What Are Key Limes
Key limes are smaller limes than the typical Persian limes youll find at the supermarket. Key limes sometimes have a reputation for being very tart but when perfectly ripe, key limes are actually less tart with a distinctive flavor.
Key limes originated in the Florida Keys which is where the name comes from. Today, however, most key limes sold at the supermarket are grown in Mexico because hurricanes and crop diseases have harmed most of Floridas commercial key lime crops.
They are best during the summer into early fall months, and you should look for bags of key limes that are slightly yellow in color but still somewhat green.
If your key limes are all-green and hard they arent ripe yet and youll struggle to get much juice from them. And, if your key lime is all-yellow they are fully-ripe but will have a very bitter taste.
Chefs Tip
Choose key limes for this pie that are a yellowish green in color , and they should feel firm but not hard if you gently squeeze them.
The juice from a key lime is actually yellow so a Key Lime Pie made with real key lime juice will be yellow. You can buy bottled key lime juice on-line here, but pies made with fresh juice really are the best. (We squeezed our limes with a citrus squeezer like this.
The Best Key Lime Pie
The Best Key Lime Pie has the most amazing homemade graham cracker shortbread crust, with a perfectly creamy and tart filling, and homemade whipped cream on top. It is simple to prepare and so good, you will want to eat the whole pie in one sitting!
The Best Key Lime Pie has the most amazing homemade graham cracker shortbread crust, with a perfectly creamy and tart filling, and homemade whipped cream on top. It is simple to prepare and so good, you will want to eat the whole pie in one sitting!
If you have had a difficult experience with key lime pie in the past, stay with us here, because this is truly the easiest key lime pie recipe. We know a lot of recipes are no-bake, and while that gives the illusion of an easy recipe, its actually so much more difficult! We have had so many issues with no-bake pie recipes setting, so we are bringing you a key lime pie that is meant to be baked in the oven to make this the easiest and most delicious key lime pie ever! We love to bring this to family parties, but this is also just an amazing dessert to make at home to treat yourself. Go ahead and serve yourself that extra slice, we wont judge.
Best Key Lime Pie Recipe Ever
BEST KEY LIME PIE RECIPE EVERBEST KEY LIME PIE RECIPE EVERINSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BEST KEY LIME PIE RECIPE EVERIngredients
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 piecrust
- 2 tablespoons sugar in the pie, and an additional 2 tablespoons sugar in the topping
- 1 lime, thinly sliced
Directions – PIE –BEST KEY LIME PIE RECIPE EVERCOOKING TIP:Cooking Gets Much Easier ThanYou Know, When You Use These!:~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Read Also: Bisquick Impossible Chicken Pot Pie
More Citrus Desserts You Are Going To Love
The Best Lemon Curd < < Have you ever spread your morning toast with lemon curd? SO good.
Creamy Lime Bars< < this is an oldie but a goodie!
Meyer Lemon Tart< < If youve never tried Meyer lemons, do it! Such a great flavor.
The Best Lemon Bars< < Lemon Bars are probably my favorite dessert. This is the BEST recipe!!
Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars< < Cheesecake ftw. These are very pretty, great for serving guests.
What Youll Need To Make Key Lime Pie
- Youll need 8 to 10 limes total for this recipe. Choose plump limes that give a little when you squeeze them they will be easier to juice. You should get about 2 tablespoons of juice from each lime. Be sure to zest the limes before you squeeze the juice from them, as its near impossible to do afterward.
- Sweetened condensed milk is canned milk from which water has been removed, and sugar has been added. Be sure not to confuse it with evaporated milk, which is usually sold right alongside.
- With no eggs, it may be hard to believe that this pie will set, but have faith it will.
You May Like: Campbells Chicken Pot Pie Sauce
Key Lime Pie Always Start With A Graham Cracker Crust
The pie starts with a graham cracker crust. I am terrible at crusts but gosh darnit, a homemade graham cracker crust tastes WAY better than a store bought one and its pretty simple to make. Just some graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter will do the trick.
Im a big fan of graham cracker crusts because they are super easy to make and go so well in many desserts. I use it in this Pistachio Pie and these No Bake Smores Cheesecake Bars.
How To Make Mini Key Lime Pies
I love when my readers get creative, make it their own! A reader reached out to me to see if she split it into mini pie pans how long she should bake them and heres her response.
Eight minutes worked perfectly for the mini pies! This recipe made 12 mini pies and they were delicious!
~ Jennifer
Let me know if you enjoyed making this award winning key lime pie recipe! Pop down below the recipe to the comments!
Recipes that compliment Key Lime Pie!
- Start with a light and vibrant Mediterranean Dip
- Maybe a flavorful Shawarma Chicken for the main dish
- Wash it all down with this crisp Colorado Mule
Also Check: Marcus Lemonis Key Lime Pie
Best Key Lime Pie Video
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Before I completely jump into the pie-lovin, I have a bit of a personal update, so feel free to skip ahead to PIE if thats more your speed right now. I totally wont know the difference.
Okay, so truth be told, I havent really cooked in almost 2 months now. Its been a whirlwind kind of time for me.
Ive been completely consumed with grad school and practically living in the lab, trying to finish up. And the stress in my life has once again got the best of my health and so I needed to take a step back and sort of recuperate and take care of myself again.
Anyone with an autoimmune disease knows exactly what I mean when I say that stress is the strongest and quickest way to trigger inflammation and illness.
Needless to say, I didnt have the time or leftover energy to cookand much less, blog about my cooking. But now that Im taking somewhat of a breather for myself, Im so happy that I can get right back into cooking and blogging again.
