With its outstanding macadamia nut crust, creamy yet thick key lime filling, and sweet whipped cream on top, this is truly the best key lime pie I’ve ever had. And after 1 bite, I think you will agree. You need 4 ingredients for the crust, and only 3 ingredients for the filling.
Key lime pie will forever be one of my favorite desserts, and I know I’m not alone! This Florida specialty has been winning over millions for years. Between the buttery crunchy crust, fresh and tangy custard filling, and the essential creamy topping—no dessert can rival this one!
But can we make a good thing even better? Yes.
One reader, Valerie, commented: “I have made this recipe multiple times and it is always a huge hit! The macadamia nuts in the crust really give it that extra ‘something’ that people love but can’t quite pinpoint. One of my favorite recipes from your site… ★★★★★“
What Makes This the Best Key Lime Pie?
- Extra thick and nutty crust
- 3-ingredient filling
- Easy to make
- Totally refreshing
- Major key lime flavor
- Topped with homemade whipped cream
- Sweet, salty, citrus-y, buttery, creamy, and tangy all in one
One reader, Ellen, commented: “My son and I made this pie together for Thanksgiving. It is the first time we have ever made a key lime pie before. We followed the recipe exactly! Sally, it was the BEST PIE EVER! Absolutely delicious. Everybody loved it and we will without a doubt make this again. Today I am thankful for leftovers! ★★★★★“
Here’s How You Make This Key Lime Pie
This pie requires a few simple steps. Most of the “work” is hands-off as the key lime pie sets up in the refrigerator, so it’s perfect in the summertime. (A lot of readers make this easy pie for Memorial Day weekend, Father’s Day, 4th of July, summer birthday parties, and Labor Day gatherings.)
- Make the Crust: Use a food processor to combine the macadamia nuts and graham cracker crumbs. Combine with melted butter and sugar, then press tightly into a pie dish.
- Pre-Bake the Crust: Pre-bake the crust for about 8 minutes before pouring in the key lime filling. Pre-baking solidifies the crust and allows for easy slicing once the pie is ready to serve.
- Make the Filling: Whisk together the 3 filling ingredients—it will be thick! Pour into the warm crust.
- Bake the Pie: It usually only takes about 18–20 minutes in the oven. Let it cool completely, then cover and refrigerate the pie for at least 1 hour prior to serving.
- Garnish and Serve: This is extra delicious with fresh whipped cream on top. By the way, if you’re looking for an alternative way to serve it, try my individual upside down key lime pies. Basically the same filling as this pie.
Graham Cracker Macadamia Nut Crust
Key lime pie is traditionally made with graham cracker crust. It’s the most wonderful crunchy, sweet, and buttery bed for the fresh key lime filling. But you won’t 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 pie bliss. Macadamia nuts are often overlooked in the baking world, in favor of other nuts. Why, though? They’re so good!
You need 4 ingredients for this crust:
- Macadamia Nuts (I recommend salted)
- Graham Crackers
- Melted Butter
- Sugar
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.
Or you could use a Biscoff pie crust instead if you’d like.
3-Ingredient Filling
Yes, you need just 3 ingredients. (!!!) If you’ve tried my key lime pie bars or mini key lime pies, you’ll notice that today’s filling is a little different. I typically add a little cream cheese to those recipes for stability and structure. However, for a classic and custard-y pie, we’ll skip it. You just need egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and key limes.
My success tip: Do yourself a favor and buy a bottle of key lime juice from the store. There’s a brand of bottled key lime juice that I love called Nellie & Joe’s in most major grocery stores next to the bottled lemon juice. Otherwise you will spend 100 years juicing 500 tiny key limes yourself. LOL. You need 1 cup (240ml) of key lime juice. (Fresh lime zest is optional for this pie.)
How to Tell Key Lime Pie Is Done
One of the most common and easily remedied key lime pie problems is over-baked pie. It’s tricky to know when the pie is done, but here’s my secret: bake the pie until the filling is only slightly jiggly in the center (about 18–20 minutes). It should be firm to the touch, but not totally solid. The pie will continue to set as it cools.
Cool the pie completely on a wire rack, then cover and chill for at least 1 hour before garnishing, slicing, and serving.
