Best Key Lime Pie
Posted Apr 28, 2021, Updated Mar 01, 2024
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This is the best key lime pie recipe ever. A smooth key lime pie filling is baked into a buttery graham cracker crust and topped with homemade whipped cream for an easy key lime pie recipe that everyone loves.
Everyone who tries this key lime pie recipe exclaims that it’s the best they’ve ever had. And for good reason – a smooth key lime filling is baked into a homemade graham cracker crust and topped with homemade whipped cream – total dessert perfection!
Plus, this recipe is easy to make, so you can create a bakery-quality dessert with very little effort! Follow our step-by-step instructions and watch the video to learn how to make key lime pie!
Key Lime Pie Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
This key lime pie is made with a few simple ingredients that we’ll discuss now, as well as possible substitutions.
- Graham Cracker Crust. For notes on substitutions for the crust, see this post: Graham Cracker Crust Recipe.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk. There is no substitute for sweetened condensed milk, you will need two, 14-oz cans for this recipe. You can make your own, if desired.
- Sour Cream. I recommend full-fat sour cream for the best results.
- Key lime juice. I use Nellie and Joe’s key lime juice found in most juice aisles to make this pie – it’s so much easier than squeezing your own key limes – which can also be difficult to find.
- Vanilla extract. This adds a special touch to the pie, don’t omit it!
- Lime Zest (optional). If desired, use lime zest for an extra limey flavor! You can omit this and still have the best key lime pie!
How to Make Key Lime Pie
This recipe is so easy to make, but we’ll walk through how to make key lime pie step-by-step, and don’t forget ot watch the video.
Make the Graham Cracker Crust
Of course you can use a store-bought crust if you wish, but homemade is so much better and so easy! Begin my combining the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Then, add the melted butter and stir until combined. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.
Next, pour the graham cracker crust mixture into a prepared pie dish, pressing it down into the bottom of the dish and halfway up the sides. Then bake the crust for 7 minutes.
Make the Key Lime Pie Filling
While the crust is baking, make the key lime filling, which is so easy! Simply whisk together the condensed milk, sour cream, egg yolks, lime juice, and vanilla until smooth. If desired, whisk in lime zest.
Bake & Cool
Pour the key lime filling into the partially pre-baked graham cracker crust. Then, return the pie dish to oven and bake for 20-25 additional minutes, or until the edges of the filling look set and it’s just very slightly jiggly.
Remove the baked pie from the oven and set the pie on a wire rack to cool. Transfer the pie on the rack to the refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours (or overnight)
Once chilled, decorate the pie with homemade whipped cream, if desired, and chill until the whipped cream is set.
Serve
Once the pie is chilled, cut into slices and serve cold. I like to serve any extra homemade whipped cream in a bowl so people can put more on their slices if they want.
Store
Store leftover key lime pie in an airtight container int he refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Freeze
You can freeze key lime pie in one of two ways:
- Freeze the entire pie. Simply bake and chill the pie, then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cutting and serving.
- Freeze individual slices. If you have a few leftover slices you want to freeze, place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer to flash-freeze them. Then, once they’re frozen, wrap them in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for about 6 hours.
Key Lime Pie Recipe FAQs
Yes absolutely. The eggs are baked in the filling so there should be no concerns about your health as long as you follow the recipe and fully bake the pie.
Regular (or “Persian”) limes are larger and more tart than key limes, which are small and sweeter with a less sour taste.
As you can see from these photos, key lime pie is yellow. This is because the juice from key limes is yellow.
Yes! I actually prefer to use bottled key lime juice because it’s easier than juicing many limes.
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Key Lime Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (12 full-sheets of grahams processed in the food processor until very fine)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter melted
Key Lime Filling
- 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup key lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lime zest optional
Topping
- homemade whipped cream (optional)
Instructions
Make Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9” round pie dish.
- In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add butter and stir until combined.
- Pour the crust mixture into the prepared pie dish, pressing it down into the bottom of the dish and halfway up the sides.
- Bake in preheated oven for 7 minutes, then remove the crust from the oven.
Make the Key Lime Filling
- In a large bowl whisk together condensed milk, sour cream, egg yolks, lime juice, and vanilla until smooth. If desired, whisk in lime zest.
Assemble & Bake
- Pour the key lime pie filling into the warm pie crust.
- Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges of the filling look set and it’s just very slightly jiggly.
- Remove from the oven and set the pie on a wire rack to cool.
Cool & Serve
- Transfer the pie on the rack to the refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours (or overnight)
- Once chilled, decorate the pie with homemade whipped cream, if desired, and chill until the whipped cream is set.
- Cut into slices and serve cold.
Video
Notes
- Graham Cracker Crust. For notes on substitutions for the crust, see this post: Graham Cracker Crust Recipe.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk. There is no substitute for sweetened condensed milk, you will need two, 14-oz cans for this recipe. You can make your own, if desired.
- Sour Cream. I recommend full-fat sour cream for the best results.
- Key lime juice. I use Nellie and Joe’s key lime juice found in most juice aisles to make this pie – it’s so much easier than squeezing your own key limes – which can also be difficult to find.
- Vanilla extract. This adds a special touch to the pie, don’t omit it!
- Lime Zest (optional). If desired, use lime zest for an extra limey flavor! You can omit this and still have the best key lime pie!
- Freeze the entire pie. Simply bake and chill the pie, then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cutting and serving.
- Freeze individual slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer to flash-freeze. Then, once they’re frozen, wrap them in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for about 6 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely amazing! Follow it to a T and you won’t go wrong.
I’ve made this pie twice. The first time I used a premade gluten free graham cracker crust. The second time I decided to make my own. I used your recipe, but obviously I did something wrong. The crust looked good and tasted good, but it stuck to the bottom of the pie plate. When I cut the pie, the crust and pie came apart. Both the crust and the pie tasted delicious, but they were separate and did not make a pretty presentation. Please help me know what I did wrong. The crust was not burned, but it did seem quite dense. It did come up from the pan, but not easily. Were the crackers over-processed? Did I press it in too tightly? Did I use too much of the processed crackers? Was the pie pan not greased enough? Thank you for any help you can give. The pie is fantastic. I don’t think I have ever tasted better.
Hey Sherry! I’d love to help you! Send me an e-mail at laura@joyfoodsunshine.com! The more information you have the better so I can help troubleshoot!
I have made this pie three times due to multiple requests. It is a stellar recipe and turns out perfect every single time! I’ve never made a bad recipe from this site. So, so good!