My best key lime pie recipe features a rich macadamia nut crust and a creamy, tangy filling that sets perfectly. Made from just 7 ingredients, this classic and refreshing pie is both simple to prepare and tastes elevated with fresh whipped cream on top!
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips.
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!
Here’s Why This Key Lime Pie Recipe Works
- Salted macadamias in the crust add flavor (they’re optional)
- Pre-bake the crust so it holds shape
- Sweetened condensed milk thickens the filling without the need for starch or gelatin
- A short bake time sets the custard filling, while still keeping it silky smooth
- Refrigerate the pie so it’s cool, creamy, and sliceable
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… ★★★★★“
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.)
The instructions are very similar to making this creamy lemon pie (also only 7 ingredients).
- 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 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. Let it cool completely, then cover and refrigerate the pie prior to serving.
- Garnish and Serve: This is extra delicious with fresh whipped cream on top. If you’re looking for an alternative way to make it, try these 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.
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
You just need egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and key limes. These 3 ingredients are equally important. Why? The filling works because the acidity of key lime juice naturally thickens sweetened condensed milk, while egg yolks help set the filling into a smooth, sliceable custard as it bakes and chills.
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 smooth and sliceable custard pie, we’ll skip it.
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 cooling rack, then cover and refrigerate 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; in the pictured pie, I used Ateco 826 which is a large piping tip. I piped large swirls around the pie.
- 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 or 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.
Yes, absolutely. There’s a brand of bottled key lime juice that I love called Nellie & Joe’s, and it’s available in most major grocery stores next to the bottled lemon juice.
The acidity of key lime juice naturally thickens sweetened condensed milk without the need for starch or gelatin, which could change the texture into a pudding pie. Instead, we want smooth custard that sets *just* until sliceable.
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 | Citrus 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Holy yummmmmm! Needed some comfort food during self & this did NOT disappoint. Subbed pecans cause that’s what I had. For sure the best key lime pie I’ve ever had!
This crust is absolutely amazing. So delicious with the bites of macadamia nuts. I couldn’t find key lime juice so I used regular and I could tell the difference from the last time I had it, so I will be sure to keep my eyes peeled for key lime juice for next time. Thanks for this recipe, it’s been delicious both times!! What a keeper.
I made this Key Lime Pie with a plain graham wafer crust. It was as good as any pie I ate while recently in Key West. My family thought it was the best Key Lime Pie they had eaten. Thank you Sally for another wonderful recipe.
Hi Sally!
Well, you made me a dessert hero once again! My nephew asked me to make him a Key Lime Pie, and my heart broke a little bit because the thought of juicing a bunch of baby Key Limes made me want to cry. Then I came across your recipe! I’d never heard of Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime juice, and that made the recipe SO EASY! Again, everyone, especially my nephew, loved it. I sent my mom home with a piece of leftover pie, and she told me that she ate it at 2:00 AM! If that isn’t an endorsement! Thanks, again! 🙂
This IS the best Key Lime Pie I’ve ever tried! We do non-typical birthday cakes in our family and key lime pie was my sister’s request. I knew I could put this grand occasion in the capable hands of Sally’s Key Lime Pie recipe. My sister who does not like layer cakes or most sweets actually ate the whole piece and said she loved it! Everyone else went back for seconds and sadly, no leftovers! I piped whipped cream (use the hyperlink in recipe) and cut lime slices to add some flair. It was a showstopper! Do not hesitate to try this recipe. It’s the best!
Hi, I live in Australia and can’t seem to find key lime juice anywhere. Would regular lime juice be a suitable substitute? I’ve never tried key lime before so not sure what difference there is in taste…
Thanks!
Hi Hannah, While they do taste slightly different you can substitute regular limes in most recipes. Or look for bottled key lime juice, the brand I love is called Nellie and Joe’s, perhaps you can purchase it online if it’s not in the stores?
Sally, We did a test run, loved it, made it for Thanksgiving and now its on the regular request list for the holidays! Everyone loved it and thought it had just the right balance of sweet-tart. However we did make a different crust (we happened to have a large box of Biscoff biscuits and wanted to use them up while they are fresh). We simply crushed a sleeve in a food processor, blended in 5 tablespoons of melted butter pressed into a pie pan, and baked for 10 mins (covering the edge). It complemented your filling wonderfully. Thanks!
Hello! First, let me just say that i rarely change a Sally recipe, and they never let me down! So i hate to even ask, but I’m about to bake a key lime pie for Thanksgiving, and I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to substitute pistachios instead of macadamia nuts? I could get some macadamia nuts, I just have a bag of pistachios on hand already, but I’m not sure if the flavors will pair well?? Thanks!
Yes! Key lime and pistachio would be excellent together– you can definitely replace the macadamias in the crust with pistachios!
My grandson loves key lime yogurt and asked me to make him a Key Lime Pie. You had just sent an e-mail in July with your recipe so I made it for him. He loved it! He had two pieces and took one home with him! Thank You Sally!
Hi Sally
As I am living in Ireland we don’t have Graham Crackers so instead I will be using Digestive Biscuits
As I have never tasted Graham Crackers I don’t know how sweet they are. Are they sugar free?
Should I still add all that sugar along with the Digestive Biscuits (they are slightly sweet)?
Thanks a mill
Hi Sarah, You can certainly use digestive biscuits! I have been told they are actually LESS sweet than graham crackers! I would suggest that you mix up the crust and give it a taste to see if you need to add more sugar 🙂
Delicious and easy!
