This is such an easy pie filling! There’s a chemical reaction with the lime juice and sweetened condensed milk that thickens and sets after just 10 minutes in the oven.
How to Make Key Lime Pie
1. Set oven to 350F. Crush the cookies into fine crumbs either using food process or or a plastic bag and rolling pin. If you’re using a processor then drizzle the melted butter in while you pulse then remove the blade and stir with a spatula. If you’re making the crust by hand pour the crumbs into a bowl then drizzle in the melted butter and mix until combined.
2. Transfer the mixture to a nine inch pie dish then distribute the crumbs and press down firmly. Press the side and use your thumb to tamp down the top. Pop into the oven for 8-10 minutes at 350F. You’ll know the crust is done when it’s darkened slightly and fragrant.
3. While the crust bakes zest 1-2 limes (depending on how much zing you like) and then juice them until you have 2/3 cup or 160mL.
4. Add the yolks and zest to the bowl of your mixer and beat for a few minutes. This will help infuse the filling with the oils from the zest.
5. Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and beat until well combined. Scrape the bowl down and beat once more.
6. Pour in the key lime juice while the mixer runs on low. Beat until combined and slightly thickened. Don’t go too far and over-beat though, everything will set up in the oven.
7. Pour the filling into the still warm crust and give it a jiggle to level the filling out. If you want to be a bit extra, go ahead and smooth the top out with an offset spatula. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F. You’ll know the pie is ready when you see tiny pin holed in the surface and you get a little jiggle when you bump the pie. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes then chill at least an hour.
8. Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until you get soft peaks then transfer to a piping bag fitter with a star tip and pipe dollops on the edge. You can also just spoon the whipped cream over the top of the pie, personally I prefer LOTs of whipped cream with my pies but that’s a personal choice.
Pro Tips for this Recipe
- Almost any cookie will work for the crust and yes you ca use Graham Crackers although the Biscoff cookies have more flavor.
- Always use fresh lime juice. If you can’t find key limes then use regular limes.
- You can use less zest and sub in a few tablespoons of water for some of the lime juice if you want a mellower flavor.
- I piped dollops on the edge of my pie but this pie is wonderful with a giant mound of whipped cream on top so go ahead and spoon it on!
- Don’t over-bake the pie, it sets quite quickly!
- A little lime zest sprinkles on top just before serving adds a nice dash of color to this pie.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a lime and a key lime?
Aside from having more seeds and less juice Key Limes are less acidic and a bit more aromatic than the more common Persian Lime.
Can I use regular limes instead?
Yes! Key limes can be hard to find, I ordered mine from Amazon, but if you can’t find them just use regular (Persian or Kaffir) limes! I will say they you should NOT use any bottled lime juice, It’s been processed and the taste is not in the same ballpark.
How do you make it from scratch?
Mix the yolks and zest then beat in the sweetened condensed milk and pour in the lime juice while mixing on low. Mix until combined and thickened then pour into your prepared crust and bake.
Should it be refrigerated?
While your pie will keep for a few days in the fridge you should not leave it out at room temperature for much longer than an hour.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this easy key lime pie recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Key Lime Pie
Video
Equipment
- 9 inch pie dish
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted, 56g
- 8.8 oz Biscoff Cookies 1 package
For the Filling
- 21 ounces sweetened condensed milk 1.5 cans
- 2/3 cup key lime juice Fresh, 160mL
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tsp lime zest zest of 2-3 key limes.
For the Decoration
- 1 cup heavy cream 240mL
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. Add the cookies to a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Drizzle in the melted butter and pulse until combined. If you don't have a processor handy you could instead use a plastic bag and rolling pin, then just mix the crumbs and butter in a large bowl
- Dump the mixture into a 9" pie dish then distribute and use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly down. You can use your fingers to press the top down as the side Is compressed.
- Bake crust at 350F for 10 minutes.
- While the crust Is baking zest two limes and set aside then squeeze 2/3 cup of juice and strain out the seeds.
- Add the egg yolks and zest to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat for a minute or so.
- Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and mix on medium until fully incorporated then scrape the bowl down and pour in the key lime juice while the mixer runs on low. Scrape the bowl down once more and mix.
- Pour the filling into the warm crust and give it a jiggle to level things out. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes and chill for at least an hour. You'll see some tiny holes in the pie and it will jiggle slightly when it's done baking.
- Top the pie with dollops of whipped cream and serve.
Notes
- Almost any cookie will work for the crust and yes you ca use Graham Crackers although the Biscoff cookies have more flavor.
- Always use fresh lime juice. If you can't find key limes then use regular limes.
- You can use less zest and sub in a few tablespoons of water for some of the lime juice if you want a mellower flavor.
- I piped dollops on the edge of my pie but this pie is wonderful with a giant mound of whipped cream on top so go ahead and spoon it on!
- Don't over-bake the pie, it sets quite quickly!
I am a beginner, and this was simple and OUTRAGEOUSLY delicious. Everyone was truly impressed, saying, mouths agape, “this is the best key lime pie I’ve ever had!” It was easy, too. I have requests to make it again, and will!
Thank you Sara!!
I made this last weekend for my Dad’s birthday and my family is still talking about it! I think my Mom might even change her birthday dessert request to this pie…definitely a huge hit!
So happy it was a hit!
I just love your recips much easier to understand. Thanks it amazing
Can I use a bigger pie dish like 9.5, and multiply the recipe by 1.5
Yes!
Oh my goodness, I made this for a family dinner last night…and it was ah-mazing!! Sooo good. I used gingernut biscuits (Australian) for the base and it was delicious. And I couldn’t bear to have egg whites go to waste so I made my very first pavlova as well!! 😂 Thank you, John!! xx
That sounds delicious and you know I love a Pavlova!!!!
Made this today for my sister’s birthday and she *loved* it! Such a good recipe!
Delicious!! This is the second time I make this, so easy to make! Definitely recommend it😊
I had a small issue when trying this recipe, which is no fault of the recipe itself. I mixed everything in my stand mixer with the whisk attachment and poured the batter into the dish and popped it in the oven to bake. Then I went to wash up and realized so much of my lime zest was stuck in the whisk attachment! Needless to say the pie wasn’t as tart as it should have been. It was more a kiss of lime rather than the punch I was hoping for. Lesson learned for next time. I just saw another video where you finely chopped the zest after grating it, so I’ll do that next time and pay better attention to my attachment. Everybody still loved it! Absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks sarah!
I made this pie for father’s day and everybody raved about it. The biscoff crust is a great twist on a traditional graham cracker crust. This recipe is so quick and easy I almost couldn’t believe how well it turned out. The results were deceptively impressive. I would definitely make this again!
So happy you enjoyed!
Hi John! Big fan over here. Your videos uplift me a little bit every time I watch one and they are very inspiring. You make me really want to get baking! I am definitely a novice but successfully made hour blueberry pie and it was amazing. Now, I just bought enough keymes to make two pies 😉 I know it will turn out great!! Thank you for your recipes and your being!!!
Thank you so much for that very kind comment!