Key Lime Pie

This recipe gives you a classic, super tart key lime pie and it’s one of the absolute easiest pies to make from scratch. A graham cracker crust with brown sugar and lots of salt, a sweetened condensed milk base with lots of lime juice and egg yolks and you’ve got the perfect bright key lime pie!

I did actually use real key limes for this recipe (proof in the jar of lime skins below ha), but I’ve made it with regular limes as well and I really can’t tell the difference, plus then you don’t have to squeeze six hundred tiny limes. Use whatever you prefer here- let’s get to it!

How to Make Key Lime Pie

This is the first up in this year’s mini series on pies before Thanksgiving, and key lime pie might not seem like a Thanksgiving pie, but I actually think it’s perfect for it. It’s fresh, tart, and light after a heavy meal- a welcome change in my opinion! This recipe uses simple ingredients once again and it’s really easy to pull together.

Now I did test this recipe with both real key limes and regular limes, and both are fantastic options! Key limes are much harder to find where I live, and they take a lot of elbow grease when it comes to juicing, so I think this recipe is absolutely just as delicious and much easier with regular old limes.

Starting off with the graham cracker crust, I like to mix in some dark brown sugar to make things taste extra caramel-y, plus a good pinch of salt here to give a little balance

Take some care to really press the crust into your pan evenly- this will help SO much when it’s time to slice and serve your pie. Then set this aside onto a baking sheet and work on your filling.

The filling is essentially just a process of whisking everything together until it’s smooth and creamy, and then pouring it into your prepared crust. It’s crazy easy- the ingredients include two cans of sweetened condensed milk, lots of fresh lime juice and zest, egg yolks, and some salt.

Pour the mixture into your prepared crust and then it’s off to the oven to bake until the filling is mostly set and only has a slight jiggle in the center.

You want to give this pie at least two hours to chill before serving so everything is cold and firmed up and ready to slice into. I like to top this pie with whipped cream and extra slices of limes so everything looks a little extra cute. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for the Perfect Key Lime Pie

Here are my tips to help you along the way to the perfect Key Lime Pie!

• Do I have to use real key limes? Nope, and I’m not sure I can really recommend it given the state of my hands after squeezing 30 of these things! Regular limes work very well here, and I couldn’t notice a difference in the resulting flavor. Use what you prefer!
• Do I have to use brown sugar in the crust? The sugar helps with browning and of course gives the crust a little bit of an extra caramel flavor which I really love here. You can omit it if you prefer though!
• Do I have to bake the crust first? Yes, this helps the crust fully set and it makes a difference in how well your pie slices and pulls out of the pan later.
• Do I have to use the sweetened condensed milk? Yes, this provides both the sugar for the pie filling as well as the creamy, thick texture that we need for the pie to set. Do not confuse this with evaporated milk- the pie will only work with sweetened condensed milk!
• How do I know when the pie is finished baking? The pie should look set around edges and the center should have a slight jiggle when you wiggle the pie around. The filling will set completely as it cools.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

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Key Lime Pie

Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 sleeves graham crackers
• 5 tbs. melted butter
• 1 tbs. dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt

For the filling:

• 2 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tbs. lime zest
• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 5 egg yolks

For the whipped cream:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbs. powdered sugar

Instructions

For the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Crush your graham crackers into fine crumbs, and then stir together with the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt until well combined. The mixture should look like wet sand at this stage. Press the graham cracker mixture firmly into your prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes; the crust should start to look slightly golden and it should look mostly dry.

For the filling:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, lime juice, salt, and egg yolks until smooth and well combined. Pour into the prepared crust and bake for 23-26 minutes. The mixture should look set, but should still wobble slightly in the center of the pan. Chill the pie completely for at least 2 hours before topping with cream to serve.

For the whipped cream:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and powdered sugar by hand for about 5 minutes, or with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, or until the mixture reaches stiff peaks. Optionally, use a star-tip-fitted pipping bag to pipe stars of whipped cream all over the top.

Nicole Hampton

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!