Thanks to my friends at NESTEA for sponsoring this post! The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own… just as always! Thanks for supporting the brands that support me. 
You know, Key Lime Pie is one of those recipes that I feel like a lot of people are intimidated by, but I’ve made it SO easy for you here! In fact, you can get this one on the table with as few as 6 ingredients… seriously.
A more authentic Key Lime Pie calls for eggs, but I find that leaving them out and adding sour cream produces a smoother and creamier pie that we just love. In fact, I made both versions and served them to the family and everyone picked this version as the best. Just try it and you’ll see what I mean.
A quick note about the crust: If you’ve been around here any time at all, then you know I’m all about using shortcuts to make meal prep easy and less time consuming, so using a pre-made graham cracker pie crust is perfect here. Just try to get a deep dish one, if possible. Otherwise all the filling may not fit. If you want to make one from scratch (it’s super easy), you’ll find my recipe below.
Let’s also chat about Key Lime juice here. What makes this a KEY Lime Pie are the Key Limes. They’re not your standard Persian lime. The flavor is a bit different and they are much smaller. That means it will take a lot more to get the juice you’ll need for this pie. It took me about 20 Key Limes to get 3/4 cup juice. Now, you are welcome to use regular lime juice or even use bottled Key Lime juice, just know it will affect the flavor.
My friends at NESTEA are all about simplicity and great taste, too. That’s why they recently relaunched NESTEA with a simpler recipe with ingredients you can actually pronounce. The real brewed varieties are made with just tea, sugar, citric acid, and water. Available in a variety of sweetness levels, a line of real brewed teas, and fruit flavored teas like Peach, Raspberry, and Lemon, there’s a flavor to suit every taste. Be sure to get taste by visiting their site at NESTEA.com.
The BEST Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) deep dish prepared graham cracker crust
- 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup key lime juice
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, whisk together the condensed milk and sour cream. Once smooth, add the lime juice. Whisk until smooth and thickened. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Cool on the counter, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Once ready to serve, beat the cream and powdered sugar together until you get stiff peaks. Top the pie with the whipped cream and serve.
Notes
Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs about 12 crackers
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter in a medium bowl, being sure the mixture is well blended and all the crumbs are moistened. Firmly press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before filling.
Key limes are yellow when they are ripe. And the juice is not green so I’m not sure why your pie is green. Real key lime pie is yellow.
But I do love the idea of adding the sour cream and I will try it.
While that is true, most commercially sold Key Limes are harvested when they are green. They don’t continue to ripe once picked. Being that I don’t have access to a Key Lime Tree, I have to rely on what’s available at my local grocery store – as will most of my readers. But to clarify, the pie is actually yellowish – it just looks slightly green in the photos because of the other colors.
Please don’t call it a key lime pie if it DOESN’T have key lime juice in it! As a native Floridian I am offended when I go someplace and they advertise they have key lime pie and it doesn’t have a drop of key lime juice in it!! Key lime pie is NOT GREEN, it is a pale yellow!! If you use regular lime juice then you are making a lime pie! The traditional key lime pie consists of one can sweetened condensed milk, one egg yolk, 1/2 cup KEY LIME juice, and one egg white beaten. You pour this into a graham cracker crust and chill until firm. Then you can put whipped cream on top.
Aren’t we fragile. If you don’t lie the recipe don’t make it, If that offends you I feel very sorry for you, I imagine life is pretty tough for you. If it tastes good I don’t care what it is called, is it that important. By the way instead of being offended maybe you should read the recipe, it does have key line juice in it.
Thanks, James! And you’re right, it’s made with 100% Key Lime juice. 🙂
James, This is a deliciuos pie. All I can say to Debbie is, how rude!
Absolutely delicious and so so easy.
Hi Debbie! I would imagine you’re the type of person that gets offended easily, if that’s the case. That said, let me clarify… The recipe does use Key Lime juice. Simply reading the recipe will show that. I do mention that regular lime juice can be used if folks can’t find Key Limes in their grocery store, simply as a substitute. I also let them know the flavor will be different. I didn’t tell them they had to call it Key Lime pie, though. As I mentioned before, this pie is a pale yellow color, it just happens to appear greenish in the photos. I sure hope your day gets better from here on out! 🙂
This recipe does use Key Lime Juice. 🙂 I squeezed a whole bag of Key Limes and it was the perfect amount- 3/4 cup. This pie was DELICIOUS! 🙂 And everyone I served it too voiced similar opinions. Thank you for the recipe, Stacey!
*Sorry, just a hair under 3/4 cup, but I went with it and I was perfectly happy with the results! 🙂
I’m so glad it turned out great for you, Joy!
Good grief, are you for real? You’re offended? You must live a sad little life. Read the recipe before bitching.
OMG… Offended by the name of a pie?