How to Decorate Key Lime Pie
Let the refreshing citrus flavor stand out, and keep the garnishes simple.
- Homemade whipped cream
- Since you’ll have leftover egg whites, make a meringue topping like the one on this bourbon sweet potato pie—you’ll have time to kill while the pie chills anyway 🙂
- Quartered lime slices
- Lime zest
- Whole macadamia nuts
- Graham cracker crumbs
I’ve sampled many key lime pies and I can confidently say this is the best one I’ve ever had.
Refreshing Dessert Ideas
When the temperatures rise, the last thing you want to do is spend time in a hot kitchen. You’ll appreciate these simple, delicious, and totally refreshing desserts:
- Creamy Lemon Pie
- No-Bake Cheesecake
- Lemon Berry Trifle
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Dirt Pudding Dessert (so fun for kids!)
- Strawberry Shortcake
7-Ingredient Key Lime Pie
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 35 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This tangy-sweet key lime pie is deliciously simple with an extra thick and nutty crust. You need just 3 ingredients for the filling, and be sure to refrigerate the pie for at least an hour before slicing and serving.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Macadamia Crust
- 11 (about 160g) full-sheet graham crackers
- 1/2 cup (62g) salted macadamia nuts (I use roasted)
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling + Topping
- 28 ounces (two 14-ounce cans/793g) full-fat sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup (240ml) key lime juice
- 4 large egg yolks*
- 1 teaspoon key lime zest
- garnish: lime zest, quartered lime slices, macadamia nuts, whipped cream, or meringue topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Make the crust: Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and macadamia nuts together into coarse crumbs. A few larger pieces of nuts is OK. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. Use your hand to pat down the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides to make a crust. Use medium pressure—simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom “corner” where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust—this helps prevent the crust from falling apart when you slice into the pie. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
- Pre-bake crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the oven on.
- Make the filling: Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and egg yolks together (or use an electric mixer). Whisk in the lime zest. Pour into warm crust.
- Bake the pie for 18–20 minutes or until only *slightly* jiggly in the center. You want it mostly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and chill for at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before serving.
- Garnish as desired.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can prepare and pre-bake the crust up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and store at room temperature. Likewise, you can mix up the filling up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then assemble and bake. Baked and cooled pie freezes well up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor or Chopper | Glass Mixing Bowl | 9-inch Pie Dish | Zester | Citrus Juicer | Whisk
- Graham Cracker Crust: If you purchase graham cracker crumbs, you need 1 and 1/3 cups (160g) for this recipe. Even though they are already crumbs, you can still pulse with the nuts. If you want to skip the nuts, use this graham cracker crust recipe instead and pre-bake for 8 minutes.
- Can I Use Regular Limes Instead? Yes, you can make this pie with regular lime juice and lime zest.
- Store-bought Key Lime Juice: If you don’t want to juice dozens of small key limes to yield 1 cup (240ml) juice, store-bought key lime juice works too. I really like a brand called Nellie & Joe’s, and you can find it at the grocery store near the bottled lemon juice.
- Leftover Egg Whites: Here are all my recipes using just egg whites, or you can make a meringue topping for the pie.
- Key Lime Bars: Here is my recipe for key lime pie bars. I add some cream cheese to that filling so the bars hold their shape well.
- Non-US Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 180g ground digestive biscuits instead (about 12 biscuits), with the same amount of nuts and butter, and add an extra Tablespoon (12g) of sugar. Pre-bake for 10 minutes.
So I was a little skeptical about this recipe. We love Key Lime Pie here. I make it a couple of times a year, squeezing a bag of those teeny tiny limes and using a recipe that includes 2 cans SCM and some sour cream. I decided to give this recipe a shot, supervising my 10 year old doing most of the work on the filling. We used the readily available key lime juice brand you recommend, but a regular lime for the zest. We tasted the uncooked filling and weren’t all that impressed. It just didn’t seem tart enough to compete with the key lime pie squeezed from real key limes. Nevertheless, we baked and cooled it and had it ready for dessert.
