Alright ya'll do I have a good recipe for you today! I found a huge bag of key limes for super cheap at my local Asian grocery store (pro tip), so I have been making key lime everything all weekend! Starting with this tangy key lime pie! It's got the classic buttery graham cracker crust and is topped with my simple homemade whipped cream. It's been less than 24 hours and there's only one slice left. So uh, it's pretty dang good.
What you need:
The best thing about key lime pie is that it's super easy and only requires a few simple ingredients!
Crust
- graham crackers
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter
Filling
- egg yolks
- sweetened condensed milk
- key lime juice
- key lime zest
Can I use regular lime juice instead?
Nope, sorry. Key limes have unique flavor which is what makes key lime pie so delicious! If you use regular lime juice it just won't have that classic key lime flavor. However, you can use regular lime zest if needed.
If you aren't lucky enough to find fresh key limes at the store, bottled key lime juice works great! Nellie & Joe's key lime juice* is fantastic and is sold at most grocery stores as well as amazon.
Decorating Tips
The most important thing to keep in mind with this pie, is to make sure you give it adequate time to cool before cutting into it (it's hard, I know). Overnight is ideal but it will still set pretty well after about 3 hours.
This key lime pie is topped with my favorite homemade whipped cream! I love it so much that I wrote a whole post about it with all my tips and tricks!
To decorate all of my cakes and pies, I use this Wilton Decorating Kit* and I love it! It’s super easy to use and has a ton of tips in different sizes. For this pie I used the 2D* tip
If you make this key lime pie, please leave us a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. Happy baking!
Key Lime Pie from Scratch
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs, about 12 full crackers
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- pinch kosher salt
Key Lime Filling
- 4 egg yolks
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup key lime juice*, 10-12 key limes
- 1 tablespoon key lime zest, about 5 key limes or 2 regular limes
Top with
- homemade whipped cream
- key lime slices
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add the graham crackers and sugar to your food processor and pulse until you have small, even crumbs (if you don't have a food processor, the old ziploc bag and rolling pin trick works just fine too).
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and a pinch of salt and combine with a fork until all the crumbs are coated with butter.
- Press the mixture evenly along the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie dish and pack tightly by pressing down with the back of a measuring cup.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 325 and then let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before filling (it's better if you can let it cool completely to room temperature, but I'm not that patient either).
Key Lime Filling
- While the crust is cooling, make the filling! In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and lime zest for about 2 minutes. Then add in the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
- Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake at 325 for 15-17 minutes or until the center is set but still jiggly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack at room temperature for 1-2 hours, then transfer to the fridge and let chill for a minimum of 3 hours but ideally overnight.
- Garnish with homemade whipped cream and key lime slices!
Notes
Nutrition
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