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.
Key lime pie is one of those classic American desserts that’s stood the test of time. With its cool, creamy filling and bright citrus flavor, it’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart. This version has a buttery graham cracker crust and a silky-smooth filling that’s refreshing, creamy, and surprisingly easy to make.
Best of all, it’s made with just a handful of ingredients and can be prepared a day or two in advance, so it’s a great dessert for entertaining. I’ve served it everywhere from summer barbecues to holiday dinners, and it’s always one of the first desserts to disappear.
“Off the charts delicious! The brown sugar in the crust is *chefs kiss* and the tart, creaminess of this pie is next-level.”
Do yOU Really Need Key Limes?
Before we get to the recipe, let’s talk about the limes. Despite the name, you don’t need Key limes to make an outstanding Key lime pie. Key limes are much smaller than the Persian limes (the standard grocery store variety) most of us are familiar with. They’re also packed with seeds, so it takes a lot of them to get the ½ cup of juice this recipe calls for. Unless you live somewhere they’re grown, truly fresh Key limes can also be difficult to find.
Over the years, I’ve made this pie with fresh Key limes, bottled Key lime juice (such as Nellie & Joe’s), and regular Persian limes. My favorite version is made with fresh Persian limes. Their bright, vibrant flavor shines through beautifully in the filling, and they’re easy to find year-round. That said, if you have access to fresh Key limes, by all means use them. They’ll give the pie a slightly different flavor that’s a little more floral and aromatic.
What You’ll Need To Make Key Lime Pie
For the crust, you’ll need finely crushed graham cracker crumbs, light brown sugar, and melted butter. For the filling, you’ll need sweetened condensed milk, Greek yogurt, fresh lime juice and lime zest. Finally, for the topping, you’ll need heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar.
You’ll notice this recipe doesn’t call for egg yolks, like many traditional Key lime pie recipes. After testing it both ways, I found they simply weren’t necessary. The pie sets beautifully without them, thanks to the combination of sweetened condensed milk and Greek yogurt, and I actually prefer the cleaner, brighter lime flavor that comes from leaving them out. As a bonus, there’s no separating eggs, making the recipe even easier to prepare.
Step-by-Step Instructions
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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Set beautifully. Used a regular frozen pie crust, only one can of the sweetened condensed milk (I don’t like overly sweet desserts), and only used maybe 6 limes total. Very tart and refreshing, delish!
Didn’t set up. Disappointed after going so far as to pick the limes from our tree to me this dessert from scratch.
Off the charts delicious! Key lime is my husband’s favorite, and I think we will all crave this recipe going forward. The brown sugar in the crust is *chefs kiss* and the tart, creaminess of this pie is next-level.
I have been making this awesome recipe for birthday dessert for several years always a really big hit ! Thank you !
Insanely sweet. None of us could finish our slice. I should have known when it said two cans of sweetened condensed milk (traditionally I’ve used recipes that only call for 1 can). 54g of sugar per serving! That’s insane.
Hey Dana, I’m also not a huge fan of too much sweets. I only use 1 can sometimes even half a can of condensed milk for my filling. I recommend adding a little at a time and tasting it before using it to fill your pie! I used this method and it was perfect for me 🙂
Just made this for a dinner party and everyone loved it! Received multiple compliments from a tough crowd and no leftovers. Will be keeping this on repeat!
I have a request for a key lime pie with meringue topping instead of whipped cream. Is there any reason why that wouldn’t work for this version of key lime?
Hi Diane, I don’t recommend a meringue topping here as I’m afraid the pie filling would get overbaked when the meringue bakes. Sorry!
Use Italian Meringue so no further cooking is involved. Then brown it with a torch if desired.
Best key lime pie recipe ever, I’ve made this several times. This time, I accidentally bought vanilla greek yogurt, which isn’t the best for this because it smooths out the bite of the lime too much. Wound up doing two pies with 50/50 vanilla greek yogurt and sour cream, and that came out great! I’m going to experiment with sour cream next time, since I always have that in the house.
Hello, so I made an online grocery order for 2 key limes for another recipe and they gave me 2 BAGS so now I have a lot of key limes, can I make this recipe with key limes?
Sure!
Oh, my goodness…this is the first time my husband has ever said This is D*** GOOD. I hope you saved this one! And yes, he even juiced the limes for me for another one!