Traditional Homemade Key Lime Pie

Jump to Recipe Jump to Comments

An A+ balance of sweet creamy tanginess, this recipe for key lime pie is heirloom quality with the ease of making it for a random weekend.

Jump to Recipe

Side view of a slice of key lime pie on a plate.

Why You’ll Love this Traditional Key Lime Pie Recipe!

I am a little bit of a key lime pie snob. I LOVE it and have spent a lot of time perfecting a recipe for key lime pie that is creamy, tangy, and easy to make! With a buttery, graham + brown sugar crust and a sweet, thick, tangy lime filling that is covered with a quick cool whip topping this is the BEST key lime pie recipe. Instead of using sour cream or greek yogurt, I’ve opted for cream cheese to make it ultra creamy and rich.

Best Key Lime Pie Ingredients

Graham crackers, crushed to a powder – I just used store brand graham crackers, but you can use whatever you’d like.
Melted butter – I always use salted butter!
Brown sugar
Cream cheese, room temperature
Sweetened condensed milk
Lime juice – I always squeeze my now fresh, but you could use the bottled, if you prefer. I always use regular limes, because key limes are hard to find and you’d have to squeeze like 72 because they are so tiny. 🙂
Egg
Lime zest
Cool whip – Find this in the freezer section of your grocery store.

A slice of key lime pie with a bite taken out of it.

How to Make Homemade Key Lime Pie

Preheat your oven to 350° F.
In a bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers, melted butter and brown sugar.
Once combined, press your graham cracker mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a deep 9 inch pie plate.
Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes.
While the crust is baking, combine the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, egg and lime zest in a blender until smooth.
When the mixture is smooth, pour the filling into the baked crust and return the pie dish to the oven for 20-30 minutes. The filling should jiggle only slightly when tapped.
Allow the pie to come to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
Before serving, top the pie with cool whip (you can use as much or as little as you’d like!) and then serve chilled.
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Enjoy!

A key lime pie with a slice taken out of it. The slice is on a plate next to the pie.

Homemade Key Lime Pie Topping

In this recipe I just use store bought cool whip to top my homemade key lime pie. However, you can make a simple whipped cream or leave this plain if you’d like!

How to store this Simple Key Lime Pie Recipe

Store your key lime pie covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Can you freeze Key Lime Pie?

Yes, you can freeze key lime pie for up to 3 months! Bake in a foil tin and wait to top with cool whip until you’re ready to serve. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil.

Best Key Lime Pie Recipe FAQs

What’s the difference between key lime and lime?

Key limes are a smaller lime with more seeds and a powerful tart, but not too acidic lime flavor. Your typical lime is a little bigger and more tart.

How do you thicken key lime pie filling?

First things first, the cream cheese in this recipe will thicken the pie filling. Beyond that, the acid in your lime juice will react with the sweetened condensed milk, causing it to thicken.

Can you use regular limes in key lime pie?

Yep, you sure can!

A dual image of a homemade key lime pie with a slice out of it. The second image is a slice of key lime pie with a bite out of it. Through the middle it says "The creamiest key lime pie recipe"

Other Favorite Classics

A homemade key lime pie with one slice out of it.

Best Recipe for Key Lime Pie

An A+ balance of sweet creamy tanginess, this recipe for key lime pie is heirloom quality with the ease of making it for a random weekend.

4.92 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 28

Chill Time: 12

Servings: Servings

Calories: 45kcal

Ingredients

12 graham crackers, crushed to a powder.
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 8 oz blocks cream cheese, room temperature
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup lime juice
1 egg
1 tbsp lime zest
8 oz cool whip

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350° F.
In a bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers, melted butter and brown sugar.
Once combined, press your graham cracker mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a deep 9 inch pie plate.
Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes.
While the crust is baking, combine the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, egg and lime zest in a blender until smooth.
When the mixture is smooth, pour the filling into the baked crust and return the pie dish to the oven for 20-30 minutes. The filling should jiggle only slightly when tapped.
Allow the pie to come to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
Before serving, top the pie with cool whip (you can use as much or as little as you’d like!) and then serve chilled.
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Enjoy!

Find Cookies for Days on Instagram!Follow @cookiesfordaaays for new recipes daily!

Nutrition

Latest Recipes:

17 Comments

this our is so good and creamy and tangy. I will be making this several more times this summer.

super duper easy! The first time I’ve ever made a pie and I’m a fan! I added a little extra lime juice and it’s *chef’s kiss* !!!!

We love the key lime pie maybe a little more citrus. The crust was amazing! Would recommend for your next dessert.

This is my husbands’s favorite pie ! I have to tell you Karli; I’ve been baking longer than you’ve been alive, and NEVER in my life have I ever used a blender for softened cream cheese !!!
Game changer !!!
Thank you so much for this recipe-It’s creamy, super “limey” and scrumptious !

Hi Karli~
I’ve made this for our Pastor’s birthday in November, and the family has hinted for another. There’s only one problem; I would have to make 2 !!! (which of course I could do….) But~I was wondering could I double the recipe for maybe a 9×13 and expect the same deliciousness !?
Thanx for this bestest ever easy Key Lime pie