Some kind of magic happened between baking and eating, because that finished pie is so so close to the real thing. We all agreed that maybe the real limes recipe was a smidge more tart, but the labor involved makes this an easy trade off for all but the most special occasions. Thanks for freeing me from those teeny tiny limes!!!! This recipe is going into frequent rotation!!!!!!!!!!
I plan to make this for my dad for father’s day. I am thinking the meringue will hold up better than the whipped cream over the handful of days it will take for him to eat it. Do I garnish the whole pie with meringue, or just decoratively (like the whipped cream in the photo)? And should I brown it a little? The meringue recipe that this directs me to calls for 2 of the egg whites. Is that enough for the whole pie? Help!
Hi Jennifer, glad to help. I would actually use the meringue topping (I call it marshmallow topping in this case) on this bourbon sweet potato pie. I just redirected the link. It’s the same as the one you saw, but on a pie. You can toast it if you’d like, or you can skip the toasting. Feel free to pipe it, but there’s enough to cover the entire pie if you’d like to do that.
Thank you for your guidance, the pie was a great success! My dad pronounced the pie to be “excellent” and the crust to be “next level.” My husband got a bit pouty when he realized I was not baking one to keep, so the next day I had to bake him one, too. Glad I did because it is quite a delight. I decorated my dad’s pie with artful blops (that’s a technical term, Sally) of your homemade marshmallow cream. I had tons left that we here at home inartfully smeared across our pieces and then browned a bit with a kitchen torch. I think that little bit of extra sweetness balanced the tartness of the pie so nicely. And the nuts in the crust are truly an inspired addition. Another winner, Sally, and the reason you are my go-to gal for all things decadent!
I love this recipe so much ❤️
I will try this recipe. Try key lime pie with chocolate crumb crust made with nabisco chocolate wafer cookies or similar.
I love key lime pie and bought a sous vide machine to pasteurize the eggs. Does this baking time get the eggs up to 165F? Thank you. Sounds delicious!
It does, yes! And if desired, you can use an instant read thermometer to check.
Have you ever added abit of cream cheese to your Key lime Pie recipe? If yes, how much. If no, why not?
Hi BJ, we typically add a little cream cheese to our key lime pie bars and mini key lime piesrecipes for stability and structure. However, for a classic and custard-y pie, we skip it here. If you would like to add a touch, we’d recommend using our mini key lime pies recipe and following the recipe Notes there for a full size pie. Or, we have a key lime cheesecake recipe as well.
Sally, I really want to make this, but I’m allergic to macadamia nuts. Is there another nut/ingredient I can used in place of the macadamias?
Hi Sheila! If you want to skip the nuts, use this graham cracker crust recipe instead and pre-bake for 8 minutes.
BEST keylime pie ever!!! I’ve made this several times and I’ve even made individual ones using a muffin tin & liners. I always get rave reviews!
This is my family’s favorite recipe! They are a bit traditional, and prefer the graham cracker crust (although I love the combo with the macadamia nuts). And I add an extra 1/4 cup of key lime juice because they all enjoy the extra tartness. Recipe is easy and comes out perfect each and every time! I make 2-3 pies at a time because they are so popular for all of our get togethers to celebrate birthdays and holidays!
Really like this recipe. We’ve made it a few times. We use 2 x 300ml cans sweetened condensed milk. (one was low fat, and it turned out fine). Skipped the nuts in the crust, just added more graham crackers. We squeezed 6 regular limes for the filling. This recipe consistently makes a bit too much for my 9 inch pan, so we butter a couple of extra ramekins for “upside down key lime pie” to use up the excess.
This recipe turned out perfect. Crust, filling and display. It cut into beautiful pieces and the taste was even better the next day. Your instructions were on point!
I love key lime pie. But I have an egg allergy. How can I prepare with out the eggs?
Hi Martha, I’m sorry to hear that! I’m not sure any egg substitutes would work in this recipe, because egg yolks are a key ingredient here. We do have a section on the site dedicated to egg-free baking recipes, I hope you can find something in there you love as much or more!
Absolutely the BEST key lime pie! After making the original recipe, I substituted crushed biscoff cookies for the graham crackers and deleted the sugar in the crust. I did use the melted butter and chopped macadamia nuts. Absolutely wonderful
This is my go to recipe, it’s amazing! I have two in the oven now!
