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 made this pie for Father’s Day this past Sunday because it’s my dad & grandpa’s favorite, and everyone loved it!!! I don’t bake often enough, but my grandma loves to cook/bake and she said it was the best key lime pie she’s ever had! 🙂
I have not baked it yet but is it possible I can subsitute for Greek yogurt and use sour cream instead?
Thank You.
Sure, sour cream is fine – enjoy!
I keep writing this and it keeps erasing. I am a single mom and not a great cook. My daughter loves frozen key lime pie. I have no zester, but a grater. Unsure about the Greek yogurt but will give it a go. Have no juicer but my daughter can squeeze? And no pie dish except a tin shallow. What kind of dish would I need to buy? Thank you!
I’m sorry your text kept erasing! While if you made this and had leftovers, I think you could get away with freezing them, I don’t recommend using this recipe if you’re looking for a frozen version as it’s not designed for that. I just took a peek and see a few recipes online that look promising. Hope you find something that works for you!
You do not say how much condensed milk, nor yogurt use
It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions above. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
My husband absolutely loves key lime pie so I made this for Father’s Day. My first time making it and so delicious! Everyone loved it. I had some extra filling … baking it in 3 mini pie crusts right now 😋 I saved some zest to sprinkle on top. Thank you for the recipe. I’ll be making this again!
I made this yesterday for Father’s Day for someone who loves key lime pie. I don’t think I’ve ever had key lime pie so I didn’t have anything to compare it to. He liked the pie and so did some other family members but my husband and I found it to be so sweet it was difficult to eat an entire slice. If I try to make it again, might I try using just one can of sweetened condensed milk? If so, will I need to add more yogurt? How much?
Hi G, sorry that you found it to be too sweet! I don’t recommend using only one can of sweetened condensed milk, but some readers have commented that they’ve cut back on the sweetness by using a tad more lime juice and reducing the sugar a bit in the crust. Hope that helps!
Thanks, I’ll try again some time. I appreciate your prompt response!
Excellent recipe (again)! Your recipes are truly delicious! You’re my “go to” site! Made this for Father’s Day and every one loved it. Like one other reader, I felt it was a tad too sweet, so I may try decreasing the sweetened condensed milk and adding more yogurt in its place next time. But that’s a personal preference and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the recipe. Perfect texture, etc. Thank you!
Could I substitute sour cream for the greek yogurt?
Sure, that will work – enjoy!
I make it with sour cream because it reduces the sweetness and is creamier. I make this every year for my husband’s birthday and he loves it!
Could I use crushed Biscoff cookies instead of Graham Crackers for the crust?
Sure!
Absolutely amazing!! My family LOVES key lime and this was better than any restaurant/bakery quality we have ever had! It was the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
The only thing I had to do differently was the crust. I had to use the Goodie Girl gluten free Birthday cake cookies with cookie cream included. I added them to my food processor and then mixed in the melted butter to form the crust. Next time I will try the gluten free Graham crackers but haven’t had the best success with them due to the fine crumble in pie crusts in the past. I made two pies in one day back to back and took one to a pool party. It was a huge hit with everyone. This will definitely be a go-to Summer pie! Thank you for making it simple to make and delicious to eat!
Absolutely. I live in Chile, where graham crackers are not available, and I use Biscoff cookies in place of graham crackers for crust. The result is super tasty!
What degrees do you bake it at and also how much yogurt and condensed milk or where can I find that info
Hi Kaylyn, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions above. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
Thank you I didn’t check it properly 😅