Florida Key Lime Pie Recipe

You will love this delightful and easy-to-make Florida Key Lime Pie.  Key West, Florida, is famous for it’s fabulous dessert and considered the official pie of the Florida Keys.  It is also one of America’s best-loved regional dishes.

I first tasted key lime pie when visiting Key West, Florida on vacation.  Every restaurant in the Florida Keys, and especially in the city of Key West, serves this as their highlighted dessert.  There seems to be different variations of this pie for every palate, with numerous versions made throughout the region.

 

Key Lime Pie

 

Key limes are the pink flamingos of Florida food, and celebrated as part of local color.  Key limes are a variety of limes that were once grown extensively on the Florida Keys. These limes are now easier to find at the grocery store or you can buy the Key Lime Juice.

Aficionados of key lime pies argue endlessly about the proper way to make one.  Graham-cracker or pastry crust?  Meringue on top or whipped cream, or neither?  Cooked or uncooked filling?  The one thing that they do agree on is that under no circumstances should you ever add green food coloring.  The filling of authentic key lime pie is a light yellow.

Learn about the history of Florida Key Lime Pie.

 

Check out more great Pie Recipes.  Please check out my Backyard Barbecue dinner menu which includes Florida Key Lime Pie.

 

Florida Key Lime Pie Recipe:
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Florida Key Lime Pie Recipe
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Refrigerate graham cracker crust until well chilled.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, key lime zest, and key lime juice.  Add egg yolks and egg; stir until well blended.  Pour into chilled graham cracker crust.

  3. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; gradually fold in sugar.  Spread meringue over key lime mixture, being careful to spread to edge of pastry to prevent shrinkage during baking.  Check out my hints and tips on making a Perfect Meringue.

  4. Bake 20 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

  5. Makes 6 servings.

Recipe Notes

* Check out my Graham Cracker Pie Crust Recipe.

** If you can't find fresh key limes, Tahiti or Persian limes may be substituted as they are very similar in taste.  You can also substitute the bottled key lime juice.

 

More Recipes Using Meringue:
Lemon Meringue Pie
Coffee Baked Alaska with Mocha Sauce
Homemade Marshmallows
Lemon Meringue Bars

 

 

Categories:

Deep South    Dessert Recipes    Fruit Pies & Tarts    Limes   

Comments and Reviews

3 Responses to “Florida Key Lime Pie Recipe”

  1. Stef Campbell

    The old conchs always made the pie with a pastry crust, the top was always egg whites
    the gram cracker crust is a modern twist to the conch version. I love either.

    Reply
  2. Roni

    The picture depicts a pastry crust which is authentic but the written recipe states a prepared Graham cracker crust ~ very disappointed 😔

    Reply
  3. Phil Fortman

    A no baking required Key Lime Pie is certainty the most original. Grahame crackers and canned sweetened condensed milk were available through the Federal rations available at Fort Jefferson in the nearby Tortugas during the Civil War. The correct proportioned tart Key Lime juice is all that is needed to coagulate the sweetened condensed milk into a sliceable condition after the mixture is poured into a Graham cracker crust. I have made many Key Lime pies with just those three essential ingredients.

    Reply

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