Dorothy Kern
This is the CLASSIC Key Lime Pie Recipe you’d get in Florida: a graham cracker crust with a creamy key lime filling and homemade whipped cream on top. If you want to transport yourself to Key West, this is the recipe to take you there.
I promise, one bite of this creamy heavenly dessert and you’ll be hooked!
Table of Contents
I’ve had Key Lime Pie in Florida and I set out to make an authentic version here at home to satisfy my key lime craving!
Authentic Key Lime Pie Recipe
This recipe is one of my FAVORITE pies! Here’s why I love it so much:
- It’s easy and simple to make.
- It’s just like the one I had in Miami!
- It has a Graham Cracker Crust, creamy Key Lime Filling, and Fresh Whipped Cream!
Making Key Lime Pie from scratch
This pie is such a simple one that it’s easy to make entirely from scratch. There are three main parts to this pie:
- A Graham Cracker Crust
- Key Lime custard filling
- Fresh whipped cream topping
While my version of this pie is a baked recipe, you can make no-bake Key Lime Pie using Cool Whip instead of the eggs, but that’s a whole different recipe.
How to make Graham Cracker Crust
Traditionally, this pie has a graham cracker crust. The crust is crunchy and not too sweet, which complements the sweet and sour creamy filling.
Making your own graham cracker crust is beyond easy and I highly recommend it because the store-bought ones aren’t as good.
How to make a graham cracker crust for key lime pie: Simply crush your graham crackers with a rolling pin or in a food processor and stir them with melted butter and brown sugar. Press into a 9-inch pie plate and pre-bake the crust for 7 minutes.
Normally I don’t cook my graham cracker crusts but it is important to do for this pie so that the crust forms a shell; that way the filling won’t drip through, making it soggy.
Learn all about making graham cracker crust from scratch.
How to Make Traditional Key Lime Pie
The filling of a key lime pie is a cooked custard. It’s like lime curd but it’s set, like in a lemon meringue pie.
The filling has just FOUR ingredients:
Sweetened Condensed Milk: use regular, not fat-free. You can find sweetened condensed milk in the baking aisle; make sure to buy regular and not low-fat or nonfat. In the US, it comes in 14-ounce cans.
Egg yolks: the egg yolks are what makes the pie set and gel without using gelatin, so they’re super important to the recipe.
Key Lime juice and zest: you can substitute regular limes for the zest but not the juice, more on that below
To make your filling: you just have to whisk all the ingredients together – that’s IT. Pour it into the partially baked crust and bake until set.
Can you use regular limes in place of key limes?
You can tell the difference between a regular lime (Persian or Tahitian lime) and a Key Lime by the size as well as the flavor. Key limes are smaller and rounder with more seeds and more aromatic and intense flavor.
It might be tempting to just use regular limes in a Key Lime pie but, then, it’s just a lime pie, so use real key limes!
Key limes have a shorter supply and aren’t fresh all year long like regular limes, so if you can’t find them then I suggest using bottled key lime juice, not regular limes.
When choosing between squeezing a ton of Key Limes and using a bottle of juice I will tell you that fresh is best but I won’t judge you for skipping all that juicing!
Once the pie is baked, cool it completely and then chill it until it’s cold and set. Before serving, top it with fresh whipped cream and slices of lime.
Storing Key Lime Pie
Always store this in the refrigerator, loosely covered. Whipped cream tends to run after it sits, so for best results, top it right before serving.
With the creamy tart filling, crunchy crust and sweet whipped cream, this is the Key Lime Pie of your dreams!
Tips and FAQ for Key Lime Pie
- How to avoid a soggy crust: make sure to bake the crust before adding the filling to ensure it stays crunchy.
- Does Key Lime Pie need to be refrigerated? Yes – store it in the refrigerator.
- Can I use a store bought crust? Yes you can – and you won’t need to pre-bake it.
- How to tell it’s done: the top will be set looking – not watery.
