Key Lime Pie
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Bright, tangy, and ultra-creamy, this key lime pie has just the right balance of sweet and tart—perfect for warm days and easy entertaining.
I use ordinary supermarket limes, also known as Persian limes, to make my “Key lime” pie. Unless you live in the Florida Keys, true 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’re 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.
Key lime pie can be made with a graham cracker 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?
“Off the charts delicious! The brown sugar in the crust is *chefs kiss* and the tart, creaminess of this pie is next-level.”
What You’ll Need To Make Key Lime Pie
- Crust: Made from finely crushed graham crackers, light brown sugar, and melted butter, the crust is buttery and lightly sweet, with just enough structure to hold the filling.
- Filling: Sweetened condensed milk gives the pie its creamy texture and sweetness (don’t confuse it with evaporated milk), while Greek yogurt adds a subtle tang. Fresh lime juice and zest provide bright citrus flavor. You’ll need about 8 to 10 plump limes; zest them before juicing and expect roughly 2 tablespoons of juice per lime.
- Topping: Lightly sweetened whipped cream adds a pillowy topping, with a bit of lime zest for freshness and thin lime slices for garnish.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Key Lime Pie
Step 1: Make the crust mixture. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Start by stirring with a fork, then use your hands to mix until everything is evenly combined.
Step 2: Form the crust. 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-inch deep-dish pie pan. Aim for a crust about ¼ inch thick.
Pro tip: form the sides first, then press in the bottom.
Step 3: Blind bake the crust. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes, until it’s lightly browned. This quick bake helps set the crust so it stays crisp once the filling is added. Let it cool slightly while you make the filling.
Step 4: Zest and juice the limes. Start by zesting the limes. A rasp grater (the long, skinny kind shown below) works best for this and makes quick work of citrus zest. Then juice the limes using a citrus reamer.
Step 5: Make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, lime zest, and lime juice. With no eggs, it may be hard to believe that this pie will set, but have faith—it will.
Step 6: Fill and bake the pie. Pour the filling into the baked graham cracker crust and smooth the top. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the filling is just set. Let the pie cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then transfer it to the refrigerator to chill completely, about 3 hours.
Step 7: Make the whipped cream 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.)
Step 8: Assemble and serve. Within a few hours of serving, top the chilled pie with the whipped cream and decorate with lime slices and zest. Enjoy!
Key Lime Pie Video Tutorial
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Key Lime Pie
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
- Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) 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 1½-in (23 x 4-cm) pie pan. The crust should be about ¼-in (6-mm) thick. (Tip: do the sides first.)
- Bake for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Let the crust cool on a wire rack.
- Make the Filling: Lower the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C). 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.
- Make 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.
Notes
- 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.
- The nutritional information was calculated using 2% Greek yogurt.
Nutrition Information
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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I haven’t made this yet, but my sister in law made it as written a few weeks ago and I found it to be THE BEST key lime pie I’ve ever had. Key limes aren’t easy to find in my little corner but I will be making this as soon as I find some. Super yum! And not as sharply tart as some key lime recipes can be. Thanks yet again, Jen!
Glad you liked it! The good news is that you don’t have to search for Key limes — this is made with ordinary limes. 🙂
I made this Key lime pie. I had never used brown sugar in a graham cracker crust so that intrigued me. I made this for my DIL’s birthday and everyone loved it! Thank you for a great recipe, and it looked great also.
Has anyone tried 1/2 lemons and 1/2 limes instead of all limes?
I’ve made it will all lemon and it was delicious!
One more question. Do you measure yogurt in dry or liquid measuring cup?
I’d measure it in a dry measuring cup.
Hi Jenn
Love your recipes! Making this tomorrow and noticed that my 4%greek yogurt is not as thick as I have known greek yogurt to be. Do you think this will be a problem with setting?
Thanks so much!
Hi Jennifer, it should be fine. I’d pour off any liquid that’s accumulated on top of the yogurt or, if you’re really concerned, you can pour the yogurt into a fine mesh sieve and let any liquid drain out. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn— If I use bottled key lime juice for this recipe (already have a bottle), would I still use 3/4 cup? Or reduce because key limes are more tart? I am making this for a terrific cook who loves key lime pie…fingers crossed! Thank you—your recipes are delicious!!!
Hi Nancy, You’ll get much better results with the fresh limes, so I wouldn’t recommend the bottled version – sorry!
I’ve been looking for a good key lime pie recipe and this one far exceeded my expectations. It was delicious and so easy to make. Everyone loved it. This is definitely a keeper.
I found Key Limes at our Acme in NJ. Pie delicious but too sweet.
I made this for my brother’s birthday. It was easy, and came out perfectly. Everyone loved it.
So easy and delicious!
Jenn,
I want to make this for my friend’s birthday. Is there any way to adjust the sweetness by reducing the sweetened condensed milk and subbing with more yogurt?
Hi Kerrie, I wouldn’t change the ratios of the sweetened condensed milk and yogurt. If you want to cut the sweetness, you could use a tad more lime juice, omit the sugar from the whipped cream topping, and reduce the sugar a bit in the crust. Hope that helps and your friend enjoys!
Jenn I am determined to make a key lime pie not so sweet, so I am experimenting with this recipe. The original recipe is very tasty, but definitely too sweet for us like I thought it would be. So on my second attempt I was able to get the sweetness down by using 2T brown sugar in the crust, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup of lime juice, 1 cup of yogurt and two egg yolks. I increased the cooking time to 25 minutes. The pie set and the flavor was perfect, though I may reduce the lime juice. The only problem was that the crust got soggy quickly and it stuck to the pie plate a bit. Any suggestions? BTW adding 1/4 sour cream to the whipped cream is really good.
Hi Kerrie, I think the addition of more lime juice probably caused that and I’m not sure of a way to rectify it – sorry!