Hi Sally! I checked Amazon, and there are several varieties of the Nelli & Joe’s Key lime juice. Which one of those do you recommend? Thank you!
Hi L, we use the Nellie and Joe’s key west lime juice!
Definitely my go to recipe for Key lime pie
I love this recipe! It is my favorite key lime pie ever!! I want to make loads of it for a potluck and figured it would be easier for serving if I made this pie into bars.
Can I bake it in a 9×9 pan?
Hi Lizzy, we’re so glad this is a favorite for you! We recommend following our key lime pie bars recipe for a bar version. Enjoy!
Could I also use freshly squeezed lime juice for this recipe if I’m planning on making it? And how would I be able to take it to the office for the next day and store it after it’s set and topped with whipped cream?
Hi Allison, you can certainly use fresh squeeze key lime juice. If you have a refrigerator to store the pie in, it should be fine!
Thank you for the advice. If I pipe the top with whipped cream and cover it with foil and store it in the fridge, then after I take it to the office with me and put it in the office fridge after my morning early to mid-March commute, will it still be ready to eat?
It should be fine!
Make sure you are using a pie pan that is 9 inch by 2 inch. Most pie pans purchased in stores are not as deep. You end up with too much liquid and not enough crust exposed. What a mess 🙁
Not bad. The filling was definitely easy to make, but was sort of disappointingly simple. If you’re looking for a really top notch, gourmet key lime pie, use a different recipe. If you just want a straight-forward pie, this is the one.
Do you have aRecipe for the jelly like filling for fresh strawberry pie?
Hi Ollie, we have these strawberry pie recipes: strawberry cream cheese pie, strawberry no bake cheesecake pie, strawberry rhubarb pie.
Can i make this in a tart pan? I believe i have 9in, 10in and 11in pans. Which would be best?
Hi Mj, that should be fine and the 9 inch pan would be best. Enjoy!
Would the bake times be different
It will be about the same since we are using a 9 inch pie dish. Just keep your eye on it towards the end and bake only until it’s *slightly* jiggly in the center.
LOVED IT!!! So easy & so good. I’m wondering if I could use this recipe & spread out in a few 3 or 4 inch pie tins? What temp & timing would I use for that? Also, could I freeze it? Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Hi Allison, so glad you love this key lime pie recipe! Yes, you can use this recipe for smaller key lime pies — the same way you use it for these mini key lime pies. This filling will work just as well as that one! We’re unsure of the exact bake time. Baked and cooled pie freezes well up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
This recipe is amazing. I love the macadamia nuts blended into the crust and the filling is perfect.
Delicious! I made the crust according to your recipe. Any time I need a graham cracker crust, I’ll be adding in macadamia nuts.
As for the key lime, could it have been any easier? No. And it was perfect. I even remembered to take a photo this time. I just can’t figure out how to send it.
I’m going to use pecans instead of macadamias, should I roast them before mixing into the graham crackers.
You can use either, but we do love the flavor of roasted. Let us know how it goes!
Always a hit! I’ve made this recipe several times. Started adding a bit more mass to the crust, 10-20% more than specified. I’m also a big fan of cashews over the macadamia nuts!
I made this for a party, and everyone loved it! It was delicious! Besides the lemon blueberry tart this is the best thing I’ve made from this blog! Thank you.
I’m thinking I’ll just use my regular pie dish, but it’s a Pyrex 9.5 inch. The recipe calls for a 9 inch – will a 9.5 work?
Hi Amanda, that should work just fine — enjoy!
Thanks so much. Would there be any issue doing this in a deep pie dish?
Hi Amanda! The filling won’t fill out a deep dish pie dish, but it will work. Let us know how it goes!
Is it possible to find out which tip was used for the whipped cream?
Hi Amanda, I used Wilton 1M tip. The whipped cream was on the softer side this day, so it didn’t hold shape well.
Good morning…….I prefer using fresh lime juice. Shall I keep the volume if juice at 1 cup and secondly, may I add lime zest? Thank you in advance.
Hi Julie, yes, same amount of fresh key lime juice and you can add lime zest to your liking. Hope you enjoy this pie!