- How to decorate Key Lime Pie: I love using a 1M tip (large star tip) with a piping bag full of whipped cream to decorate the top. Garnish with lime slices.
- If you can’t find key limes, use Persian Lime Zest and bottled key lime juice (found in the juice aisle).
If you love key lime desserts, be sure to check out my Key Lime Eclair no-bake dessert and my Key Lime Cheesecake!
If you love lime in general, then you must try my Lime Curd Pie, too.
Have you tried this recipe? I’d love it if you’d leave a comment and review below!
Have you made this recipe?
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Key Lime Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups (157g) graham cracker crumbs (about 9 full graham cracker sheets)
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed brown sugar
- 7 tablespoons (99g) unsalted butter, melted
Key Lime Pie Filling:
- 1 14 ounce can (390g) sweetened condensed milk full fat
- 3 large egg yolks
- 4 ounces key lime juice
- 2 teaspoons key lime zest
Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar optional (see note)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make the crust:
- If starting from graham cracker sheets, place them in a bag and seal the bag except for the edge (to allow air to escape). Roll with a rolling pin to crush the graham crackers.
- Add crushed grahams to the melted butter with the brown sugar and stir with a fork. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
- Bake the pie crust for 7 minutes and leave the oven on.
Make the filling:
- When crust is done pre-baking, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, key lime juice, and zest. Pour into crust.
- Bake an additional 20-22 minutes or until top is set.
- Cool completely before topping with whipped cream or serving.
Make the whipped cream:
- Beat cold heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla on high speed until stiff peaks form. If desired, add cream of tartar during mixing to create a more stabilized cream (see note).
- Store pie in refrigerator for up to 3 days. It’s best to top with whipped cream right before serving. Garnish with lime slices, if desired.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Learn how to make whipped cream here.
- You don’t have to add cream of tartar to your whipped cream, but if you are planning to let the pie sit out for a bit or want to top it a few hours before serving, it will help stabilize the whipped cream.
- Can’t find key limes? Use bottled Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice instead and the zest of regular limes.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
This Classic Key Lime Pie Recipe has a graham cracker crust, key lime custard filling and whipped cream topping. It’s totally from scratch!
Last Updated on March 18, 2022
All text and images © DOROTHY KERN for Crazy for Crust. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Published on: March 8, 2020
Helpful note: To stabilize your whipped cream, add 1 T. vanilla pudding mix. It works better than cream of tartar and will keep whipped cream from deflating for days.
Trick I stole from Charley’s Steakhouse in Tampa is to mix some lightly crushed macademias into the crust. Also I buy the already crushed crackers, saves time!(but still make my own crust)
I always research before doing anything. If you only found limes instead of keylimes then squeezing the juice from lemons added with the juice squose from the limes will still give the keylime flavor. Also, I didn’t use eggs to make the pie I made! Sweet condensed milk, keylime juice plus zest, and sour cream is what made the filling. However I am curious about making the pie your way! So I am going to save your recipe and my 2nd time making a keylime pie will be with your recipe! There isn’t anything wrong with using store bought Graham Cracker Crust, it’s made by Keebler! The pie I made was baked, and it set fine without using eggs! I made a whipped topping but just incase it didn’t turn out well I was going to use Reddi Whip! The topping was made with 1 cup heavy whipping cream, half cup powder sugar, and 1teaspoon of vanilla. That was enough to completely cover the whole pie! I used [(Mom on Timeout)] for my 1st time ever making a keylime pie. I am eating a slice now! Your recipe has me wondering what the difference in taste is by adding eggs! Also I got a store bought crust and I baked it, I am noticing a fluid in the pan but I think its a butter syrup from the crust. My fridge acts like a freezer though so the pie could have froze and then thawed as ppl pull it out to grab slices and thats why the syrup is left behind! Once I make it I will leave a review! Thanks for taking the time out to write a recipe! ^_~
If you decide to use a store-bought grahm cracker crust would you bake it the same as you do in the Keylime pie recipe?