The Best Key Lime Pie recipe EVER! Tart and sweet and incredibly easy, this Key Lime Pie is sure to be a family favorite! A delicious graham cracker crust filled to the brim with an incredibly creamy filling that is just so quick to make! You won’t be able to stop at just one slice!
Love key lime desserts? Check out my Key Lime Pie Bars and Key Lime Pie Snowball Cookies!
Key Lime Pie
I’m admittedly not much of a pie person. I only share pie recipes that I absolutely love. Recipes like this Key Lime Pie. That incredible combination of tart and sweet is absolutely irresistible and will make this pie a family favorite, guaranteed.
So, confession time. I didn’t squeeze a bunch of key limes for this pie. This is an easy key lime pie recipe, after all 🙂 I used key lime juice. You can find it the produce area in most grocery stores. It makes this pie even easier to make!
Now, if you have access to key limes and want to squeeze them, go right ahead! Absolutely perfect in this pie.
After all of that, Happy Pi Day! With an electrical engineering degree you can bet I’ve had my fill of pi. But never, NEVER will I have my fill of this pie.
So this “key” lime pie recipe is crazy easy. And I mean cray-zee. So easy, you may find yourself making one a week, like I plan to, for the rest of your life.
Key Lime Pie – Always Start with a Graham Cracker Crust
The pie starts with a graham cracker crust. I am terrible at crusts but gosh darnit, a homemade graham cracker crust tastes WAY better than a store bought one and it’s pretty simple to make. Just some graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter will do the trick.
I’m a big fan of graham cracker crusts because they are super easy to make and go so well in many desserts. I use it in this Pistachio Pie and these No Bake S’mores Cheesecake Bars.
(Extra graham crackers? You can find all my recipes that use graham cracker crusts here.)
What Is In Key Lime Pie Filling
Now let’s get to the filling. It’s a whole lotta lime juice, lime zest, sour cream and a couple cans of sweetened condensed milk (a.k.a. nectar of the gods). You just whisk it all together, pour it into your pie shell, bake for 10 minutes and voila – you’ve got a key lime pie that will blow your family and friends away.
- Key Lime Juice
- Lime Zest
- Sour Cream
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
What You Need To Make this Key Lime Pie
- Pie Plate – I made this pie in my 9.5 inch Pyrex pie plate. You can use a smaller pie plate no problem. You’ll either have a little extra crust or just make it extra thick. The filling does not expand when baking so go ahead and pour as much of it into your crust as you can.
- Key Lime Juice or Key Limes – I used key lime juice. I actually order mine on Amazon. I’m a big fan of reading reviews to make sure I get the very best product. This is the one I’m currently crushing on. Truth time. This pie can be made with regular limes if you can’t find key lime or key lime juice. Just sayin’.
- You’re going to need a zester for this pie. The key lime zest adds SO much flavor to this key lime pie and looks so pretty on top!
The truth is, I’m not much of a decorator when it comes to pies and cakes. I’m all about simple, easy, get-it-in-my-mouth-as-quick-as-possible. You too? Good. Then you’ll like my no-nonsense whipped cream topping.
If you are in a hurry, and I mean, a BIG HURRY, I would perhaps allow you to use a store bought pie crust and a can of whipped cream. This pie would still be heavenly. No doubt. (Edited to add: I made the crust in the video but as we were running out of time, I used a can of whipped cream in the video below. Works in a pinch!)
More amazing pie recipes to try!
- No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cream Pie
- No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie
- 31 Amazing Pies You Need To Try!
- Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie
- No Bake Pina Colada Cream Pie
How To Make the Best Key Lime Pie
Best Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp butter melted
Key Lime Filling
- 28 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 3/4 cup key lime juice
- zest from 2 regular limes or 4 key limes
Whipped Cream Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Graham cracker crust
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press the crumb mixture into an 8" - 9.5" pie pan. Bake for 7 minutes. Cool for at least 30 minutes.
