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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The texture alone makes me want to make this recipe over and over again! 😋 Absolutely brilliant recipe
If I want to use ginger snap crumbs instead of graham cracker should I omit the brown sugar?
Hi Andi, Instead of omitting it, I think you could reduce the sugar by half.
OMG. Honestly I was skeptical of this receipe. Key Lime Pie without eggs? How would it firm up? But holy crap, it does and it’s delicious. The flavor is rich and the texture very creamy. It is absolutely amazing. Now, the color is a little pale not having egg yolks but that’s all I could find wrong. I will make this again and again.
This truly was the best key lime pie I’ve ever made/tasted!! Great recipe. Do you think I could use this same recipe to make key lime pie bars so I’d have more to share? Or do you think it’d need to be doubled?
Hi Rose, if you want to make this into bars, it’s doable but I don’t think the filling will be firm enough to eat as finger food — you’d need to serve them with a fork. I’d suggest using an 8-inch square pan. Hope they come out well!
Made this yesterday for a big family dinner and it was perfect!!
Would this set fine if I used regular unflavored yogurt instead of greek?
Hi Katherine, You can use the regular yogurt — just strain it because it’s not as thick. 😊
We like more tart than sweet. We are going to use bottled key lime juice which calls for three egg yolks and makes a very small and not as tart as I like pie. So I am wondering about maybe using a combination of egg yolk and sour cream or egg yolk and yogurt. Maybe even half yogurt half sour cream in combination with egg yolk. Possibly half yogurt half sour cream without egg yolk. If I did a combination with egg yolk as one of the above what quantity of each (egg yolk, yogurt or sour cream) would be a recommended suggestion?
Hi M.E., based on what you’re looking for, I’d suggest using a different recipe. This pie is fairly sweet and other than reducing the sugar in the crust and/or the whipped topping, there’s not a way to adjust that. Plus, I’ve found that key lime pies that include eggs tend to be more tart.
Last night I made this recipe with 3 egg yolks and 1 cup of regular unsweetened dannon yogurt. We didn’t use lime zest and used a meringue topping. I added a little extra lime juice. As for the tartness for us was perfect. The filling was a little runny (not sure if it just needed a little extra baking time or if the extra lime juice and yogurt was the problem. So next time. I will probably leave out the yogurt. I found the sweetness was overpowered by the tart and we liked that. Just thought I’d let you know how we did. Thanks for responding.
So good to know that you were pleased, overall — thanks for the follow-up!
My family didn’t care for this. Way too tart.
Will a 9 inch pie crust fit this recipe or should I half the ingredients?
Hi Lily, as long as it’s deep-dish, you don’t need to modify the recipe. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn:
Thank you so much. I was worried it would overfill, so I got a 10 inch and it fit great. Very nice and easy recipe. Super delish and not heavy. I like the Greek yogurt addition and not sour cream. Thanks again!
Hi,
I made this last year and it came out awesome. This year, I can’t find key limes at any local store and intend to make this with regular limes. Should I be doing anything differently with the recipe because of this?
Thanks so much!
Hi Courtney, Glad you’ve enjoyed it! And this is actually intended to be made with traditional limes, so no need to make any modifications. 😊
Key Lime Pie is one of our favorite desserts. We live in Charleston and have sampled from some of the country’s best restaurants. I served this last week for a family dinner and we all agreed that it was as good or better than any restaurant version. This is now a staple for our get togethers!