The easiest key lime pie recipe in the world

Guest post by Beth
By: partymonstrrrr – CC BY 2.0
By: partymonstrrrr – CC BY 2.0

This is a recipe given to me by a world-class chef, who claimed it is “the easiest key lime pie recipe in the world.” And it’s true!

It’s a nicely tart dessert, without all that meringue and sugar. And it’s the kind of pie that people love, which makes it fun to bring to parties. (“Oh, this? Just a secret family recipe smuggled out of Europe during WWII that requires 15 days of hard toil, a full moon, and a dash of fairy dust to set correctly… but you’re worth it.”)

key-lime-pie-ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup key lime juice (I use Nellie & Joe’s brand)
  • Pre-made graham cracker crust

Recipe:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit (or 177 degrees celsius for my Canadian friends out there).

key-lime-pie-mixture

  1. Mix together sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and key lime juice until smooth.

key-lime-pie-crust

  1. Pour into pie crust.

key-lime-pie-recipe

  1. Bake 15 minutes.

  2. Allow to cool, then chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

easy key lime pie recipe

  1. Enjoy.

Comments on The easiest key lime pie recipe in the world

  1. I make this recipe semi-regularly and love it! I recommend buying a lime or two as well, and using a cheese grater to zest the lime. Mix the zest in with the filling. It adds a bit of flavor and if you’re into green color, that too…

  2. “177 degrees Celsius for my Canadian friends out there”

    Actually, our ovens are mostly made in the US, so most of us have Fahrenheit as well. However, I’m sure the European crowd will thank you 🙂

  3. So, if anyone wants to try this with fresh key limes as opposed to the bottled juice (nothing wrong with the bottled juice though), I have two tips.

    1) Zest the key limes *before* you juice them. Put some of the zest in the custard, sprinkle some on the finished pie (I top it with stiff whipped cream)

    2) To juice the limes, cut them in half and squeeze them in a pair of kitchen tongs (jam them in near the hinge for maximum physics). Attempting to use a juicer will lead to frustration and heartbreak.

  4. This sounds so yummy!
    I’m across the pond and have no access to key limes. What do they taste like, compared to usual limes or lemons? Do you think a mix of the two could substitute it?
    Also, what exactly is a graham crackers crust? The kind you’d make crushing cookies and mixing them with butter?
    Thanks!

  5. It does sound super easy. I’m in the UK and was also wondering about the limes tho I guess just regular lime juice would work too. Also if I could get a gluten free pie crust that would be great!

    • You can totally make a graham cracker crust with gluten-free cookies. Just crush them up, mix them with a little butter and sugar (slightly drier than you would use for making a sand castle), mush the mix into a pie plate, and bake it for about 10-15 minutes.

      I would not use regular (persian) lime juice however. Key limes are far sweeter, less sour, and far less bitter. I’d use lemons before I’d use regular limes.

  6. Hi & thank you for this recipe. So…while at the store I found that same key west lime juice but I was unsure if it was a key lime or if the word (west) was just part of the brand. If you don’t mind telling me….is this the actual key lime juice then? I ended up purchasing the fresh key limes, they were so little that I bought 15 of them.

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