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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I’ve made this 4 times now….. the last one for my husband’s birthday per his request. After using a store-bought crust, I decided to try the recipe crust and found it to be both better tasting and easy to do. Everyone loves the pie. You will, too.
This is so much better than my previous recipe that used bottled key lime juice. It’s absolutely perfect – creamy and delicious with the perfect balance of sweet and tart. I’ve made it 4 times over the summer and it’s gotten rave reviews from all. Thanks so much 🙂
I made this pie for a dinner party and it exceeded my expectations! My husband, who doesn’t like key lime pie, raved about it. I confess I was inspired by your coconut cream pie, so I added 1/4 c. unsweetened coconut to the crust and loved the results. The crust baked up nicely and was so easy to cut (I haven’t had good results with graham cracker crusts.) I will be making this again – thanks for another winner, Jenn!
I made this for a large family party that had many other desserts, and this was the first one to disappear. It looks great, it tastes great, and it’s easy to make. Once again, a dish that I always thought would be daunting turned out to be simple thanks to your recipes.
🙂 Glad everyone enjoyed!
Hi Jenn, I’ve made your Key Lime Pie to rave reviews each time. My only problem is each slice leaves part of its crust on the bottom of the pan. I read your note about making the crust and the pie on the same day, which I do, so that’s not the problem. Plus the crust has enough butter in it to grease the pan. I welcome your suggestions on how to serve a complete slice of pie with all of its yummy crust.
Hmm, that’s strange, Karen! What type of pie pan are you using?
I guess that it’s ceramic. It looks a lot like the one in your photo. Red on the outside, white interior.
As long as you’re using a good pie server and getting it under the crust, the only thing I can think of is that maybe you’re pressing the crumbs too firmly into the pan. Next time, I’d try just patting it a little more lightly and see if that helps.
OMG! This is beyond great. You might be tempted to buy a pre made graham cracker crust but don’t. This crust is amazing. I think it is because she uses brown sugar instead of regular sugar.
This pie is outstanding and I wouldn’t change a thing and will be making over and over. Thank you Jenn.
This recipe is delicious; the only complaint I received was that it is VERY sweet. At first I was offended with my family and then I realized they were right. Is there a way to reduce sugar that will produce a nice pie result? Maybe playing with the ratio of sweetened condensed milk and whole milk Greek yogurt? What are your thoughts, Jenn?
Hi Kristin, you could cut the brown sugar in the crust by a few tablespoons and the confectioners’ sugar in the whipped topping back to 1 Tbsp. I wouldn’t, however, mess with the ratios of the filling; not sure how that will impact the recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you Jenn I think those would be the easiest items to adjust as well.
Kristen and Jenn, I added an extra 1/4 cup lime juice, and an extra 8 oz. of Greek yogurt, as the filling was too sweet for my taste. It was a perfect blend of tart/sweet, and the texture of the pie was perfect. I did not change the cooking time or temp. 😋👏🏼
Good to know, Meg — thanks for the follow-up! 🙂
Hi Jenn, I am modifying this recipe a bit – using the crust from your coconut cream pie (love that crust!). I’ve made the crust and baked. I’m doing the filling now – recipe says bake again to set the filling, will this make the crust to hard/dry to eat?
I should have read the recipe closer before I decided to modify!!
thanks
Hi Noni, It’s such a short bake time; I think it will be fine. 🙂
They worked out perfectly!
Thank you sooo much for this recipe. Everyone I have served this pie to, especially the men, have said that it’s the best pie they have ever eaten, and to please give their wives the recipe. 😍
AWESOME! For me it’s the best Lime Pie recipe I know. And Key Lime Pie in general is my favorite… Simply love it… Jenn, thanks for this wonderful recipe!