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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This was one of the best and easiest key lime piece recipes I’ve ever made. A little slice of Florida heaven when I’m up north. Highly recommend!!
Wonderful key lime pie with a beautiful presentation. Perfect party pleaser! Super easy, and perfect amount of lime. For those who need to be gluten free, using GF graham crackers worked perfectly.
Just made this pie today. It’s wonderful.
Easy to make and great for entertaining. Used a slightly larger pie pan, and there was plenty of crust and filling to make this.
Absolutely the best key lime pie I have ever had! My son requested this for his birthday- recipe could not have been easier. I used bottles key lime juice- otherwise followed recipe exactly. I love this website- recipes are all amazing – it’s my go-to site now! Thank you!!!!
I have made this recipe for my family many times and each it has been a huge hit! I use bottled key lime juice rather than squeezing myself. The recipe is easy, and has a beautiful presentation if you take the 10 minutes before you serve to make whipped cream and decorate the pie with the cream, sliced lime, and lime zest. My one complaint is this pie is a bit sweet for my taste – I prefer tarter key lime pie. All in all, a great recipe though!
The simplicity of ingredients and the authenticity of the taste reminds me of the excellent Key Lime pies I had years ago on a trip to Key West Florida.
I like the creaminess of the the pie from this recipe, and how easy it is to make. The pictures that accompany each step by step instruction really makes it easy to follow and do it right.
This recipe is absolutely delicious I am far from the best baker in the world and this dessert came out absolutely perfect! The step by step process given by Jen along with the pictures it is foolproof. Thank you Jen for sharing your amazing recipes to make not so great bakers like me look like a star!!
I have made this pie many times now for family and friends and we love it!! It is delicious and very easy to make. The crust is possibly my favorite part! Simple to make and the brown sugar in the crust adds a wonderful flavor which compliments the filling perfectly.
When a birthday request came in for a Key Lime Pie, I compared several recipes online before deciding to make this one from Once Upon a Chef. I liked that the recipe called for Greek yogurt instead of sour cream…..somehow it seemed a healthier choice? Also, you only need regular limes, although some day I plan to make it with real key limes, just to compare. I got rave reviews from the family on this dessert, with comments like, “Haven’t had a key lime pie THIS GOOD in YEARS!” Once again, we thank you, Jenn! This recipe has earned a permanent place in my collection.
This is one of my families all time favorite pies! It is refreshing, not overly sweet and very easy to make. Any time I take it somewhere it gets rave reviews and I am asked where I got the recipe. This recipe is a keeper!
I have made this key lime pie about a half dozen times in the past couple of months because everyone I have served it to loves it and asks for a repeat. It is creamy, tart, beautiful, and quite easy to make. Your recipes are easy to follow and the ingredients you use are always readily available. This pie is a winner all around. I am so happy I discovered your website, and I had to buy your book because so many of your recipes are definite keepers.
Thank you!
This is the BEST Key Lime Pie you will ever eat! It is so easy to make and has the perfect amount of tartness and lime flavor. Perfect for a summer dessert or Mexican night! My family’s favorite dessert!
This Key Lime Pie is an absolute winner! It is creamy, refreshing, and easy to make. I particularly find it a perfect ending to any Mexican meal.
This sounds great for the partial bag of limes I have leftover. Can I just use a thicker Yogurt for the greek Yogurt? It’s fairly thick as it is small batch made Yogurt ,
Hi Shannon, As long as it is quite thick, it should work.
the best one equal to the one i tasted in keywest…not too sweet or sour and it literally hit the spot:) thanks to u for such a precise receipe, lots of love:)
I love this key lime pie. I made it exactly as the recipe states. I had a bag of beautiful, juicy limes I hand squeezed. It had great flavor. Thanks Jenn for another terrific recipe.
I made this for my husband for Father’s Day (in Portugal). The last time we ate key lime pie was in Florida so it was hard to follow that (although 12 years ago). This recipe was super easy and the pie tasted amazing! We did find it a bit sweet. I used smashed digestive cookies for the base (graham crumbs are not common here in Portugal) so maybe that is why. I think I will leave the brown sugar out of the base next time, as the digestives are already sweetened. Do you think that this would change the consistency of the base? Also, as I try to bake with less sugar/fat, would coconut oil work as a substitute for the butter? It could bring an interesting flavor. Any other fat-saving ideas? Condensed milk is hard to avoid. Thank you! I look forward to making more of your recipes, this was my first.
Hi Jennifer, Glad you enjoyed the pie! It should be fine to leave the sugar out of the crust and to replace the butter with coconut oil. 🙂
Great Pie
Use a good deep dish pan
Thanks for the recipe Jenn. If I make the crust the night before – how do you store it? Also do I need to warm it prior to adding the filling? How long does this keep and do you keep it on the fridge? Thanks so much.
