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This classic key lime pie tastes just like the ones in the Florida Keys. It’s made with minimal ingredients and topped with slightly toasted Italian meringue. This pie is creamy, perfectly sweet, and tart.
For more of my favorite pies, check out this pecan cream pie and Southern sweet potato pie.
If you’ve been to the Florida Keys, then you know they serve the best key lime pies! Some places serve it with whipped cream and others serve it with meringue.
I personally prefer it with Italian meringue! However, feel free to serve it with your favorite topping!
INGREDIENT NOTES
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and complete instructions.
- Graham cracker crumbs– You can either use store-bought crumbs or a premade crust, or use 11 full sheets of graham crackers and pulse to crumbs in a food processor.
- Sweetened condensed milk– this is different from evaporated milk, so be sure to not to get the two mixed up! This is the hero of our pie as it gives the creamy and custard-like flavor and texture.
- Lime zest– zest your limes before juicing! Zest gives concentrated lime flavor with an added zing.
- Lime juice– While key limes are sometimes hard to find, this recipe uses fresh Persian limes which are very easy to find in most grocery stores. There is also bottled key lime juice, but for the best flavor, I recommend fresh.
- Eggs– Fresh is always best and set out to room temperature for most baking recipes.
- Lemon juice or cream of tartar– This acid added to the egg whites creates a stable meringue, that will stay light and fluffy and help it to not weep.
TOP TIPS
- When making the meringue, It is important to thoroughly wipe down the whisk and bowl to the stand mixer with lemon juice in case of leftover oils.
- For this recipe, we divide 4 large eggs, the yolks provide the custard-like texture to the filling, and the whites for the meringue. Be sure to not contaminate the yolks into the whites, or the meringue will not turn out well.
- For the Italian Meringue: Read instructions thoroughly before beginning meringue! It can be a bit finicky!
MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS
You can make the filling and the crust a few days before assembling. Simply prepare and bake crust, cover, and store at room temperature.
Prepare filling, cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble. Prepare meringue just before ready to serve because meringue can deflate and weep in a short time.
STORAGE
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also wrap in plastic wrap or foil and then store in an airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. The texture may change a bit after thawing from the freezer.
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. And consider following me on Facebook or Pinterest!
Classic Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs , about 11 full crackers finely crushed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter , melted
Filling
- 28 oz sweetened condensed milk , two 14 oz cans
- 1 cup lime juice, zest before juicing
- 2 teaspoons lime zest, from about 2 limes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large egg yolks
Italian Meringue
- 4 large egg whites , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or cream of tartar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- FOR THE CRUST: Mix graham crackers, ¼ cup granulated sugar and melted butter together in a 9 inch pie dish until well combined. Press crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides in an even layer. You can use your fingers, or a glass cup to ensure crumbs are set, and no longer crumbly. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool completely.
- FOR THE FILLING: Whisk together all filling ingredients except the egg yolks. Mix well until combined. Whisk in egg yolks. Pour filling into the cooled crust and bake at 350 for 23-24 minutes. Center should be set, yet slightly wiggly when jiggled. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.
- FOR THE ITALIAN MERINGUE: Read instructions thoroughly before beginning meringue! It can be a bit finicky!Thoroughly wash and dry the whisk attachment and bowl to your stand mixer. Then wipe down with a little lemon juice to be sure there are no residual oils to contaminate your meringue. Then pour in your egg white, making sure they are completely free of egg yolks, and the lemon juice or cream of tartar. Start whipping your egg mixture on medium low speed. Do not stop the mixing process.
- While eggs are whipping, pour the water and sugar into a small pot and heat over medium high heat, stirring frequently until it begins to boil. Once boiling, there is no need to stir. Sugar will begin to crystallize along the side of the pot just above the liquid and will need to brush the sides of the pot with a little water to remove. Do as frequently as necessary. Excess crystallized sugar could cause a problem with the meringue. The sugar syrup needs to come to a very fast boil, and to a temperature of 243 degrees with a candy thermometer, or about 118 Celsius. This takes about 20 minutes on my stove.
- Once sugar water reaches 243 degrees, set aside to cool for less than a minute. During this time, turn the stand mixer to high. Pour the sugar water down the side of the mixer bowl in a slow, even stream until fully incorporated. Do not pour the sugar water all at once, or in the center of the bowl because that will cause the eggs to cook and meringue will be destroyed. If you don’t whisk on high, the sugar syrup will cook the eggs and the meringue will not be fluffy, but will be bubbly and not rise in texture. The meringue will greatly expand in size during this process.
- Once incorporated, keep whisking on high for about 7-8 minutes, or until the bowl of the stand mixer feels warm to the touch. Turn off the mixer, and test the meringue by removing the whisk attachment with the meringue thick and fluffy on it.
- Scoop large dollops of meringue over cooled pie, covering the entire pie including the crust. Then use the back of a spoon to decorate and shape designs in the meringue. Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast the meringue.
- To serve, a long, thin knife held under hot water is best to cut through the meringue. With each cut, hold the knife under hot water and repeat as necessary to avoid meringue from sticking to the knife.
Notes
- When making the meringue, It is important to thoroughly wipe down the whisk and bowl to the stand mixer with lemon juice in case of leftover oils.
- For this recipe, we divide 4 large eggs, the yolks provide the custard-like texture to the filling, and the whites for the meringue. Be sure to not contaminate the yolks into the whites, or the meringue will not turn out well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
