Best Key Lime Pie Recipe from Scratch

The Best Key Lime Pie Recipe you'll ever make. The filling is sweet and creamy with the tartness from the key limes and wrapped up in a buttery delicious nutty graham cracker crust. It's so easy you find yourself making them over and over again!

Servings: servings

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 17

Chilling Time 3

Total Time 3 22

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

▢ 2 cups graham crackers (you can sub 1/2 cup of these with walnuts, pecans, or salted macadamia nuts)- about 11-12 graham cracker sheets
▢ ¼ cups sugar
▢ 7 tbsp butter

Key Lime Pie Filling

▢ 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk
▢ ½ cup sour cream
▢ 3 egg yolks
▢ ¾ cup key lime juice about 30 key limes
▢ 1 tbsp key lime or lime zest

Whipped Topping

▢ 1 cup heavy cream
▢ ¼ cup powdered sugar
▢ 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and nuts (if using) until coarsely crumbled. A few small chunks of nuts are fine.
Add the sugar and give it a quick pulse again to combine.
Pour in the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles damp sand—thick, slightly clumpy, and easy to press together.
(Alternative method: Crush graham crackers in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin. Then mix everything together in a bowl)
Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. Use your hands (with medium pressure) to press it evenly across the bottom and up the sides. You want it pressed together until it is no longer crumbly. Smooth the bottom with a small measuring cup and run a spoon along the bottom edge to round out the crust. Do not pack down too hard.
Pre-bake crust for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack to let cool. To speed up the process, you can cool it at room temperature for 10-15 minutes and then place it in the freezer until it is completely cooled, which is about 20 minutes.

Key Lime Pie Filling

Keep the oven set to 350°F for pie filling, or preheat again if baking pie later.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, egg yolks, key lime juice, and lime zest until smooth and creamy. Start on low until combined; then turn up to medium and beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. (This can also be done by an electric hand mixer)
Pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until only slightly jiggly in the center. Do not let it get brown; it should remain light in color.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until cooled, about 30-45 minutes. Then cover and refrigerate for at least 3-6 hours or overnight or until serving. The longer the chill time the better.
Garnish when ready to serve with homemade whipped cream.

Whipped Cream Topping

In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. About 3 to 4 minutes will give you medium peaks. If you want to pipe, go a little longer until the cream has defined stiff peaks.
Spread or pipe the whipped cream onto the chilled pie. For an extra pop of flavor, garnish with a sprinkle of lime zest, lime slices, and some crushed graham crackers.

Best Key Lime Pie Recipe from Scratch

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Key Lime Pie Filling

Whipped Topping

Instructions

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Key Lime Pie Filling

Whipped Cream Topping

Nutrition