I see key lime juice listed in the recipe. I think it looks great! I assumed you added a dash of green food coloring just for looks, no biggy. Its your recipe and you can add what ever you want. : ) Some people just get up in the air at every little detail. It looks refreshing in this heat, so I’ll be trying it asap !
You are SO right, Susan! I actually didn’t add any coloring to the pie. It is really more of a yellowish. It just appears slightly green in the photos. Regardless of what it’s made with or what color it is, I promise it tastes delicious! Have a great one, my friend!
Oh boy, I can’t wait to make this. And I live in Florida too. Very hard even here to get a good key lime. I planted one in my yard and everyone loved it for baking, drinks. Personally I don’t care if it’s purple, if it’s good go for it. Can’t wait to make this tonight.
Ha! Hope you enjoy!!
Where can real key lime juice be found? I don’t want to substitute with lime juice.
Thanks!!!!
You can usually find a shelf stable version right next to the other fruit and lemon juices.
This pie is awesome. I had some reservations cause I am a key lime pie lover for years.
So smoother and creamy and I used bottled keylime juice they have now. Lots easier then driving time to the keys and grabbing a few limes off the trees. Thank you and I am sure wirh a little dash of real key limes not one would know the difference. So happy with this now
.
Awesome, Sandy! I’m tickled you tried it and enjoyed it!
I added a small can of crushed, drained pineapple to all and served it…..everyone flipped over it…….had this recipe for over 60+ years. Limelight Pie….
Yum!
Yum!! I know what I am making for Christmas day!!!
Hope you’ll enjoy!!
This pie was a huge hit! Had the perfect amount of tart and sweet. LOVE!
So glad y’all enjoyed it!!
This is EXACTLY the pie I have been looking for for YEARS. THANK YOU!!! Super delicious, creamy, perfect combo of tart and sweet. You have no idea that you made my YEAR with this pie.
Well, I’m just tickled you finally found THE RIGHT one! 🙂
I look forward to making this pie for our Friday lunch at work, with green food coloring added. I love key lime pie!
Awesome! I hope everyone will enjoy!!
Once it is chilled, will the filling set up nicely so it can be sliced in neat slices?
It should! Are you having trouble with it?
This is probably a really dumb question but why do you have to bake it if it doesn’t have eggs? What is changing when you bake it?
That’s not dumb at all. The heat helps to set the pie a bit.
I make a LOT of Key lime pies using the recipe from Kermit’s Key Lime Pie Shop in Key West. People here seem to really like them. I am open to new recipes, so I plan to try yours. You can’t have too many good Key lime pie recipes!
Bigred – Russellville, AR
This one has a super creamy texture that we just love.
That couldn’t possibly compare to the wonderful key lime pies that the legendary Captain Kutchie Pelaez bakes at his key lime pie factory.
What couldn’t compare? My pie?
Excellent! I made it for my son, & he loved it! Thanks!!!!
So glad y’all enjoyed it!!
This looks and sounds delicious. I’m going to the store for key limes so I can make this soon.
Hope y’all enjoy it!!
Hi there! This looks wonderful! I have a couple questions:
1. Can low-fat sour cream be used
2. If using your recipe for the graham cracker crust, does it still need to be prebaked before filling? I wondered since the pie is baked after the filling is poured in the crust.
Thank you!
Hi Linda! I’ve not tried it with the low fat sour cream, so I can’t say for sure. I would still recommend baking the crust.
Stacy, the lady with the “REAL” key lime recipe is a bit persnickity to say the least, I have never wanted to try that recipe because of the raw egg, I don’t care if it’s technically cooked by the acid in the juice. I will give this a try, and I must say your graham crust recipe is better than most I’ve seen in the past year, a small amount of sugar not the 1 cup a lot call for. But I make mine without because I find it’s sweet enough. I love key limes, they do have a totally different taste, they are hard to find way up here in Northern Canada but they do occasionally show up.
I sure hope you can find some up that way and will get a chance to make this one. Thanks, Eva!
I can’t believe the comments Debbie made, I cannot eat eggs so traditional key lime pie kills me. This pie tastes just like the ones we get when we are in Florida! However I have never been to Key West but if the people are mean and bitter, like Debbie, I may never visit that area. Who really cares what color the pie is? So petty, maybe you should focus on being grateful and not tear others down. I don’t see your blog!
Thanks so much, Cathy. You just can’t please everyone, I suppose.
Hi Stacey,
I had a recipe for Key Lime Pie that I had used for years but after trying your recipe, I threw my old recipe away. I love yours and everyone that has tried the pies I’ve made from your recipe seem to love it. As for Debbie and her complaints, I will say what my grandmother always said. “If you can’t say something good, don’t say anything at all”. She was a smart woman and a good cook too!
Thanks for sharing your recipe and I’m happy I found it!
Lynda
What a compliment! Thanks so much, Lynda! So glad you enjoyed it! Now it’s got me thinking about Key Lime Pie too!