This Classic Key Lime Pie features an easy homemade graham cracker crust, a smooth and creamy key lime pie filling, and homemade whipped cream on top. The perfect dessert for key lime lovers!
A few weeks ago we covered how to make a homemade graham cracker crust. And today, I’m giving you a reason to try out that graham cracker crust with my easy homemade key lime pie recipe!
If you’ve ever felt intimidated when it comes to making pies, this key lime pie is a great starting point. Not only is the homemade crust easy to make, but the filling is just three ingredients (yes, THREE!) and it only takes a few minutes to mix together.
An added bonus? Since this pie needs to chill for a while in the refrigerator, it’s a great recipe that you can make ahead of time too!
How To Make This Key Lime Pie
To make this key lime pie, you’ll start out with my homemade graham cracker crust recipe which is just a simple mixture of graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. I put together a tutorial here to show you exactly how to make a graham cracker crust. Here’s a little breakdown on how to make the crust:
- Combine the ingredients: Stir together your graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until the crumbs are moistened
- Press it into your pie dish: I suggest using a measuring cup for this step to firmly pack it on the bottom and around the sides of the dish
- Pre-bake it: You’ll need to bake the crust for about 10 minutes
I like to set the crust aside for at least 10 minutes to cool slightly while I prep the filling. This will ensure that the graham cracker crust firms up some and it will hold up much better! You can even prep the graham cracker crust 1-2 days in advance, cool completely, then cover it tightly and store it at room temperature.
For the filling, you’ll be using a simple mixture of key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks:
- Key Lime Juice: You can use fresh or bottled key lime juice for this recipe. If you want to make this recipe easy, I suggest sticking with bottled key lime juice. I really love Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice, you can usually find it by the juices in most grocery stores.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: You’ll be using two cans of sweetened condensed milk to thicken and sweeten the filling.
- Egg Yolks: There are 5 egg yolks in this pie and it adds so much richness! You can use some of the leftover egg whites in an omelet or in my homemade white cake recipe.
To make the filling, you’ll simply whisk together all of the ingredients until they’re well combined and the mixture is nice and thick.
Once you mix up the filling, you’ll pour it onto the pre-baked graham cracker crust and bake it for about 20 minutes. Once the pie is done, you’ll need to let it cool completely and chill it for several hours.
And last, but not least, you’ll want to top this pie with some whipped cream to balance out the tartness of the filling. You can either use whipped topping or my homemade whipped cream recipe or if you’re looking for a whipped cream that will hold up for several days, you can try my stabilized whipped cream recipe instead.
FAQ’s
Can you use regular lime juice?
Yes! You can substitute the key lime juice with an equal amount of lime juice or even lemon juice. You can find my lemon pie recipe here.
Does this need to be refrigerated?
Yes, I do suggest keeping it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it. You can store leftover key lime pie in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
How do you know when it’s done baking?
The top of the pie will be set, but still jiggly. The residual heat will continue to cook the pie and allow it to set up as it cools.
Baking Tips
- Be sure to let the crust cool for at least 10 minutes before adding the filling. This will give it some time to firm up and it will hold together much better.
- You can use either fresh or bottled key lime juice in this recipe. I prefer to use bottled key lime juice because it’s much easier.
- Don’t have any key limes? Regular lime or lemon juice will work fine!
- In order to properly set up, this pie needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. It’s best to make this pie the night before and allow it to chill overnight.
- When you cover the pie, make sure that the plastic wrap (or whatever you use to cover it) is not directly touching the top. Sometimes plastic wrap tends to stick to the pie and pull some of it up with it when you remove it.
More Pie Recipes To Try!
Classic Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
For the graham cracker crust:
- 1 and ½ cups (180 grams) graham cracker crumbs
- ⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the key lime pie filling:
- 1 cup (240 ml) key lime juice
- 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
- 5 large egg yolks
Topping:
- Whipped topping or homemade whipped cream
Instructions
To make the graham cracker crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Add the melted butter and stir until fully combined and all of the crumbs are moistened.
- Scoop the mixture into a 9-9.5 inch pie plate and firmly press it down into an even layer on the bottom and up around the sides of the dish.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.
- Keep oven temperature at 350°F (177°C).
To make the key lime pie filling:
- Combine the key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl and whisk until fully combined.
- Pour the filling into the slightly cooled graham cracker crust and spread it around into one even layer.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 18-22 minutes or until the top of the pie is set, the pie will still be jiggly.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool for 2 hours. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 6 hours or overnight. Once chilled, top with whipped cream, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Once again Danielle has hit it out of the park!!! I followed her excellent instructions exactly and it was amazing. It was served for a very special occasion and everyone raved about it.
I will also NEVER buy a graham cracker crust again. This one was soooo easy and incredibly delicious.
With Danielle I feel like I have my own personal expert right in the kitchen with me. Such talent and effort is hard to find. Thanks again!!!!
Thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed the pie!
loved this key lime pie recipe! My sister and I finished it and wanted more. thanks for this great and easy recipe!
My husband was craving Key Lime pie and our favourite pie place is closed. Over 25 years of marriage I have only made pie once, but I thought I would give it a try. So I took to Pinterest and found your recipe which I chose because it had lots of lime juice. This pie was SO delicious! It also was super easy to make, very creamy and fresh tasting. Honestly, the hardest part was squeezing those little limes. I will be making this recipe for years to come, so thank-you!!
So happy you loved the pie, Katrina!
Great recipe! Easy and delicious. This is my third time making it in as many months – my new go to for (small and socially distanced!) gatherings.
