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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The pie was good but my topping was runny. I put it in the freezer and mixed it again and it was a little better. Overall, the pie had good flavor but wasn’t the prettiest. I’m not sure what I did wrong on the topping. I started out with key limes but after sweezing an entire bag I only got about 1/4 of a cup so I got regular limes for the rest. This pie would’ve been quick had I gotten just regular limes like the recipe called for.
the amount of fat content makes a huge difference when you are making a whipped topping. it if does not have at least 35% it ends up being really watery.
I have never made key lime pie and only had it once or twice and it was never tart enough for me. I made this recipe and the only change I made was, I used nonfat plain yogurt that I already had and it was absolutely delicious! One of the best if not the best pie I’ve ever had!!!
Thank you!
I have fresh Key Lime juice…have you tried that? Is it better with the Persian limes?
Hi Dave, Either will work well so use the fresh Key lime juice if you have it. Enjoy!
Jenn, I love this recipe! I found this through a search about 5yrs ago, and ever since my husband requests it for his birthday. It is a labor of love making it, but it is SO worth it! Better than any restaurant key lime pie!
Hello! Can you make this in a springform pan?
Sure, John. Enjoy!
Great question, JohnM. Thanks for asking!
Can I use a premade graham crackers crust
Yep!
AMAZING!!! This pie was so easy and SOOOO good! I made exactly as written and will not change a thing. Thank you for a new family favorite!!
Would it be okay to omit the brown sugar from the crust? I find graham crackers plenty sweet on their own and was wondering if I can omit the brown sugar do I need to add more butter as a binder? Thank you!
Hi SK, it’s omit the omit the sugar in the crust with bo other adjustments. Hope you enjoy!
Wow! This pie is delicious! The whole family loved this and thought it was purchased at a bake shop. Thank you for this recipe. I will be making it again!
Thank you for this recipe. It was a big success and other than the lime squeezing, it was a very easy to follow and execute recipe. Three thumbs up!
This is the best Key Lime Pie ever! Anytime I have a dinner party or am invited over, everyone wants this pie.
I would like to know how to modify the recipe for a meringue topping. Whipped cream is delicious but I also love meringue.
Hi Lynn, Glad you like it! I wouldn’t recommend a meringue topping here as I’m afraid that the filling in the pie would get overbaked when the meringue gets baked. Sorry!
That makes sense, thank you for replying.
Alternately you can make the meringue and use a kitchen torch to Brown the tops. You don’t have to bake it that way
I made it, added my little twist, and quickly realized that this pie is perfection!!!
So I had never made Keylime pie before, and it wasn’t my favorite dessert but I had a request for it. The recipe called for 8 to 10 normal limes for the recipe. I wanted to double the recipe so I bought about 20 limes. Just be cautious because I guess Minor a good size limes and I ended up having enough limes for a double recipe plus about nine extra left over! No big deal I just use the leftover limes to make a third pie! Lol. As I stated before Keylime pie is not my favorite but I have to admit the end result was pretty darn delicious. Everyone that tried it stated they loved it. It’s a great recipe and although I ended up with extra lines, if you follow the recipe, it works perfectly.