Living in Florida, home of key lime pie, creates stiff competition for this recipe. I’m here to report it’s always a winner when I serve it to friends and families. We prefer store bought limes as suggested. Perfect combo of sweet and tart. Jenn has a real knack fir balancing flavors. This ones a keeper!
This is without doubt the best tasting Key Lime pie I’ve ever had. I even bought a ceramic pie plate since we also love your chocolate cream pie! The photos you provide are super helpful along the way so it’s a snap to make. My only difficulty with the pie is with the crust. I have a hard time getting it out of the pie plate cleanly. The edges crumble and some of the Graham crackers stick to the bottom of the pan. Not sure what to do about that…It sure tastes good though!
This is the easiest Key lime Pie receipe ever! I am so such a fan of this tarte sweet pie. Try is is so good, love the graham cracker crust too!
I live in Florida and therefore have tried many Key Lime Pies. This recipe is up there with the best I have had. Luckily I have an electric juicer, because juicing the small key Limes is a bit tedious. My sister-in-law and I took turns doing it. The pie turned out great. It was in lieu of a Birthday cake, and everyone loved it, even guests that don’t usually like key Lime Pie. Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely make it again.
While I’ve tried several of Jenn’s dessert recipes, this one sits at the top with its simple, yet flavorful, finish in less time. Having tried many though the years, this one is quick and creamy with the perfect amount of lime! My only variation was omitting the brown sugar in the crust. (I’m sure it’s even better with it left in)
THIS is by far the best key lime pie recipe ever! Simple to make, tangy and fresh, and now a new family favorite!
So simple. So delicious. So refreshing. This is a new family favorite. My soon to be married daughter (who is trying to learn fun new recipes) was asked to take a pie for Thanksgiving dinner to her soon to be in-laws. She asked me for suggestions and I gave her this recipe. Her fiancé’s family raved over it and asked her to make it a second time!
Allow enough time to let it chill before serving.
This is my HOLY GRAIL key lime pie. I’ve tried other recipes over the years and nothing compares – both to the ease of making it and the taste. It has the perfect balanced texture and consistency between the Graham cracker crust and filling. I was hesitant to use Greek yogurt but it works perfectly. I agree it’s much easier to use Graham cracker crumbles (I use the same brand in the photos) rather than crumbling yourself to save some time. I’ve also made this in both a regular pie dish as well as a deep dish and I don’t notice much of a difference. 5 stars – please make this soon, you won’t regret it!!
The most delicious key lime pie I’ve had! Beats restaurant versions, and is so simple to whip up. I’ve used sour cream in place of Greek yogurt and it also worked well.
Better than Expected!
I’ve made Key Lime pie before using lime juice from a Williams Sonoma bottle. While it was good-it just didn’t quite hit the mark, sometimes being too tart.
This recipe however is especially nice because you just need regular limes and not hard to find key limes, delicious and holds up well for a few days making it easy to eat leftover pie-is there such a thing….
This is simple and delicious. The zest provides added flavor, texture and color. Great recipe.
My family really liked this pie. Not as tart as key limes, which even appealed to my picky eaters!
Will be making this again!
Just made this for the first last weekend. It was surprisingly easy and quick to make (other than having to wait the 3 hours for it to set!) and turned out beautifully. Wouldn’t change a thing and will be making it again soon! Thank you for such a delicious recipe…and for all the other delicious recipes I have been making from this site.
I’ve made a few times over the last year and it is delicious. It only lasts 2 days with my small family of 3 and we are always mad at the person who gets the last piece. I use the bottled Nellie & Joe’s Key West lime juice. I even mistakenly bought the lemon juice on one occasion (they both come in yellow bottles) and I think I like it even better with the lemon juice.
Delicious. I cut the recipe filling in half and used a bit of lemon juice and lemon zest with the lime juice and zest. . I used a store bought chocolate pie crust that I baked for 5 minutes at 350 and let it cool. Then I baked as directed. I used the full amount of whipped cream. I’m savoring every bite. Thank you.
Can you use sour cream instead of yogurt?
Yes, sour cream will work in place of the yogurt. Enjoy!
The BEST key lime pie recipe. I made this as written with no changes and it turned out perfect. This pie is every bit as good as our favorite from Key West!
Hi! I am planning on using this recipe after seeing the amazing reviews. I have a question:
Should I put the toppings then chill for 3 hours? or Chill it for 3 hours first, then put the toppings on?
Thanks!
Hi Sammi, Put the toppings after you’ve chilled the pie for 3 hours. Hope you enjoy!
I’ve been baking a lot since thanksgiving. Stumbled upon this recipe and thought I’d give it a try. During a quick run to Aldi’s I figured I’d pick up the ingredients. After all, if the pie didn’t taste good because it was made of inexpensive ingredients, well… that would be a good thing. Right?!
I opted for cool whip and a store bought pie crust (again From ALDI).
I worried once I started to make it. How could a pie made of 4 simple ingredients taste good. NO EGG?! No sugar?! Not good, I thought. For a second, I assumed that Jen prepared
What the heck—let’s do it!