Key Lime Filling
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Whisk together sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime zest in a medium bowl. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust and bake for 10 minutes.
- Let pie cool slightly before chilling. Chill for at least 3 hours.
Whipped Cream Topping
- Beat heavy cream and sugar together in a mixer until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cooled pie. Top with additional lime zest if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published March 14, 2015.
And now that we’re all thinking pie… Check out these pies from my friends:
Krispy Kreme Pie | Cinnamon Pie | Peach Hand Pies
And more pies, just for fun!
For all cake recipes, go HERE.
For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
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Sam says
Literally best pie ever! I was wondering how cooking time would vary if I were to make this pie in a cupcake size? Any idea? I love the idea of a bite sized dessert for a larger crowd.
Mare says
Made this amazing Key Lime pie for the first time for a family gathering and it was a HIT! So so so good. Easy to make. Used plain whole milk yogurt instead of sour cream and it was just as good. Will definitely make this pie again!
Mark says
Made this several times! It’s fabulous!
Perfect pie
Erica says
I’m making this pie to take to a friends house, will the whipped topping hold up if I make and decorate the day before. Or is that something I need to wait and do right before serving?
charles says
creamy and smooth, I used regular limes and worked out well. My only real advice is make it early enough to eat as it needs to sit in refrigerator for 3 hours before cutting. I made it for supper but wasn’t ready for desert as everyone had left before it had been chilled long enough.
Jean says
This is the most fantastic key lime pie recipe ever! It bursts with flavor in every bite. The texture is good. I will never need another key lime pie recipe because this cannot be better.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😋
Lin says
OMG!!!
Pucker up and kiss this pie❤️ I have made this pie twice in the last month. Thought key lime pie would be difficult to make and I was so wrong. I followed directions exactly. It was so creamy, just the right amount of tart and sweet. The crust was so complimentary to the filling. Everyone raved and wanted the recipe. Thank you for making me look like a classy baker.
Kaylee Sandberg says
Is the 28 oz sweetened condensed milk a typo? Is it supposed to be 2 8 oz cans or is it really 28?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
No, it’s not a typo. It’s two 14 ounce cans.
Mimi says
Easy and delicious! The texture is so smooth. My husband kept asking for more. That said, I wish there were some way to make it slightly tangier without messing with the lovely texture. I like STRONG tang. Maybe I just need to find tangier limes?
Barb Pace says
I don’t have easy access to key limes where I live. So I used TrueLime. It is real lime that is powdered. I like the extra tang, too. I reconstituted it (2tbsp of TrueLime powder to 3/4 c water), then I added extra powder to taste. Turned out so beautiful, and nice and tangy, just the way I like it! I buy it in bottles from the grocery store and found it in the baking aisle, but I believe Amazon has it too.
dominique says
I made it with 14oz of sweetened condensed milk instead of 28 oz by mistake but I thought it turned out great and the pie was nice and tangy 😀
David Price says
HI,
Thank you for your recipes!
This is my first try at a key lime pie.
I was looking over the ingredients.
You list 28 ounces of sweet condensed milk.
Is 28 ounces correct?
Thanks
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yes, that’s correct. You’ll need two 14 ounce cans.
Lin says
If I could give this recipe more than 5 stars I would. I was skeptical that so few ingredients could be this good. Followed recipe exactly.
Hubby and grandkids have already requested another one. Family thought I was a professional chef. 😂
Leigh says
This pie is a hit every time I make it and everyone always asks for the recipe. An easy, delicious crowdpleaser for sure!
Dana says
Okay – even my super selective (picky1) granddaughter fell in love with this pie! She already has dibs on the next one!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Haha! That’s amazing! Thanks Dana!
Lauren says
Can you use full fat sour cream instead of light?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Absolutely Lauren!
lauren Hanna says
Why light sour cream and not full fat? Can full fat be used? I have never been a fan of light. Thanks!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can use full fat sour cream with no issues.