Key lime pie is one of those incredibly classic pies that citrus lovers adore! Originating in Key West, Florida the pie is tart, tangy, and yet still super sweet – the perfect dessert after a nice big meal.
If you love a good citrus dessert, why not make this Lemon Meringue Pie or easy lemon bars!
No Bake Key Lime Pie
Nothing beats a fast and easy no bake dessert, and this tangy pie is one of my favorite recipes. It was brought to my house by friends many, many years ago for a pie party that I had and the recipe has remained one of my quick and easy favorites. You don’t even bake the crust!
You can use a premade grahama cracker crust to make things even easier.
No Bake Key Lime Pie Ingredients
Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.
Graham Cracker Crust
• Graham cracker crumbs
• White sugar
• Salted butter, melted
Key Lime Filling
• Cream cheese softened to room temperature
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Key lime juice (or normal limes, if you have to)
• Vanilla
Whipped Topping
• Whipping cream
• Vanilla
• White sugar
• Lime zest
How To Make No Bake Key Lime Pie
• Combine the crust ingredients in a medium bowl, and then press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate
• Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until fluffy and soft
• Slowly add in the condensed milk, beating until smooth, and then add the rest of the ingredients
• Add some optional green food coloring if desired
• Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell and refrigerate for 4 hours, though overnight is best
• Top the pie with the whipped cream in your desired pattern and sprinkle with grated lime zest • Slice and serve cold
Do I Have to Use Key Limes?
When I made this there wasn’t a key lime in sight to be found in the stores! I prefer to use them when I can, however, they can certainly be a bit tricky to find, depending on the season!
Key limes are different from regular limes, they are slightly less tart and acidic than Persian limes, the regular type of limes you’d find at a store.
It also takes a lot more key limes to be able to get the same amount of juice that you would get from a regular lime!
Keep in mind that when key limes become fully ripe, they turn a sort of greeny-yellow rather than the true lime green you might expect. This shouldn’t affect the true color of the pie itself but may change how pretty the zest topping ends up being.
Do I Have to Use Food Coloring?
For this recipe, we leave the choice of using food coloring up to you, but the only way to get a really true, deep lime green is to use food coloring. I prefer the retro lime look for sure!
Keep in mind, however, that how something looks absolutely does affect how we perceive its taste. If you take two of the exact same recipes of key lime pie but dye one a really nice green, you will almost certainly prefer the taste of the greener one because it looks how you expect it to.
If you are using regular Persian limes, you might want to add at least a drop of food coloring, as normal limes don’t really have that dark green coloration.
But if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some good key limes, you might be able to skip the food dye – the limes themselves can be plenty green enough to give you a beautiful light green color.
Looking for more delicious Pie recipes? Try these out:
Enjoy!
Love,
Karlynn
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No Bake Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Key Lime Filling
- one 8 ounce package cream cheese softened, at room temperature
- 1 300 ml can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup key lime juice or normal limes if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Whipped Topping
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- lime zest for topping
Instructions
- Combine the crust ingredients in a medium bowl, then press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. ( NOT a deep dish pie plate). Place in the refrigerator.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and soft. This is very important to do properly or you will have chunks of cream cheese. Slowly add in the condensed milk, mixing and beating until smooth, then mix in the remaining ingredients.
- If desired, add in 2-3 drops of green food coloring. Mix until the color is throughout the filling. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell & refrigerate for 4-5 hours, or overnight for the best results.
- When ready to serve, beat the whipping cream, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.
- Top the pie with the whipped cream in your desired pattern. You can cover the entire top or you can put dollops on top. Sprinkle with lime zest.
- Slice and serve. This pie needs to stay cold.
Notes
- You don’t have to have key limes to enjoy this recipe! Use regular Persian limes which are the ones that you find in the grocery store year round.
- use a premade 9 inch pie crust to make things even easier
Audrey says
Thank you Karlynn, for this easy & delicious key lime pie recipe. I love cooking but am not much of a dessert maker, so I’m very happy that I felt I just had to make this. The recipe is so easy and not too sweet, so it will definitely be on my repeat list! I have so many of your wonderful recipes saved to try and truly appreciate your incredible site and beautiful pictures. Love your sense of humour too!