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 never much liked key lime pie. It’s usually cloyingly sweet and lacks depth of flavor, but made it for a friend for their birthday because it’s a favorite. Wow, did this recipe change my mind. I loved everything about it. It’s fast and easy to make, has great flavor, wonderful texture, and it’s not overly sweet. The Greek yogurt is genius, adding a level of complexity that’s delightful. I even found a leftover slice made for a tasty breakfast with a cup of coffee. I will make this pie again and again. Thanks for a great recipe.
I had never baked a Keylime pie, or ever tasted one. It was my son-in-law’s birthday and that happened to be his favourite pie. So I thought here goes nothing. I made it exactly to the recipe. It was the biggest hit ever with the whole family, especially my son-in-law. I tasted it for the very first time, I must admit it was SO good. I am making it again today for dessert for special friends. Thank you so much for an amazing recipe. I have made the NY cheesecakes several times, as my family requests it for birthdays now. Love your recipes 🥰🥰
Loved this recipe! Fantastic flavor and good consistency. The slices were beautiful. I cheated and used prepares crusts and bottled lime juice and had great results. Much easier and cheaper than recipes calling for egg yolks.
I made this last night and brought it to work and everybody raved how delicious it is. Thanks so much for this recipe.
-Jules
DELICIOUS! QUICK AND EASY!! Greek yogurt (yay protein!) Baking is great to set but not a must as there are no eggs (I found this out by putting the extra that we had in a jar in the fridge and eating it the next day.)
This pie filling is a perfect recipe to make with your young children, requiring an only bowl, a whisk and the ingredients!
We have given this pie as a meal train dessert, and it is a huge winner. We received so many compliments of which we can take none of the credit for because we only used a great recipe.
Do not skip the lime zest in the whip cream! I had no idea how remarkable that one simple added ingredient would be!
BONUS: Put a good size dollop of the lime zest whip cream on top of your plain, black coffee and then thank me later (especially if you let the whip cream sit overnight. The flavors just permeate and are amazing). Yum!!
Amazing recipe. Everyone loved it!
I was skeptical… oh my God. This is the best Keylime pie I have ever had. Every single person who got a slice said the same. THANK YOU!!
Hi Jenn,
I made this pie for Easter and everyone loved it. I’d like to make it again and wonder if I could put the filling in the same crust you use for your lemon bars and serve it the same way.
Katherine
Hi Katherine, so glad the pie was a hit! I think you could use the filling along with the crust for the lemon bars; just not sure how neatly they would slice as the filling in the pie is slightly looser than that in the lemon bars. If you do try it, please, LMK how it comes out!
Thanks for your reply, Jenn.
I used the delicious key lime filling with the crust you have for your lemon bars and although it held up just fine, and I absolutely love the crust, which I also used for your chocolate pie, I found that I prefer the graham cracker crust for the key lime pie; unlike my husband who was perfectly happy with the key lime pie filling and lemon bar crust combination!
Thanks for making all your wonderful recipes so available.
Katherine
Good to know and I guess you never know until you try it — thanks for reporting back!
Hello. Can this be made with a premade crust, like the ones you buy that are ready to go? I have one that is pecan.
Thanks.
Definitely!
Aside from the fact I accidentally bought and used key limes (I know…I know), this pie was AMAZING. And I say this as someone who doesn’t even like pie to begin with. I will make this again…and again…and again (it turned out perfectly even with a gluten free crust).
This pie received rave reviews at last night’s dinner party. I followed your very good directions to the letter. Well, no, I added more butter to the graham cracker crust than the recipe called for because I didn’t think it would cling together, or stick to the side of the pie plate. (If you get the urge to do the same, don’t. Just keep working at the mixture or it affects the texture).
For dessert-making novices, this is easy and impressive if you give yourself the time needed to make it on the day you intend to eat it.
It does set up. It does taste like legit key lime pie and it was a crowd pleaser!