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This pie recipe is made with only six ingredients, including sweetened condensed milk to make a smooth and creamy filling. Bake in a homemade graham cracker crust to create this easy key lime pie that is zesty and delicious!
You can’t go wrong with homemade pie! Haley here from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen. This classic pie is a refreshing dessert to make for friends and family. It’s made with only six ingredients and no eggs.
Fresh lime juice is the key to the best pie. Yes, it requires a little extra work, but fresh lime juice creates the best flavor.
What is the difference between a lime and a key lime?
Key limes contain more concentrated aromatic juices, which gives the pie more flavor. They are also more yellow and smaller than regular limes.
Because key limes are small, this recipe calls for a lot of them. I use around 50 key limes to make 3/4 fresh squeezed juice. Use a citrus squeezer to make the process quick and easy. You can use regular limes in place of key limes but it won’t taste like an authentic key lime pie. Substitute the same amount juice for regular time juice.
The classic recipe includes a homemade graham cracker pie crust! The buttery sweetness and crunchy texture compliments the citrus filling perfectly. The pie crust only requires three ingredients (graham crackers, sugar and melted butter) with the remaining three ingredients for the pie filling (condensed milk, sour cream, limes).
Tips for making
- This pie should be refrigerated. Keep it for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Cover loosely with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
- Use a store-bought graham cracker pie crust to save time.
- Try to use key limes for authentic color and flavor. Fresh limes are preferred but you can use store bought lime juice if needed.
- This recipe does not use eggs. The recipe sets by baking and then chilling in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Do not skip the chilling.
- Serve the pie with whipped cream or meringue.
- Garnish with additional lime zest for more color and flavor.
Other classic pie recipes
Pie is a classic dessert that works well any time of the year. A few ingredients create a rich dessert packed with lots of flavor. Impress your friends and family with this easy dessert that everyone loves.
Try it and let us know what you think!
Easy Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups (127 g or 7 graham crackers) finely ground graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
For the Pie:
- 2 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk, (about two 14 ounce cans)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup key lime juice¹
- 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
- Whipped cream for garnish, (optional)
Instructions
To make the Graham Cracker Crust:
- In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until well combined. Press mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 375° F for 7 minutes. Cool completely.
To make the Pie:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and zest. Mix well and pour into baked graham cracker crust. Tap pie plate gently on the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until the filling is set and barely jiggles. Do not brown. Allow pie to cool to room temperature. Chill pie thoroughly (at least 4 hours) before serving. Garnish with lime slices or zest and whipped cream if desired.
Video
Notes
- For the best flavor, juice your own key limes or buy a bottle of key lime juice from the store. It is usually located with the regular lime juice and lemon juice. The Nellie & Joe’s key lime juice brand is the one I like.
- Keep it for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Cover loosely with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe originally published June 2017, updated July 2020.
I made your recipe for a gathering the other day and everyone kept asking for the recipe. It was totally a hit!
This is such an easy and delicious pie. I love the classic key lime flavor!
How does this set without eggs in the recipe?
The pie sets well while baking chilling. Chill pie for at least 4 hours to set. Enjoy!
I was wondering if i could substitute the sourcream for plain yogurt?
Hi, Katie! I haven’t tried regular yogurt, but plain Greek yogurt would definitely work. My only concern with regular plain yogurt is that it will alter the consistency.
I loved the thickness of this pie. I had to opt for key lime in the bottle and I also purchased a prepaid crust. DELICIOUS!
So glad you loved it, Karen! Key lime in a bottle and a store-bought pie crust works perfect. Thanks for your feedback!
No eggs? I will give it a try always love something new. We just had the best key lime pie at a friends house that was purchase from an art fair in Fort Myers , fl. I thought it had something different added because it was tangy and very creamy. Hopefully this will be it🤗 Thanks Sandy
That’s correct, there are no eggs in this recipe. I hope you enjoy!
Thanks for the explanation on the key limes. learned something today!!
Yes, the key limes are definitely a very important part of this pie! Thanks so much for your feedback, Sarah.
Such a great recipe. I love that it was easy to make and loved the taste even more! Definitely be making another one for our next summer party. Just tastes like summer to me! Yum!
Hi, Meagen! I am so glad to hear you love this recipe. It almost doesn’t get any easier! Thanks so much for your feedback.
Pie was delicious and so quick to make. Was just gifted some freshly picked Myers a
Lemons and am going to try to use the same basic recipe,
Hi, Barbara! I’m so glad you loved it. I use Meyer Lemons often from the tree in our yard and it tastes great with them. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Interesting. This might be quite good however it is not “classic”. Real Key Lime Pie has condensed milk, key lime juice and egg yolks, not sour cream.
Hi, Carole! We could probably disagree about classic. 🙂 It’s funny, because even in Florida, I’ve seen different version of classic key lime pie. I hope that wouldn’t prevent you from at least trying this recipe.