to make with your young children, requiring an only bowl, a whisk and the ingredients!
We have given this pie as a meal train dessert, and it is a huge winner. We received so many compliments of which we can take none of the credit for because we only used a great recipe.
Do not skip the lime zest in the whip cream! I had no idea how remarkable that one simple added ingredient would be!
BONUS: Put a good size dollop of the lime zest whip cream on top of your plain, black coffee and then thank me later (especially if you let the whip cream sit overnight. The flavors just permeate and are amazing). Yum!!
Amazing recipe. Everyone loved it!
I was skeptical… oh my God. This is the best Keylime pie I have ever had. Every single person who got a slice said the same. THANK YOU!!
Hi Jenn,
I made this pie for Easter and everyone loved it. I’d like to make it again and wonder if I could put the filling in the same crust you use for your lemon bars and serve it the same way.
Katherine
Hi Katherine, so glad the pie was a hit! I think you could use the filling along with the crust for the lemon bars; just not sure how neatly they would slice as the filling in the pie is slightly looser than that in the lemon bars. If you do try it, please, LMK how it comes out!
Thanks for your reply, Jenn.
I used the delicious key lime filling with the crust you have for your lemon bars and although it held up just fine, and I absolutely love the crust, which I also used for your chocolate pie, I found that I prefer the graham cracker crust for the key lime pie; unlike my husband who was perfectly happy with the key lime pie filling and lemon bar crust combination!
Thanks for making all your wonderful recipes so available.
Katherine
Good to know and I guess you never know until you try it — thanks for reporting back!
Hello. Can this be made with a premade crust, like the ones you buy that are ready to go? I have one that is pecan.
Thanks.
Definitely!
Aside from the fact I accidentally bought and used key limes (I know…I know), this pie was AMAZING. And I say this as someone who doesn’t even like pie to begin with. I will make this again…and again…and again (it turned out perfectly even with a gluten free crust).
This pie received rave reviews at last night’s dinner party. I followed your very good directions to the letter. Well, no, I added more butter to the graham cracker crust than the recipe called for because I didn’t think it would cling together, or stick to the side of the pie plate. (If you get the urge to do the same, don’t. Just keep working at the mixture or it affects the texture).
For dessert-making novices, this is easy and impressive if you give yourself the time needed to make it on the day you intend to eat it.
It does set up. It does taste like legit key lime pie and it was a crowd pleaser!
perfect!
Can you use Nellie and joes key lime juice? I have some zest frozen…
I definitely like it best with fresh lime juice, but technically it will work. Please LMK how it comes out if you make it!
Great recipe and easy too. I followed the recipe exactly. It was a hit at the party and looked so impressive.
Liked this recipe, though I wish the *make ahead instructions* were at the beginning of the recipe rather than the end. Hope my pie is not soggy when I serve tomorrow. Anything I can do to prevent it?
Not to worry – the crust will be a bit softer, but it will still be delicious.
This was delicious,I made it for Easter dinner and my husband is still raving about it, I had enough juice from 6 limes but after taste testing, the filling was way too sweet.so I added juice of two more limes and that worked. The next time. I will try making this with less sweetened condensed milk.
I made the pie and it was DELICIOUS so excited it came out good. very easy to make
I made this for Easter and it was a huge it!! (I did use key lime juice).
It was light and fluffy, a perfect amount of graham crackers and it was just delicious. And, it’s nice and easy to make!
I made this recipe exactly to the letter and it was absolutely the best key lime pie I’ve ever had. Everyone we shared it with raved about its deliciousness.
This pie is out of this world!! So easy to make too! Everyone raved about it for Easter.
So good!!! Easy and really flavorful.
Absolutely delicious! I made it today for Easter. I did not do a topping. You really don’t need it
This is just delicious, the texture of the filling is like silk, great recipe & I will for sure make it again! Only change is in the crust I used a tablespoon of sugar and added a 1/2 tsp of salt!
I made this for Easter dessert. I used sour cream instead of yogurt. It was creamy & luscious. The lime flavor was just enough. I will definitely make it again. Probably soon.
Can this be made the night before?
Sure Cindy, you can make both the crust and the filling a day ahead of time, but store them separately. (The filling should be added on the day of serving, otherwise, the crust will get soggy.) Hope that helps!
Making this pie this weekend. I have a bottle of key lime extract on the shelf. Got it. I’d like to use it before it’s expiration date. How can I use it in the recipe?
Hi Naomi, I think I’m weighing in too late to help, but I’ve never worked with Key lime extract so I’m not sure if you could successfully incorporate it into the recipe — sorry!
I absolutely love this recipe . We’ve been to Key West and frankly this recipe is just as fabulous . I’ve made it multiple times and is the star of the show every time. I used 7 regular limes and added extra zest to the mix.
I love your recipes and they’re always spot on.
Thank you
Hi Jen- can you use kefir instead of Greek yogurt?
Hi Ida, I’ve never had/worked with kefir, but I believe it’s a liquid. If that’s correct, it won’t work here — sorry!
The recipe lives up to all the praise. Delicious! The filling easy to make and cook and cut; not temperamental. However, I had to juice 17 limes in order to get 3/4 cup! so not eager to make again. Also, didn’t use zest because it was bitter, probably because I didn’t have proper tool.
This is a fantastic recipe. People have asked me to make it several times and have commented that it is better than any they have had in a restaurant. It’s very easy to make. I love it! I love your recipes! You are my first choice when looking for a recipe.
Made exactly as written. Came out wonderful. I was skeptical that it would set, but of course it did set beautifully. Had a lot of extra zest, oh bother, I just sprinkled it on everything. Soooo delicious, I’m having a slice for breakfast 🙂
To the other commenters, no, it’s not Key Lime™ pie, but it’s a darned good approximation, with ingredients easily accessible to the average home cook. And tastes as good if not better than “real” Key lime pies I’ve had.
5/5 👏
Your recipe says you will need around 8-10 limes for the recipe. It says to zest the limes, then squeeze them. So does all the zest and lime juice from the 8-10 limes go into the filling??
Somewhat unclear to me as the details instructions say only 1 tablespoon of lime zest in the pie filling. Seems to me the zest from 8-10 limes would be more than 1 tablespoon??
Thank you! Plan on making this for Easter!
Hi Tammy, Sorry for the confusion! You’re correct – just zest enough limes to get 1 tablespoon and then proceed. 🙂
I used this recipe but made it as a slice with a home made biscuit base and only 1 tin of condensed milk, so the slice is flatter than a pie but the base stays fresh for a few days without going soft. This is so easy to make and delicious. I would never have thought to add yogurt but it gives it a nice tangy taste and not too sweet at all. I also prefer it only lightly cooked in the oven. I haven’t tried it uncooked yet but I suspect it may still set without that. A great way to use up excess limes as well, thanks for this recipe!