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 made these today and they totally rocked! After making these and the sweetened whipped cream (from Kneaders), I decided you need to come up with a copycat recipe for Kneaders’ fruit tarts. Those things are to die for!
Okay, all I can say is, I’m awesome because of you guys! All I ever do is make your stuff. Made these today to bring as a dessert to a friend’s dinner tonight. Had to try one of course to make sure they were okay, and OMG – delish!!! I cannot believe how quick and easy they were and my friends are going to think I’m like a gourmet chef or something. These are going to be my go-to treats for parties and potlucks. By the way, I was slightly concerned when you said these were really tart. I didn’t think they were too tart at all. Definitely not anymore than any other key lime pie I’ve ever tasted. And take note, I live in Florida :).
Hi Kate! I’m going to make these for my cousins baby shower next weekend and was wondering if you think I could make them this weekend, freeze them, and then “defrost” them a day before the shower and just put them in the frig until i serve them? I’m so excited to make these! They are going to be perfect! Thanks!!
I probably wouldn’t–weird things can happen when you freeze custard-based pies! 🙂 The good news is that you can bake a million of them at once and they’re quick!! You can also juice the limes now and freeze THAT, which would save you a ton of time.
I used your recipe and made them in cupcake tins with homemade graham cracker crust and they turned out amazing!!! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
What if you wanted to make this as a deep dish pie? That’s the only kind of pie plate I have…would you double the recipe? How long would you bake it for?
Hi, Lindsay! You know…I’ve never tried it in a deep dish pie plate, but you don’t even need your own pie plate for this recipe because you can use packaged graham cracker crusts and they come out great! I’m sure you COULD do it with a deep dish crust, I just don’t know how much more filling you’d need to make or how long you’d need to bake it.
Sorry I can’t be of more help!
A friend of mine is moving out of state and key lime is his favorite pie, so I made these for him as part of a going away party. They were a hit! I made 3 desserts and these little tarts were the only ones we ran out of. I used a bit more than 1/2 cup juice…I juiced my own key limes and used 15, which gave me closer to 2/3 cup. I also only got 9 tarts instead of 10 and baked them for closer to 15 minutes. Like I said…a complete hit. It was my first time ever making key lime pie, and my friend said it was an amazing success. 🙂
These are delicious! I made them tonight. They were super simple and I’m definitely taking the rest to work tomorrow to share.
I really appreciate the simplicity coupled with great taste found in all the recipes on here!
These were SO easy and delicious! Thanks!
I’ve made both the full pie and tart versions for company- the one thing I noticed is that having them sit in the fridge for a day before serving actually made them taste better! The first time, I made the tarts and served them after about 2 hrs chilled, and they were a little TOO tart! (and that’s saying something for a sour lover like me!) After a day in the fridge, the taste was much better.
I made these for my bunko group and they went crazy for them! I squeezed 2 bags of the tiny key limes…it was worth it though.