As all you long-time readers know, we absolutely love limes around here. You’ll also probably know that Brazilian Lemonade is my favorite drink in the whole world. So yeah, this key lime pie (and tarts, if you prefer)? It’s pretty much Brazilian Lemonade as a pie. The pie itself only has 4 ingredients and is truly one of the easiest desserts I know how to make.
This recipe can either be made as a pie or as tarts. And it’s awesome both ways. However, I like making them as tarts because of the following reasons: They’re cute, you get more out of the recipe (10 tarts as opposed to 8 slices of pie), it’s easy to make a bunch at once for an event, and they are easy to serve.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- 10 mini graham cracker crusts – Or 1 8-serving prepared graham cracker crust. You can always make your own Graham Cracker Crust if you’d like as well.
- Egg yolks
- Sweetened condensed milk – I’m all for generics most of the time, but most generic sweetened condensed milks I’ve found are a little gritty, so I always spring for the name brand Eagle Brand.
- Lime juice – Freshly squeezed. Do not use bottled lime juice! Look for smaller limes with thinner skin for the best tasting juice.
How to Make Key Lime Tarts
- First you’ll mix up a can of sweetened condensed milk with some egg yolks and fresh lime juice.
- Place your prepared graham crusts on a baking sheet and distribute the filling mixture evenly among them.
- Bake, cool, and then chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Immediately before serving, add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled pies, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results.
- If you plan on making these ahead of time, use stabilized whipped cream–regular whipped cream will not last more than a few hours before it starts to deflate).
- Single pie instructions: If you want to bake this as a single large pie, just use a standard 9″ (8-serving) graham cracker pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Top each slice with whipped cream before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course! Make these tarts a day ahead of time. Use stabilized whipped cream, or whip your sweetened whipped cream up immediately before serving for best results.
Yes. Cool your tarts or pie completely and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Then wrap tightly in foil or place in a zip-top bag with the date. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and top with freshly whipped sweetened whipped cream before serving. Enjoy your frozen key lime pie within 3 month of freezing and within 3 days of thawing for best results.
Key Lime Pie & Tarts
Ingredients
Instructions
Tarts
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and lime juice. Distribute evenly among graham cracker crusts (I used my cookie scoop to make sure things were equal).
- Place tart pans on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature, then chill in fridge until ready to serve (4+ hours).
- Before serving, add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.
Whole Pie
- To bake this as a single large pie, just use a standard 9″ graham cracker pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Chill in fridge until ready to serve (4+ hours). Top each slice with whipped cream before serving.
Notes
- Store cooled pies, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results.
- If you plan on making these ahead of time, use stabilized whipped cream–regular whipped cream will not last more than a few hours before it starts to deflate.
- To make sweetened whipped cream: Combine 1 cup whipping cream with 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a bowl. Whip until soft peaks form. Top your pies and serve immediately.
- Nutrition facts were calculated without whipped cream.
Questions & Reviews
I just wanted to double check the amount of egg yolks?
Your picture has 5 yolks, but the instructions did not say…
Thank you 🙂
jfb–Sure thing! Just get a regular graham cracker pie crust and bake it for 15 minutes. 🙂
hey there! I love all your recipes so I came here first looking for a key lime pie recipe (my hubby's request for his bday this week). Do you suppose I could just do this in a pie size crust and all would be just as well? I assume so, but wondered if you have done that before.
Linz–I think the biggest concern with doing mini tarts would be the custard filling. The crust really helps hold that in, but if you had a graham cracker crust all the way up the sides of a mini muffin tin, you might not have enough room for the filling, you know? If you end up doing it, PLEASE let us know how they turn out because they could be super-cute!
I made these into mini-tarts today for a RS dinner and they were a huge hit! I used homemade graham cracker crust and a mini muffin tin with paper liners. I put 1 (slightly heaping) teaspoon of crust and an almost-full cookie scoop of custard in each liner. I baked at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes. They came out of the liners easily, with minimal mess (though I would be sure to pack the graham cracker crust down pretty well to prevent crumbling when you take off the liner) and the proportion of crust to custard turned out great! One batch made approximately 32 mini-tarts and I covered almost all of them with the whipped cream from a half pint of heavy cream. 🙂
Do you think these could be made into even smaller, bite-sized tarts? As in baked in a mini muffin pan? And if so, what steps would be different.
You'd obviously have to make your own crust for that…and maybe even use cupcake papers to hold it together so the crust wouldn't fall apart.
Do you think it could work? Just wondering because I was thinking of making them for a potluck of sorts, so the mini pies would be too big and too few for the guests that will be there.
I made these last night. They're super cute and taste great! And they couldn't have been easier.
I LOVE LIME!!!!!!!
Alright, so I made these Monday night so we could have them for dessert last night when my friend was over for dinner. They were fantastic!! I couldn’t get over how easy they were to make and so, so tasty! 🙂
– Jennifer
Yum! These look awesome. I can’t wait to make them.
Jennifer–I’m so glad you found us!! 🙂 Welcome to the flock… 🙂 Be sure and let us know when you love (or don’t) a new recipe and don’t hesitate to ask any questions!! Welcome again and happy cooking! (Apparently I’m shouting inside my head today…)