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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Made this to take to friend’s house for dinner. Everyone loved it…two and three pieces for several! This was so easy. I made the crust one day and filled it the next morning.
So easy & so delicious! I just used a store bought crust & had lots of filling left over, probably enough for a second pie.
Making this for the second time. No eggs! No weeping! So delicious. Thank you <3
Can i use a premade graham cracker crust?
I love the crust in this recipe, but you can get away with using store-bought. Enjoy!
Can you use this recipe as is for key lime tarts?
Sure, Naomi — that should work. The cook time will likely be a bit shorter; I’d start checking after 10 min.
Made this yesterday morning for our dinner dessert and it was so easy and delicious!! I have never tasted key lime pie so don’t know how authentic this is but it tasted like a slightly tart creamy cheesecake texture. My mom immediately asked for the recipe. I made it using an 8×1” tart pan and decrease ingredients by 25%. I also only used 1 Tbs of sugar and crust felt perfectly sweet and balanced with tartness of filling. This one is a keeper!!
Hi Jenn,
I’m a very amateur baker. Re storage of crust, If I’m to make this a day ahead – do I just keep the crust in the fridge continually after 3 hours and store the filling separately in the fridge?
Correct — hope you enjoy!
Can this be frozen once baked? I’m attempting to make it ahead of a trip over 4 days (tarts on day 2 and 3), and though my crust held for about 4-5 days as the complete pie (tarts with graham cracker crust), I wanted to make this like a week or two ahead and freeze it. Or even a few more days ahead of the trip. I have a lot of baking to do so this would help my timeline.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this is the best candidate for freezing — sorry!
I’m just seeing this in March of 2022. Unless I read this wrong, I believe she’s asking about just the storage of the already baked crust without the filling. I don’t see why there would be reason to refrigerate a baked graham cracker crust prior to filling it the next day?
Hi Terri, that actually is correct. Waiting to add the filling to the crust keeps the crust from getting soggy prior to serving it if you want to make it ahead. Hope that clarifies!
The pie was good, however, it was much too sweet for my taste. I thought about making my own condensed milk to control amount of sugar. ?
Hi Josie, I’ve never made sweetened condensed milk myself, so it’s hard to say. If you want to cut back on the sweetness in other ways, you can 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!
As a southerner, this is not a real key lime pie. It was okay, but you need egg. Healthier version, but real key limes and egg.
My husband and I vacationed in Florida for many years. We’d go on a tour to determine where the best key lime pie could be found. We tasted many. This is the best “key” lime pie I’ve ever had.
This pie is to die for!
Easy to make and yet so very tasty. I’ve made it twice already and nothing but compliments and people asking me to make it for their birthday :).
It’ll be my go to for summer pies from now on.
I recently suggested this recipe to a family member for her monthly dessert club. She reported back that it received rave reviews, and the guests couldn’t believe how simple it is to prepare! I’ve had fun experimenting with different crusts…the coconut cream pie shortbread crust and the addition of gingersnaps with the graham cracker crust… both are pretty awesome! Thanks for these wonderfully delicious recipes!