Key Lime Pie
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 3 hours' freezing
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-inch pie
- 4egg yolks
- 114-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- ½cup Key lime juice (see note)
- ½teaspoon cream of tartar
- 19-inch graham cracker crust
- Whipped cream
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks on high speed until thick and light in color. Add the condensed milk and mix on low speed. Still on low speed, add half the lime juice, cream of tartar and then the remaining lime juice, mixing after each addition. Mix well until blended.
- Step 2
Pour into pie crust and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the center is firm and dry to the touch. Freeze for at least 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream.
Tip
- Key lime juice is a tricky one. You generally have to buy it bottled, even in the Keys (it's usually found in specialty markets). The pie is great with regular limes, but it's not as distinctively tart. (One possibility is to mix regular lime juice with a bit of lemon juice.)
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
rayna
If you squeeze half lemon juice and half lime juice it will taste like authentic key lime pie. Key limes are more sour than regular limes, so this is the way to go! Got this hint from a Florida native. Trust me, it’s perfect!
Cynthia
Hello from Florida, where we live with two key lime trees....which were exuberantly bountiful this year! 1) No bottled lime juice is a substitute for fresh key lime juice. 2) I make this exact recipe in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, with the graham crust flat on the bottom. When the "pie" has cooled, I cut the dessert into squares and put it in the freezer, covered. It is easy to remove a square or two or more for a personal snack, or to serve as a dessert.
Joyce S.
This is not enough filling for a 9 inch pie crust. There is nearly an inch of empty space at the top of my pie. Next time I will use an 8 inch crust!
Lance
Don’t throw our the egg whites. Instead, use them to make a meringue.
Chairmanpao
Rather than increase the number of egg yolks to make enough filling for a 9-inch crust, whip the egg whites until they hold peaks and fold into the filling. It makes a slightly lighter but equally delicious filling, and it freezes beautifully. You can slice and serve it frozen if you like (it's especially nice this way in warm weather). Also, if you make your own crust with graham crackers, ground macadamia nuts, and coconut, it take is to another level.
Leslie Dumont
I was taught, in culinary school, to use half regular limes and half regular lemons - if one can’t find key limes. Has always worked for me.
Margie
Yes, this recipe needed to be increased. I did use 6 egg yolks instead of 4 and to increase the volume of the filling. I also added 4 oz. of cream cheese which made it a little creamier and helped balance the sweetness. It was a hit!
Vic
The Sweetened condensed milk provides just enough sweetness so that the pie is tart as it should be.
Rosalie
I think I know what the problem is. The recipe calls for beating egg yolks until "until thick and light in color." That's not very explicit. In order for the filling to correctly fill the 9-inch pie pan, you really, really need to beat the egg yolks until they at least double in volume. This takes quite some time, but when you do, the filling turns out great.
Steve Meiss
I made two of these pies and entered the dessert contest at our block party yesterday (6/15/19. I was competing against 12 other desserts. The judging was by six kids ranging in age from about 8 to 12, who took their jobs seriously and deliberated for several minutes. Much to my amazement, when the winner was announced, it was me with my Key Lime pie!! I followed the recipe carefully. Couldn't get Key limes or juice at my Whole Foods, so I used plain lime juice with a bit of lemon.
Amy Dixon
Delicious! After reading the other comments, I baked this in an 8-inch springform pan. Added 1 tsp. ground ginger and the zest of one lime to the graham cracker crust. After considering my oven, that I am baking at 3000+ feet above sea level, and the recipe on the bottle of Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice, I baked at 350 degrees for 17 minutes. Cooled the pie for 10 minutes and then put it into the freezer overnight. Everyone loved it. I will definitely be making this again.
Susannah
Should the pie really be frozen for three hours, not just refrigerated? And should it then be kept in the freezer (assuming it doesn’t get eaten in a single sitting)? And does anyone based in Europe have a good recipe for the graham cracker crust? Thanks!