Something about it gives me so much energy, instead of taking any. Honestly, I could be up all night working on editing videos and writing up posts and recipes, and the next day Ill be totally filled with a sunshine-y energy.
PIE!!!!!
Ive got the smoothest segues, dont you know?
I am not down.
What Kind Of Crust
So lets start with at the beginning with the graham cracker crust. Because, duh, thats how key lime pie bars should ALWAYS start.
The crust is such a key component to these bars because it needs to withstand the cutting and hand-holding that happens before they can be devoured.
Butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar is all it takes its the ratio that makes the difference. And the quality of ingredients of course. I am excited to be partnering with Challenge Butter as an ambassador again this year and even more excited to be using their top-quality butter in my recipes, including these Irresistible Key Lime Pie Bars.
Challenge Butter is made with 100% real cream butter nothing artificial just the way I like it. No hormones, additives or fillers. And straight from the farm to the fridge in just 2 days can it get any fresher?
You May Like: Peach Cobbler With Frozen Pie Crust
How To Use Leftover Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Leftover sweetened condensed milk? Check out this post from Bon Appétit and this one from Serious Eats for some great ideas.
- My personal favorite is drizzling over hot cinnamon rolls.
- I could see using it in place of Creme Anglaise in this Chocolate Bread Pudding.
- Drizzle a little in your coffee, yum!
- Be sure transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate.
What Is Key Lime Pie
This all American pie is easy to make, too. Key lime pie ingredients are simple: sweetened condensed milk, lots of lime zest and juice , and just enough egg to give it a good set.
Pour the filling into a pre-baked graham cracker crust, bake briefly until the pie is set, and let it chill. Top the pie with whipped cream and serve.
- For more information on making graham cracker crusts, see this post.
Also Check: Damgoode Pies Fayetteville
The Best Key Lime Pie Recipe Ever
I bothered the marketing department at Hawks Cay a few times for this recipe and Im so excited that they gave it to me! Thank you Chef William Ryan for allowing me to post this recipe!
From Chef William Ryan
I love meringue, so I loaded it on, but if you dont just halve it. My pie plate is rather large, so the filling was a little less than I had hoped. I was going to reshoot a few of these photos, but I went to the fridge and saw that the husband got into it. So youll have to settle for the real deal: messy photos because I got too excited to let it fully set and wanted to shoot it after only an hour of cooling.
More delicious dessert recipes:
- Beat egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar to soft peaks.
- Gradually add sugar and beat to form firm peaks.
- Place into pastry bag with star tip.
- Pipe onto cool pie, and toast with a culinary torch.
- Serve with raspberry puree
Best Bottled Key Lime Juice
For great key lime flavor without all of the hassle of finding and squeezing key limes, use bottled key lime juice! This is available in the cocktail aisle of most grocery stores, or can be purchased online! I love Nellie and Joes Key West Lime Juice! Then just use regular lime zest when its called for!
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Ingredients Needed For Filling
You only need FOUR ingredients for the key lime bars filling .
- sweetened condensed milk
- key lime juice
- key lime zest
Youll notice the 5 egg yolks in the recipe below. These yolks create a richness and creaminess that will have your friends and family begging for your recipe. Sweetened condensed milk, fresh key lime juice and zest round out the perfectly tart filling.
Graham Cracker Macadamia Nut Crust
Key lime pie is traditionally made with graham cracker crust. Its the most wonderful crunchy, sweet, and buttery bed for the fresh key lime filling. But hey, how about getting a little nutty? You wont believe the difference macadamia nuts make. I use about 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts in place of some of the graham cracker crumbs and the result is pure bliss. Macadamia nuts are a gem and, as it turns out, often overlooked in the baking world. Why though? Theyre so good.
You only need 4 ingredients for this awesomely thick crust.
Pulse the macadamia nuts with graham crackers, then mix with melted butter and sugar. Because key limes are a little sweeter than regular limes, you will love the sweet/tangy key lime filling with the salty graham cracker macadamia nut crust.
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Tips On Making The Best Key Lime Pie
- How many graham crackers is 1.5 cups of crumbs? Some sites say 12 full graham crackers sheets I found 11 sheets to be closer to 1.5 cups. For me, 1.5 cups of crumbs = around 160 grams.
- Crumb to butter ratio: For a crust that holds together well, a ratio of 1.5 crumbs to 5 tablespoons of butter seemed to be the sweet spot .
- To pack down a graham crust: I found using a measuring cup to pack down the graham crumbs was helpfulreally make sure to press it down for a non-crumbly crust! Hold it up to see if any light comes through the crust so you can patch any thin spots.
- Best way to juice key limes: we used this lime juicer, but an electric juicer would be the dream if youre making key lime pies at scale. Someone also recommended using a garlic press
- For the creamiest pie: Try stabilizing your pie with a creamy dairy like sour cream, Greek yogurt or cream cheese!
- For a limier, lighter pie: Go for a yolk-stabilized recipe, which will allow the lime flavor to come through more clearly and will set up as a lighter custard.
Simple Key Lime Pie Crust
It all starts with a graham cracker crust! I am not the best pie crust maker. It is something I keep promising myself to get better at. A homemade one just tastes amazing.
If I can do it so can you! It’s just crushed graham crackers . You can also buy them already crushed in the grocery stores now! Add some melted butter and sugar and voila you have a homemade crust!
TIP – You can add in crushed nuts for an extra divine crust!
Recommended Reading: Campbells Soup Shepherd’s Pie
How To Make Lemon Pie
Start with a Graham Cracker Crust
You can also use a store bought graham cracker crust if youre looking to save some time!
Next Make the Lemon Pie Filling
Finish With Whipped Cream