The end result was TROUBLE! If this pie was made with cheap cool whip and Pie crust—HOW delicious must the REAL DEAL, homemade crust and topping TASTE?!
Don’t second guess this one, folks. This one is a keeper. It’s incredibly rich and light, at the same time. Trust me… I’m trying so hard not to have a second slice (right now ;). I’d like to save it for later).
DO…DO…DO…make this pie! (Now, sadly working on my second slice).
So incredibly simple and delicious! We loved it. It was my first time making key lime pie and it turned out well. Thank you for the recipe and great tips. (I over bought the number of limes so we might have to try again in a few days. 😉
Best recipe ever for key lime pie!
I had Fage 7 oz. Plain 5% Greek yogurt so I used 2T. 4% fat sour cream to come up with the 8oz.
Worked wonderfully!
And I used 2 keebler large premade Graham pie crusts…which are nice to cut down on the time involved.
I made two key lime pies for my son’s 23rd birthday, this one and and another similar recipe that uses sour cream instead of yogurt. Both were delicious but this recipe was the winner and will be my go-to key lime pie recipe from now on! It was incredibly tasty and surprisingly easy! I did use bottled key lime juice, which made it even easier. And although I made whipped cream, I found that it didn’t need it as the pie & crust were sufficiently sweet on their own. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I’m looking forward to trying many more recipes on this site!
Side note: When searching for key lime juice online, the most common brand that comes up is Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice. This is not key lime juice, it is regular lime juice that apparently comes from Key West and contains preservatives. It comes in a clear plastic bottle. However, they also make Nellie & Joe’s 100% Key Lime Juice, which IS key lime juice and comes in a green glass bottle. It’s a bit pricier and harder to find. This is the juice I used in my pies and it was fabulous. I just thought I would point that out since the labeling is very misleading!
Found this recipe by googling & decided to make it based on its 5-star rating. Wow! My 1st key lime pie & family not only loved the flavor but was impressed with look of whipped cream & lime slice garnishes. Was tempted by comments about excessive sweetness to reduce the sugar where you recommended but glad I didn’t. Been traveling to Florida annually for last 10 years & become a key lime pie aficionado so I know this deserves it’s 5-star internet rating!
Made this again for NYE & as usual, fam loved it. Been watching calories this year & losing weight to be healthier so appreciate the calorie count which not all creators of online recipes include 🙁
Best Key lime pie recipe.
Thank you so much for this recipe! It is amazing! The pie came out perfectly and everyone loved it! This is totally a keeper!
Can regular yogurt be substituted for greek yogurt
Hi Donna, I’d stick with Greek yogurt here for the best results.
Can this be made with No Fat Yogurt?
While technically it will work, I think you’ll get a richer filling using at least 2%. Please LMK how it turns out if you use nonfat yogurt!
This was excellent! I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out wonderful. My family is begging me to make another!
I find it’s the rare recipe that turns out really well on my first pass, but this one did. However, I did make a few changes before making it, after reading quite a few comments about it being too sweet, which I realize is very much a personal taste issue. I reduced the sugar in the crust to 1/2 cup, increased the yogurt to 1 1/2 cups and the lime juice to 1 cup for the filling, and reduced the sugar in the whipping cream to 1 Tb. The added filling meant I had to use one of my slightly deeper pie dishes, and I slightly increased the baking time for the filling to 18 minutes. It was a big hit, with a good balance of sweet and tart, according to my “customers”.
Hi, Jenn! This is the BEST Key Lime pie recipe…my mother in law claimed to hate KLP but after a bite of this she requested I bring one to our next family gathering!! That being said, we aren’t seeing family for the holidays so I was going to make one to drop off for her. Can this be made and frozen for a week or two?? Thanks in advance! Happy holidays 😊
Hi Beth, so glad you like this and changed your mother-in-law‘s mind about Key lime pie! I’ve never frozen this before but don’t think I would recommend it – sorry!
I love this recipe – I have made it many times and always comes out perfect. I was wondering if I could make this recipe with lemons instead of limes. Do you think that would work?
Glad you like it! I’ve never made this with lemons but a few readers have commented that they have and have been happy with the results. Hope you enjoy if you try it. 🙂
***Perfect Key Lime Pie Recipe***
This was the first pie I’ve ever made and it turned out a hit thanks to your experience and sharing this excellent recipe with others. Thank you for doing so!. The entire family really enjoyed the flavor. The tartness of the lime and sweetness are well balanced. Definitely saving this recipe and will recommend to my friends and look forward to trying other recipes you have.
Hi, Can I do this receipe in small pie dish like, 4.5 inch instead of 9? And should I then just cut all amounts by 4? Thank you! Moni
Yes, if my math is correct, I think cutting all the ingredients by 4 would be appropriate. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
This was a hit! Totally amazing! Thank you sooooo much!