Only thing I would probably change is doubling up on the crust.
Super easy to follow. Made for a friend who is big fan of key lime pie. Said it was the best he’s ever had. Unfortunately I had to squeeze about 50 tiny key limes for a cup of juice since the store here doesn’t sell anything but lime juice from concentrate but it was worth it! Thank you!
This sounds delicious but I was wondering if instead of graham crackers you could us Sandies which is a shortbread crust. Let me know what you think. Love your site and all the yummies
Hi Sally! You can use Sandies instead of the graham crackers for this crust.
Sally, thank you for this fabulous recipe. I love key lime pie and your easy recipe convinced me I had to make it this past weekend. The whole pie was a breeze to make, but I have to say, the crust is outstanding! The combination of macadamia nuts with the graham crackers is addictive! My dinner guests loved the pie and I scarfed up all the leftovers this week. Yum!!!
I just had to let you know that I made this pie today and juiced the fresh limes I had on hand. Wow! This pie is delicious and so easy & fast to make. I’ve made this crust before with almonds but the macadamia nuts take this pie crust to another level.
Thank You
Hi Sally! I was looking at the Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice and there is Original and 100% juice. Which one do you recommend? Thank you!
Hi Diane! I’ve actually used them both– great results with either.
Oh Sally. This is the first key lime pie I’ve ever made and the BEST I’ve ever tasted. It’s my husband’s favorite dessert and I surprised him with this on father’s day, he absolutely loved it. And it was so easy! Absolutely divine. Hope Kevin had a wonderful father’s day!
Delicious – fabulous dessert and super easy. The end result looks so professional. Thank you Sally for your tips and hints. The pie was a hit at the barbecue – don’t count on leftovers LOL!
Delicious! Everyone in family loved it. My question is why isn’t the filling green? In restaurants it has a green tint. Do u think they add a dash of green food coloring? Thank you and love all your ideas and recipes!!
Hi Sandy! So glad you like the key lime pie! Key lime pie is usually more yellow than it is green. Feel free to add food dye if you’d like.
Best key lime pie ever! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Sally, I’m allergic to macadamia nuts; what would you suggest as a substitute? Thank you!
Hi Debbie! Any other nut would be great like cashews, almonds, or pecans. Or you can use my plain graham cracker crust recipe.
Made this for my husband’s shift at the fire department and they loved it! No leftovers.
I’m always nervous baking for people outside our family but your easy to follow recipes give me a tad more confidence.
EXCEPTIONAL! SUPERB! My mom said it was better than ANY restaurant ever!
I looked all over for key limes and tge key lime juice you mentioned but couldn’t find amy. Regardless this pie came out amazing! I didn’t have macadamia nuts so I used your graham cracker crust recipe, and I topped it with your meringue. Seriously delicious! And not too tart, according to my son!
I love this recipe and have made it a few times now, but I think I did something wrong this time. It took a lot longer to bake than usual. I think I had to add about twenty or twenty five minutes, and halfway through that, I turned the heat down to 325 because my crust was starting to get burned. I’m assuming this was something I did because this recipe has never done this before in the past. The only thing I did differently than usual was to hand whisk the filling rather than use the stand mixer. Is it possible I got too much air into it, and that kept it from baking? Thanks in advance!
Hi Janna, I’m sorry to hear your pie didn’t turn out well! Hand whisking the filling shouldn’t cause this. Adding 20-25 minutes to the 17-20-minute bake time sounds like way too long, and would definitely burn the crust. The pie can still have a little wobble in the middle when you take it out of the oven; it doesn’t have to be completely firm, as it will continue to set up as it cools and then while it chills in the refrigerator. I hope you give it another try!
LOVE this crust… opens up a whole new world for graham cracker pie crusts… will experiment with using with other pies and using other nuts. Thanks!
I have a question about this recipe. I have been researching Key Lime Pie recipes before I settle on which one to make. I love your recipes and your site is always my first go to source! However the proportions seem off… Most recipes call for 1 can of sweetened condensed milk for the same amount of lime juice and eggs. Does that make this pie overly or more sweet instead of tart? Can anyone describe the flavor that this pie yields? By adding the extra can it seems you would end up with a muted like flavor and way more filling too.
Most recipes call for half the amount of lime juice– or 3/4 cup. It’s a sweet lime pie, for sure, with a noticeable tangy bite.
For anyone looking to make this dairy free, I successfully made it for the 4th of July using “Let’s Do… Organic” brand sweetened condensed coconut milk from Whole Foods with a 1:1 ratio. I also replaced the butter in the crust with coconut oil. It took a little longer to cook (a our 40-45 minutes) and looked a bit liquidy when I put it in the refrigerator but it firmed up perfectly and everyone loved it!
Thank you so much for reporting back about your dairy free version. I know some readers will find this so helpful.
Made mine with lemons (because that is what husband was craving sadly. Otherwise followed recipe exactly) and OMG it was delicious!!! Love the crunchy/salty crust with the silky/sweet pie filling. This is definitely one of my favorite pie recipes ever!! Will have to make it with key lime sometime this summer. Thanks Sally for the wonderful recipe! Found your website for the first time last year and is now my go to anytime I bake.
First time making key lime pie. So easy and delicious ! Great dessert for hot summer nights. So refreshing. I used shortbread crust since we have nut allergy. Everything I have made from your website is the best! Thanks Sally !!