SS
I think you were getting sweetened condensed milk confused with regular or evaporated milk. Sweetened condensed milk has a bajillion cups of sugar in it so it will be really sweet. :-)
Abbie
PS: The "extra room" over the filling is for the meringue. ;-)
Ted
In Florida. Lots of choices for crust: graham crackers, Ritz Crackers, ginger snap cookies (tonight). 200 g crackers/cookies 3-4 TB sugar 4-8 TB European style unsalted butter Crumble crackers Mix crackers, sugar, butter Press into pan Freeze 30 min Pour in filling Freeze 3 hrs (lime juice cooks egg yolks) OR Bake 15 mins at 350F Rest 10 mins Refrigerate See, eg https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019424-atlantic-beach-pie?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page®ion=dessert&ra
Alishabakesalot
Good easy recipe, but the filling definitely needs to be doubled as I have found with many NYT recipes. The filling barely fills half of a 9in pie plate. The photo is some serious false advertising.
bar
This was easy and came out fantastic. I did a basic graham cracker crumb crust. I bought key lime juice. I whisked the yolks in kitchen aid for probably 10 mins, then carried on with recipe. It fills the 9” pie pan with just a bit of extra crust. Froze it and served with whipped cream. Absolutely make again
Johanna
Great as our dessert for Easter brunch. Dead simple to make even if you go with a homemade graham cracker crust, as we did, instead of the pre-made stuff. Make sure you spend enough time aerating the egg yolks as that really does help increase the volume of the filling.
Karen
Cream of tartar is used to stabilize egg whites, particularly when making a meringue. As there are no egg whites in the recipe and whipped cream is the recommended topping, cream of tartar seems irrelevant. I think it also would be unnecessary if you whip the leftover egg whites and add them to the filling. I like someone’s idea of topping with sweetened whipped sour cream (I always thought that was the topping), but meringue also seems appropriate if you like it.
Robin Tracy
Rave reviews from everyone! Topped with meringue made with the egg whites.
Peter W.
I have been able to find Key Lime Juice at most large grocery stores at which I’ve looked. It’s “Don and Nellie’s” (or something like that). The recipe on the bottle takes about 30 minutes to prepare. (I always add the finely-shaved zest from a regular lime.) And it’s delicious - every time. I also decorate with a thin slice of the zested lime stood up in the whipped cream on top. It’s a crowd pleaser every time!
Palmer
Use Tate’s ginger cookies for your crust.
NCI
Followed advice to use a combination of lime & lemon juice to mimic the tartness of key limes. Used about ⅔ lime to ⅓ lemon because that’s what I had. Added 2 TB of lime zest to the filling (because Ina Garten). Absolutely perfect!
julie
Should you bake the crust before filling?
Kathy C.
I wondered this too
Rena
In my experience, unless you like the taste of lime lifesavers, under no circumstance should you use bottled key lime juice. But isn’t that the point? Key limes are not always available at my market (in greater Boston, so you make it only when you find the key limes!
Laurel
Turns out great. I made the crust out of Biscoff cookies and zested the Key Limes (easy to get in New Mexico) and put the zest in the filing. This is a good recipe.
Merche
Do I serve it frozen?
Kitty
Made twice - first time with the added egg whites so that it fit into the Keebler deep dish graham cracker crust; the second time without since the Gluten Free crust used was much smaller. The texture with egg whites is very fluffy and creamy especially when it's been frozen and thawed a few minutes. Without egg whites has the typical texture. Both pies need to be frozen to be firm/clean cut. That's a downside though it will be a perfect summer dessert. I prefer with egg whites day 2!
alice
Use fresh squeezed half lemon juice, half lime for a key lime sub.
Jim F. from Sewell
I'm pretty new at this, and I followed the recipe exactly, using bottled "Key Lime" lime juice. I was somewhat disappointed, I was hoping for much more of a lime/tart kick than what I got. Perhaps next time I will add some lemon juice for a more pronounced acid "kick"-but I don't want to affect the consistency of the custard, which was very good. I also had a hard time releasing the homemade and baked cracker crust from the pie plate. I guess this is "a work in progress"!
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