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’ve been making this Key lime pie for years, and it’s one of my favorite desserts to serve when the weather warms up. Inspired by the classic pie made famous in the Florida Keys, it has a buttery graham cracker crust and a cool, creamy filling that’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Best of all, it’s easy to make with just a handful of ingredients—you can use regular limes from the grocery store, and Greek yogurt stands in for the usual egg yolks (trust me, it works). I’ve served this pie everywhere from summer barbecues to holiday dinners, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser.
“The best key lime pie I’ve ever had!! Tart, sweet, fresh but rich.”
Do You Really Need Key Limes?
Despite the name, you don’t need Key limes to make an outstanding Key lime pie. Over the years, I’ve made this pie with bottled Key lime juice (such as Nellie & Joe’s), fresh Key limes, and regular limes (also called Persian limes), and I actually prefer regular limes. They’re easy to find year-round and have a bright, fresh flavor that makes an exceptional pie. If you have access to fresh Key limes, though, they’re delicious too, lending the pie a slightly more floral, aromatic flavor.
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. 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 because the lime juice’s acidity reacts with the proteins in the yogurt and sweetened condensed milk, thickening the filling as it bakes (the same basic reaction that turns milk into cheese). And from a taste standpoint, I actually prefer the cleaner, brighter lime flavor that comes from leaving the yolks out. As a bonus, there’s no separating eggs, making the recipe even easier to prepare.
“Outstanding! Sets up beautifully and has the most perfect lime flavor.”
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the crust. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter, stirring first with a fork, then finishing with your hands until the mixture looks like damp sand and holds together when you squeeze a bit in your palm.
Step 2: Press the crust into the pan. Work the crumbs up the sides of the pan first, then press the bottom—it’s easier this way. Press firmly; a loosely packed crust tends to crumble when you slice the pie later.
Step 3: Blind bake. Bake just until the edges turn a shade darker and it smells toasty. This short bake deepens the flavor of the crust and keeps the crust from turning soggy once the filling goes in, but it doesn’t need to brown deeply.
Step 4: Zest, then juice. Zest every lime you plan to juice before you cut into them—it’s nearly impossible to zest a lime once it’s been squeezed. A rasp grater makes this fast; a reamer or your hands work fine for juicing.
Step 5: Whisk the filling. Whisk the condensed milk, yogurt, zest, and juice together until completely smooth. The mixture will look thick, almost like a pudding.
Step 6: Bake and chill. Pour the filling into the warm crust and bake until the center looks just set. Let it cool for a bit on the counter, then pop it in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set completely. It’ll firm up further as it cools and chills.
Step 7: Whip the cream. Beat the heavy cream until it just starts to hold soft peaks, then add the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until it’s thick enough to hold its shape when you lift the whisk. Don’t take it too far past this point—overwhipped cream turns grainy and starts to look more like butter than a topping.
Pro Tip: A hand whisk works fine here too if you don’t feel like pulling out the mixer—it just takes a bit more elbow grease.
Step 8: Top and serve. Top with the whipped cream shortly before serving rather than hours ahead, since cream loses its shape sitting on a cold pie for too long. A knife wiped clean between cuts will give you the neatest slices.
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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Followed this recipe to a T. The filling was delicious. My husband said it tastes even better than Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami. And they’re famous for their pie. But! The crust was where I encountered a problem. I followed the recipe exactly, like I said. But the crust completely disintegrated when I cut into it. It was as if I never baked it, which I did. Maybe it needed more butter? I’ll try that next time I guess.
Hi Jenn! Would I be able to make this recipe as individual desserts in ramekins?
Sure, I think you could get away with it. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
More likely not enough sugar. Also, cook theCrust separately so that the sugar in it has time to caramelize and then, when it cools, it’ll be like brittle in peanut brittle. Not quite that hard, but you get the idea.
Just wanted to let everyone know this pie is absolutely delicious – MUCH better than those made with the bottled juice and eggs. It was cool how the filling thickened up so much when we added the lime juice 🙂 my partner’s mom adored it. I saw the note stating to add filling the day of or the crust will be soggy, but I finished baking the pie and chilled it 24h in advance and it was totally fine and not soggy. I also browned the butter in the crust for a notably toasty nutty flavor. Thanks!
I just finished making this the evening before presenting it as an anniversary gift to my husband. He LOVES key Lime pie but has been unimpressed with the selection here in Canada. I’m thinking this may be a nice surprise as a result; however, I see that you said to make it the day of. This concerns me greatly as we won’t be consuming it until the following evening, nor can we eat an entire pie between the two of us, so I truly hope it will still taste great by tomorrow, can either hold up for multiple days or be frozen..yikes. I’m wondering how the grocery stores are able to sell frozen versions…hmm. I may post an update to let others know if it was still yummy after delayed consumption and storage ‘pitfalls’.
I made this for my son on his 20th birthday, on the 7th! He absolutely loved it and my husband wants me to only use this recipe from now on! Thank you for this great recipe! 💚
so easy and delicious!! I followed the recipe exactly!
Do you have to leave it in a fridge for 3 hours?
Yes, I definitely recommend at least 3 hours.
Amazing key lime pie! I only used 1.5 cans of condensed milk as it was sweet enough for us, and added a bit more greek yogurt. Delish!!
can i freeze this pie with the whipped cream already on it?
Hi Amy, While I don’t think this is the kind of thing that I’d suggest making ahead and freezing with or without the whipped cream, if you have leftovers, you may be able to get away with freezing them (please keep in mind I haven’t frozen it myself).
Delicious pie! I added about 25% more lime as my family likes it really tart. Love the yogurt instead of sour cream.
Absolutely delicious; has the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Followed directions exactly (easy peasy) and results were perfect. Made it in a deep dish pie pan which left plenty of room for a generous amount of whipped cream to be piped along the edge of the crust. This recipe is a keeper!
Hi Jen! This pie is amazing as is( I last made it for Father’s Day) but I need some guidance on making the crust gluten -free for a friend’s upcoming birthday!! Do you think gluten- free graham crackers would do the trick ? The texture of the pie and the crust is what makes this recipe so good and I don’t want to compromise the end result!! Thanks so much
Hi Ellen, I think gluten-free graham crackers will work nicely here. Hope your friend enjoys!
Excellent idea! I live in Florida and have always made Key Lime Pie..but you are correct sometimes it’s very difficult to find key limes even for us Floridians. I make mine a bit different, I use eggs and put a high meringue top on it and bake it. I can’t wait to try it with Persian limes. Thank you for the suggestion.