Key Lime Pie

No frills, no surprise twist, just a simple, classic, and easy Key Lime Pie with a crumbly graham cracker crust, a creamy filling with a tart lime bite, and a fluffy, thick, sweet homemade whipped cream topping.

Make sure to check out the recipe VIDEO at the bottom of the instructions!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Chilling Time 4

Total Time 40

Servings slices

Calories 543kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Ingredients

Crust

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (170g)
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar sugar
6 Tablespoons butter melted (85g)

Filling

2 cups sweetened condensed milk¹ (475ml)
6 large egg yolks
⅔ cups key lime juice² (160ml)

Whipped Cream

¾ cup heavy whipping cream (180g)
¼ cup powdered sugar (30g)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F (175C).

Graham Cracker Crust

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugars. Stir in melted butter until well-combined.
Press crumb mixture into bottom and up the sides of a 9.5" pie pan.
Set pie crust in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.

Filling

In a large bowl, whisk together condensed milk and egg yolks until well combined.
Stir in key lime juice and whisk until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes).
Pour into pie crust and bake on 350F (175C) for 18 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before transferring to refrigerator.
Chill overnight or at least 6 hours.

Homemade Whipped Cream Topping³

Before serving pie, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until stiff peaks are achieved (the mixture should have a thick, light, "Cool-Whip" like consistency).
Pipe or spread over chilled pie. Slice and serve.

Video

Notes

¹Please note that this is 2 cups and not 2 14-oz cans. You will need about 1 ½ 14-0z cans for this recipe.

²You can use fresh or bottled key lime juice. If you wish to fresh-squeeze your limes, you'll need about 20-24 key limes to do so. I've found that the easiest and most efficient way to squeeze key limes is to cut them in half and use a garlic press (see video). If you opt to use bottled juice, make sure that it is actually "key lime" juice, substituting regular lime juice won't work!

³For more tips and an instructional video on making homemade whipped cream, see my homemade whipped cream recipe post.

Storing and Freezing

This pie will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator, cover with plastic wrap or foil.

If freezing, do not add whipped cream until you are ready to serve. To freeze, wrap tightly and thoroughly with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to one month. If thawing the whole pie, return to the refrigerator several hours before serving and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator, if thawing a single slice allow it to thaw in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes before enjoying.

Nutrition