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Key lime pie on blue plate with a slice cut out to show texture.
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5 from 15 votes

Key Lime Pie

Made with a homemade graham cracker crust and simple ingredients for an authentic, fresh taste! This light, melt-in-your mouth filling even takes less than 30 minutes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chill Time2 hours
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, carribean
Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 444kcal
Author: Rachel

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 1 ½ cups Finely Ground Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 6 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, melted
  • ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar

Filling

  • 14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 can
  • 4 Egg Yolks large
  • ½ cup Fresh Key Lime Juice About 1 lb of key limes
  • Zest of 1 Lime Optional

Whipped Cream Topping

  • 1 cup Whipping Cream
  • 2 tablespoon Granulated White Sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

  • For crust, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar until well combined.
  • Press mixture into an 8x8 inch pie plate.
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.
  • Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together condensed milk and egg yolks thoroughly. Add in lime juice and zest if preferred. Blend until well combined.
  • Pour mixture into mostly cool crust and bake for 10 minutes. After baking, let cool completely in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
  • A chilled bowl is preferred for making whipped cream. In a stand mixer or hand mixer, add whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla. Mix at high speed until peaks form. Depending on how stiff you like your whip cream, this can take 2-8 minutes.

Notes

Tips and Substitutions
  • Fresh and ripe key limes are important to the proper taste. Limes that are too tart or sour will result in a pie that will also reflect those qualities.
  • If you must use regular limes, cut the amount of juice to ¼ cup. Taste the filling before you pour into the crust and you can always add more if you like, 1 tablespoon at a time. I find regular limes to be stronger and more bracing than key limes.
  • While Nellie's key lime juice will also work, I have not personally tried it this way.
  • If you are in a real hurry, you can use a pre-made graham cracker crust. I would still make the whip cream though if you can. It is so much creamier.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 444kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 6.6g | Fat: 14.1g | Sodium: 238mg | Sugar: 65g | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 1.1mg