Made this to take to a family get together. It was lush & everybody enjoyed it. Will definitely be making again. Thank you for such a lovely recipe. Greeting from across the pond.
Hi! The pie looks amazing and I would love to make one. But since I live in Russia and we don’ have Graham Crackers here, what kind of crackers can I use instead of the ones in the recipe? Maybe you could describe the crackers somehow so I could find the substitute? That would be really helpful. Thank you in advance!
Hi, Lilya! I believe digestive biscuits are a similar option to graham crackers.
Hi! I just wanted to say, I love this recipe so much. I have slightly adapted it, but stick to the key ingredients and steps here. Thanks for such an amazing guide! This is truly to die for.
Should the eggs be at room temperature before you add in the yolks?
It definitely doesn’t hurt for them to be at room temperature, but it’s not necessary.
Would the amount of lime be the same if I used regular Persian limes?
Yes, I would use the same amount of lime juice.
can i ask you? if i don’t have sour cream, can I replace it with other substitute like buttermilk…is it suitable or not for this recipe?
Are you referring to a different recipe? This one doesn’t call for sour cream.
The original Key Lime pies in the Florida Keys were made with a regular pastry crust. I’d suggest doing that if you don’t have graham crackers.
I am excited to try this. Somehow I have far too much filling. Maybe I read the sweet and condensed milk wrong, I read it as two 14oz cans, is that correct? I baked a second little dish of filling.
Yes, that’s correct! It does make quite a bit of filling, but as long as your pie dish is deep enough it should all fit 🙂
Hi Danielle, thanks for sharing this recipe. It is the absolute best. I have made multiple times and have always used a glass pie plate. I am wondering if a disposable, aluminum pie plate would be OK to use, and if so, would the cook times need to be adjusted.
Hi, Eileen! That would be fine, just keep in mind that if it’s not deep enough it may not hold all of the filling. As long as you use all of the filling, the baking time should remain the same.
So delicious! I addd a 1/3 cup of sweetened coconut to the crust.
Served it with dollops of whipped cream, a sprinkle of coconut and some lime zest. It was a hit!
I made this pie for the first time yesterday. And it looks really good. But I was just looking at the recipe again and I failed to use just yolks – I used 5 whole eggs. Now I’m afraid to try this beautiful pie. Is this bad?
It will probably change the texture of the pie, but it may still be okay.
Can I bake this in a 9×11 pan and make them into bars?
Yes, I think that would be fine!
The pie had deliccious lime flavor, however, we all felt it was way too sweet. Any suggestions for making it less sweet? The condensed milk just added too much sugar for our tastes. Thanks Danielle!
You could possibly add some more key lime juice, but I haven’t personally tried it and I’m not sure if you would need to adjust other ingredients. You could cut the sugar in the graham cracker crust down to 1 to 2 tablespoons though.
If I can’t find the Nellie and Joes key lime juice, can I use Realime lime juice in a bottle? The stores around my neighborhood doesn’t carry the brand you recommend and they don’t keep lines in stock is the reason I am asking. Thank you very much
Yes, bottled lime juice is fine to use!
I am a Florida native and have been eating and making key lime pie for over 50 years. This is the exact, authentic recipe you need to make a classic key lime pie and I have no criticisms or corrections to make but I do have a few comments that may be helpful for those who are making it for the first time.
1. Fresh key limes are fantastic but are very hard to find, even in Florida. Most people use bottled key lime juice, even in the fanciest of restaurants. Nelly and Joe’s is the standard and is what I usually use. If you are lucky enough to find fresh key limes, they are very small but pack a lot of flavor. They are usually sold in 1 lb 24 count bags, which will yield about 3/4 cup of juice. They are tart enough that you don’t really need to worry about the exact measurement but if you have regular persian limes one on hand, you can add one or two to get the full one cup yield.
2. There were several comments and questions about substituting regular persian limes, lemons, etc. You can certainly do so and make a great pie but it won’t be an actual key lime pie. Key limes have a distinctive, concentrated flavor that you can’t get with any other lime or lemon. Again, you don’t need fresh key limes. Nelly and Joe’s is readily available in the US. if you can’t find it in your supermarket, buy it on Amazon.
3. I like to top mine with whipped cream, as the recipe suggests. However, traditionally, the pie has a meringue topping. After all, you have all of the leftover egg whites. You can find plenty of instructions on the internet about how to make a meringue topping and I recommend that you give it a try, if interested.
4. Although many people prefer a graham cracker crust, I far prefer a pastry crust. Try it both ways. I almost never make my crust from scratch. The pie has such a strong, tart flavor that it isn’t necessary. Buy a frozen crust, whether pastry or graham.
5. My last comment, which I guess is actually a mild criticism, is that you don’t need to cool it as long as the recipe suggests. I cool mine for a while at room temperature, until it is cool to the touch, maybe an hour or less,then cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and put it in the refrigerator for another hour or two. That’s all it needs.
Again, this is the real authentic recipe and is great as written.
Hi Danielle. I’m trying your recipe this weekend and I have an 11 inch pie plate. Would I be able to make this work by doubling the ingredients and adjusting the bake time? Thanks in advance!
Hi, Natasha! This recipe makes quite a bit of filling, so it would probably be okay to increase the crust, but use the same amount of filling and decrease the baking time slightly. If you prefer a thicker layer of filling I would multiply the recipe by 1.5, but you will likely have some leftover. You could always use any extra to make mini key lime pies though. I hope that helps!