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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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 🙁