This Easy Key Lime Pie has a creamy, 3 ingredient filling with a graham cracker crust! This easy recipe has no eggs or egg yolks and one secret ingredient that makes it the silkiest, most flavorful key lime pie you’ll ever taste. There are instructions for an optional meringue topping for an impressive dessert!
Combine melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, kosher salt and light brown sugar in a bowl. Squeeze together to distribute the butter. Continue until it will hold together in a clump when pressed in your hand.
Press into pie dish. I like to start with the bottom and then work my way up the sides, finishing with the edges. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown and the bottom no longer looks wet.
Make the filling:
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (not convection – no fan).
In a large bowl whisk together sweetened condensed milk, crème fraîche, key lime juice, zest and kosher salt. Pour into baked crust.
The crust can still be warm or you can prepare the crust ahead of time. Simply cool, wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Bake at 325°F (not convection) 45-60 minutes until they start to have bubbles in the center and the edges have puffed and slightly cracked.
Allow to cool completely at room temperature and then wrap well and chill 2 hours to overnight.
Optional Meringue:
In a small pot combine 2/3 cup sugar with water. Stir to incorporate. Wipe down any sugar crystals that stuck to the sides. Over medium-high heat, begin to cook the sugar.
Once the sugar begins to bubble, begin whisking the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Once they begin to foam, slowly add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and turn the mixer on high.
The goal is that the sugar syrup hits 238°F (right before soft ball) as the whites get to stiff peaks.
You can lower the heat on the stove to give the whites more time or lower the speed on the mixer to give the syrup more time. You are in control!
Once the whites are at stiff peaks and the syrup hits 238°F, turn up the speed on the mixer to high and slowly pour the syrup down the sides of the mixer bowl into the whites. Beat until cooled slightly.
Mound on top of the cooled key lime pie! This meringue isn’t very stable because there isn’t high ratio of whites to sugar, so it is best to add it the day you serve it (or the day before).
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Notes
Presentation – The meringue is completely optional. You could opt for a simple whipped cream or marshmallow fluff frosting instead.Flavor Tips – Key limes have a very unique and exquisite flavor. If you cannot find, or do not want to juice fresh Florida key limes, opt for fresh Persian (grocery store) limes instead.Storage – Store unbaked filling in the refrigerator for up to a week before baking and baked, cooled crusts wrapped at room temperature for 3 days. Baked key lime pies can be stored at room temperature for 3 days, refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for 3 months.