Key Lime Pie
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Cool, creamy, and bright, this key lime pie is made for warm days and easy entertaining.
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.
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 love this key lime pie (and so did everyone else in my family). It’s a little rich caloriewise, but offers a nice blend of tartness and sweetness–simply delicious. If you’re good with megingues, I would substitute one for the whipping cream to cut back on the richness. I’m a terrible mergingue-maker, though, so the cream is definitely easier for me and it presents beautifully with the lime slices and zest.
Every recipe that I have tried of Jenn Segal’s (both online and from her book) has been pitch perfect. I just love what she does with food! Her interplay of spices, aromas, and textures produces fabulous results…every time.
I have a nice pumpkin pound cake in the oven right now (p. 269 in her book).
Bravo, Jenn. And thank you 🙂
Jennifer Hutchison
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I made this pie yesterday; my husband said it’s the best pie I’ve made in 40 years! I added an extra 8 ounces of Greek yogurt, and an extra 1/4 cup of lime juice to cut the sweetness of the condensed milk. It came out perfect in every way! Thank you Jenn for your clear, easy to follow recipes, and inspiration! I love your cookbook, it’s one of my prized possessions. 🤩🌻🥰💖
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Can I replace the limes with lemons?
Hi Dawn, I’ve never made it with lemons but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I just started baking and this is the first key lime pie I have ever made and I was nervous. it turned out perfect and everyone is begging for another one.
I love the simple easy to follow recipes on Once Upon a Chef.
So very simple to prepare and absolutely delicious. I had to go out of town the next day and didn’t want to waste, so I popped about half the pie in the freezer. After several weeks, I thawed the pie overnight. Crust wasn’t quite as crisp, but it was still very tasty.
Every Friday I make lunch for our employees and this delicious, easy-to-make pie has shown up two different times to rave reviews! When your book came out, I gave every one of our 20 employees a copy for their birthdays. I remind them that this amazing recipe is available to them, but so far, I am the reigning Key Lime Pie Queen, and I am happy to wear the crown. Thanks, Jenn.
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Thanks so much for gifting the cookbook to all your employees!!
So far every recipe that I’ve tried from your cookbook has been spot on. This is the first Key Lime pie I’ve ever made and by far the best I have ever had.
If I grabbed greek yogurt from the store and realized it has skim milk, how will it effect this recipe? Thank you, this looks great and I don’t want to mess it up!
Technically it will work, but won’t be as good. 🙂
Can I use key lime Greek yogurt in place of plain? It just happens to be what I have.
Hi Joan, while you can get away with it, it will introduce more sugar to the filling. You could compensate for that by using a tad more lime juice and/or reducing the sugar a bit in the crust. Please LMK how it turns out!
Without a doubt THE best Key Lime Pie recipe I’ve ever found. Or made. Perfectly delicious. Thank you once again, Jenn, for a wonderful recipe.
Delicious! I made this twice in individual jars to take to potluck dinner parties. So easy, everyone loved it and they looked so cute not to mention much easier than cutting and plating a pie.
Hi Jenn, I am curious on how does this filling set? Is it something similar to lemon posset where acidity from the citrus works to thicken the mixture?
I am thinking of making an icebox cake with this filling – alternating layers of Graham cracker cookies and the filling, and then baking until set. Any thoughts?
PS: we love your recipes!
Hi Preethi, I’m not certain of the science behind the filling thickening, but it definitely does thicken up here. For the most predictable results, I’d actually stick with the pie version of the recipe. Sorry!
Thanks for the reply!
Once again a solid wonderful recipe! Jenn, you are the best!
And I was happy to read it was in your cookbook cause I like having that at my fingertips!
Easy to make and so delicious! I couldn’t find graham crackers at the dollar store so I bought cheap pecan cookies instead because they aren’t very sweet. Other than that I made as the recipe was written and I thought the cookie crust was excellent, but too sweet so next time I will put less sugar in the crust if I use cookies.
I ate another piece two days later and it was even better than the first time and believe it or not the crust was not soggy!! 🙂
YAY, thank you for another good one!
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