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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Abby S. says
I love this recipe. I’ve never been a fan of key lime pie until now! Its so simple and has just the right amount of sweet and tart combination. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Lynn says
This pie is so easy. I like it has no eggs so the filling doesn’t have to be cooked if you want to turn on the oven. I also use this same recipe for Lemon icebox pie.
Georgette says
Wow! Great recipe. I liked that it did not call for eggs so that saved lots of time separating eggs. The Covid19 pandemic keeps causing shortages at grocery stores so key lime juice was not to be found in any section of the store so I substituted ReaLime juice (same quantity), and pie was still fantastic. I used the zest of 2 regular limes. The shorter chilling time compared to other recipes was very helpful as I got a very late start on the pie. I used the graham cracker crust recipe in a glass 9″ Pyrex pie plate. It was a little thick, but I sprayed the pie plate with cooking spray, and crust and nicely set pie came out beautifully even on the first slice! Make sure you stir the filling ingredients until smooth. Takes just a few minutes to do so. The birthday “girl” was very happy as was her four year old daughter! I chose to omit the whipped cream, but I am sure it would have also been fantastic.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Great substitution! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the recipe!
Ann says
I am a better cook than I am a baker. Had a can of condensed milk and a can of La Lechera (carmelized-tasting version for Mexican Flan) so used both to get 28 ozs. On top of that, I accidentally grabbed the Greek yogurt instead of the sourcream. Telling tomorrow’s guests I made Keylime Flan. That’s my story. Still tastes great! Thanks for recipe.
Susan Matthews says
I’ve been using this recipe for a while now and I realized I never left a comment! This is the BEST pie ever…my family and friends always request my key lime pie for all the family functions! It is so refreshing and delicious. Because I am obsessed with cinnamon & put it on just about everything, I’ve used the cinnamon graham crackers for the crust and it‘s delicious as well 😂 thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe with us!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
LOVE the addition of cinnamon in the crust – I need to try this! Thank you SO much Susan!!
Wednesday Andrews says
AMAZING. I’m not big on Key like pie but my husband goes nuts for it so I surprised him today and had this ready for him after work. So so so good. Thank you for the recipe
Mariya says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My husband in the hotel line requested Key Lime Pie for dessert & since I had never made one from scratch before I told him I’d give it a go! My FIL is a pie connoisseur of sorts, lol so I crossed my fingers that he’d like it… Thanks for sharing a superb recipe.
Tammie says
Finally made the pie. I didn’t have key lime juice bottled or fresh so I just used reg limes. I used a lot more zest than called for. Everyone really enjoyed it. I did experience an issue with the crust though. For some reason some of it stuck to the bottom of the pie plate. I actually used the exact one you did (did you happen to pick them up at Walmart? Lol). Any idea as to why this would happen? I’m planning to make it again. Hopefully today. I’ll check back before I do just in case you answered my question….
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
More zest is always a good idea! So I make my own crust, it’s really easy to do if you haven’t tried it before! And sometimes, if you go to cut the pie right out of the fridge, the crust can be a little sticky. Let it sit out for 10 minutes or so if you’re having problems. Hope that helps!
Melissa B says
Made this to today using limes off of our tree. It was spectacular. Even better than the pies we get in the Keys. I didn’t change a thing. Thank you so much for sharing. Everyone raved about it!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
How fantastic Melissa! I appreciate that so much! I wish I had a lime tree lol!
Suzanne says
Can you omit the whipped cream on top ??
Looks like your using just a can whipped cream from store in the video ?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can and yes, I used canned whipped cream in the video although that is a poor substitute for the real stuff lol 🤣
Tammie says
Haven’t made this yet but I just wanted to give a tip for those who plan to make their own whipped cream. If you add some skim milk powder to your cream it will help to stabilize it more. I learned this from Anna from Anna Bakes YouTube channel. Just add 1 tbsp to 1 cup of whipping cream (1:1 ratio). Happy baking fellow bakers…. 😉
A says
I just tried this recipe and it turned out perfect! It was so easy! I wonder if you could substitute other citrus juices to make say, an orange version or a lemon version?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I haven’t tried yet but I know readers have and love it. It appears lemon is a favorite.
Adelaide Wiggins says
Was very good! My daughter who is literally a person who can’t make toast made this and it tasted amazing!! The only downside it it took her 5 hours instead of 30 minutes like it said. But then again it might have been because of her inability to cook/bake🤪
Cassandra says
Delicious recipe either right amount of tartness. Added a little gelatin to the whipped cream when I made it so that it would hold longer. Just wondering if I can half the ingredients and get the same results.
Sheetal kapoor says
I tried this recipe over the weekend. It is absolutely amazing! Thanks For Sharing!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed it, it’s my favorite!
Laurie Thomas says
I substituted lemon off of the tree. Did the recipe the same otherwise. Quite delicious and a big hit! Everyone wants tour recipe!! Thank you so much.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Mmmmm! Lemon pie! I’m down for that too!
Tammie says
Thanks for leaving this comment. Everyone really enjoyed the lime pie but I’ve been wanting to make a lemon pie of some type. It’s been yrs since I’ve made a lemon meringue pie which I love but I want to make something a bit easier. After reading your comment I knew this was going to be the one. Enjoy that lemon tree. I have one too but it’s still a youngin, lol. Happy baking…