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.
Sign up to get emails when I post new recipes!
For even more great ideas follow me on Facebook – Pinterest – Instagram – Twitter – Bloglovin’.
Linda says
I am leaving 5 stars even tho I havent yet made the pie. It looks wonderful. I am wondering if it sets up without eggs in it, and can you make it a day ahead?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Hi Linda! Yes it does set up 🙂 I actually have had several readers email to tell me they don’t even bake it at all anymore and it sets up? Who knew!
TERESA MARUNA says
Totally exceeded my expectations! There are no words to describe the yummy deliciousness of this way too easy pie! Thank you for sharing!
Nikki says
Planning on making this for 4th of July – quick question. Can I store overnight before serving, and if so, should I spread the whipped topping before refrigerating overnight or just before serving?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Absolutely can be stored overnight refrigerated. And yes, leave any decorations until the last minute. Enjoy!
Beth says
Made this for a party. What a hit! Thank you for sharing.
Cheryl Osborne says
My husband absolutely loves key lime pie, and he has eaten a lot of them. HE has declared this one the BEST ever. It is delicious and so easy to make.
D Mel says
My husband loves key lime pie but he is so picky about it, I’ve tried several recipes and he had some complaint about each one. His only complaint about this one was that I gave him a slice that was too small for how good it was! This is the easiest, best tasting recipe ever. Thank you!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Wow! High praise indeed 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a sweet comment!
Donna says
I recently discovered I like Key Lime Pie! I made this recipe and everyone went crazy for it. Now I LOVE key lime pie! This recipe is perfect!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Ahhh, welcome to the club Donna! Key Lime Pie is a summer time favorite for us. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Marie says
This pie is delicious! I thought it seemed a little odd that the recipe said to bake it for ten minutes even though there are no eggs, so I took my chances and put it straight into the fridge to chill. It firmed up beautifully and looks just like the picture. I used Nilla wafers for the crust and it was super tasty.
Michelle says
This is DELICIOUS! Thanks for making a recipe for less experienced chefs! My family loved it on my first try!
Abby says
My go to summer pie..love it!!! Can I freeze it after it cools?
Jenna says
I made this for my fiancé’s family (not knowing until I walked in with this beautiful hunk of magic that they are all OBSESSED with key lime pie–I was immediately a little scared because I’d never made it before so the pressure was on) and they LOVED it. They said it was the best key lime pie ever! It was incredible. Perfect texture and perfect balance of sweet and tart. Making another pie tomorrow for just my fiancé and I to enjoy all by ourselves 😉
Thank you for bestowing this marvelous creation on us. Kudos!
charlene dennis says
Made this recipe for my monthly dinner group – loved it!! Didn’t quite buy enough limes though, would help to list how many limes are needed for the juice (for novices like me). Glad you encouraged us to make the crust ourselves – it was easy and made a big difference in the taste, thank you.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad you loved the pie Charlene! I didn’t say the number of limes only because it very much varies from lime to lime. Thank you for stopping by!
Christian says
Anyone know if this would do well made into bars or mini pies? It was delicious and I’d like to take to a shrimp boil, so I’m looking for easy eating and serving.
Erin says
Look NO further!! Key lime pie is my all-time favorite dessert, and this recipe is IT. I have wowed family with this a couple of times now and I think I will be expected to make it often. Luckily, it is so easy. So glad I found this recipe!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awww, thanks Erin! So glad you loved it!
Jessica Moore says
Made this today for my husband and mother-in-law and we all loved it! It was perfect in flavor and texture.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Jessica!