Mini key lime pies are 3 bites of island summer bursting with tart key lime sweetness, creamy topping, and buttery crunchy crust.
Why You’ll Love these Mini Key Lime Pies
- Easy and simple to make.
- They’re the perfect single-serving size.
- Great for sharing at parties, BBQs, summer gatherings, and picnics.
- Cool and refreshing!
- Each bite is the perfect blend of tangy sweet lime, crispy crust, and creamy filling.
Mini Key Lime Pie Recipe
These are simply brilliant to make at home mainly because the lime filling is tangy, sweet, zippy, and fresh! When you get a bite of that with a creamy mouthful of whip cream mixed with just the right amount of powdery graham crust.
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups store-bought graham crackers (or make your own)
- 1/2 cup unsalted melted butter
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
Filling
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 tablespoon lime zest plus extra for garnish
- 1 cup key lime juice fresh
- 1 can (14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Whipped Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Place all graham crackers in food processor* and pulse until all crackers are fine crumbs
- In the mixing bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, lime zest, sugar, and salt.
- Pour the graham cracker crust mixture into the mini pie pans and using your fingers press the mixture evenly into the pan and up the sides with your fingers or a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes and cool.
Filling
- Beat egg yolks and lime zest in the stand mixer or with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until they have increased in volume 4x and turned pale yellow for about 10 minutes.
- Slowly add in the condensed milk. Beat for another 5 minutes on medium speed.
- Lower the speed and carefully add the fresh squeezed key lime juice.
- Pour into cooled crust and bake for 12-15 minutes until the middle doesn’t giggle (set).
- Cool completely and refrigerate.
Whipped Topping
- With the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until fairly stiff.
- OR use an N2O whip canister. Add all whipped topping ingredients into the canister. Screw the top on. Shake gently to mix. Screw on the nozzle and N2O cartridge.
Final Assembly
- Put a big dollop of whip cream on each mini pie right before serving.
- Garnish with lime zest and/or lime slices over whip cream.
Mini Key Lime Pie Recipe Notes:
If key limes are not in season or unavailable, use regular limes. In a pinch, I’ve used Trader Joe’s bottled key lime juice which has worked nicely and has a good flavor.
2 Major Elements of Mini Key Lime Pies
The Crust
The key to this crust is not making the crumbs too fine. Leave a few pea sized pieces. This will keep the crust from getting too hard.
Adding a little lime zest into the crust gives it another layer of unexpected flavor boost!
The Key Lime Filling
People often comment on how light my key lime pie filling is. This is because of long I whip the egg yolks. Instead of stopping when the yolks have doubled in volume, keep whipping until they’ve increase 4 times!
What sets this key lime pie recipe apart from all the rest
The best chefs say, “use the finest ingredients and get out of their way!” To make these the very best mini key lime pies, use fresh limes, whip your own whipped topping and consider making your own homemade graham crackers for the crust.
Best Mini Pans to Use
Mini Pan Pans: Use small disposable foil pans or reusable pans. If you use reusable pans, pop the pies out before serving.
Mini Tart Pans: The removable bottoms make the removal process a snap!
Mini Cheesecake Pans: These are my favorite. If you use a pan like this make sure you let them solidify in the refrigerator overnight before removing them.
Standard Muffin Pan: This is a great pan that most of us have on hand. For easy removal, refrigerate the mini key lime pies over night then let them come to room temperature before easing out with a rounded bread knife.
Key Lime Pie Variations
Upside Down Key Lime Pie is a fun flip on this recipe. All the components are the same, but the assembly is reversed and they’re best when made in small ramekins.
Covert this into a gluten-free key lime pie by using gluten-free graham crackers (Nairn’s, Simple Mills, Annie’s, or Pamela’s).
More Pies You Might Like
Deconstructed Honeycrisp Apple Pie
The Best Damn Key Lime Pie on the Planet
Why is this the Best Damn Key Lime Pie on the Planet? It's because the filling has a perfect balance between sour and sweet, AND the egg yolks are whipped for a long time creating a lighter filling. The whip cream rounds out the tart filling.
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups gluten free graham crackers
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
Filling
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 tablespoon lime zest plus extra for garnish
- 1 cup key lime juice fresh
- 1 can 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Whip Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Equipment
- food processor or zip lock and mallet to crush graham crackers
- pie pan
- measuring cups and spoons
- zester
- hand held juicer
- mixing bowl
- stand mixer whisk attachment or electric beaters
Instructions
Crust
-
Preheat oven to 350º
-
Place all graham crackers in food processor* and pulse until all crackers are fine crumbs
-
In the mixing bowl, place graham cracker crumbs, butter, lime zest, sugar, and salt. Combine thoroughly.
-
Pour into pie pan and using your fingers press mixture evenly into the pan and up the sides.
-
Bake for 8 minutes and cool.
Filling
-
Beat egg yolks and lime zest in the stand mixer or with an electric beater on medium high speed until they have increased in volume and turned pale yellow, about 10 minutes.
-
Slowly add in the condensed milk. Beat for another 5 minutes on medium speed.
-
Lower speed and carefully add the fresh squeezed key lime juice.
-
Pour into cooled crust and bake for 12-15 minutes until the middle doesn’t giggle (set).
-
Cool completely and refrigerate.
Whip Topping
-
With the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until fairly stiff.
Putting It All Together
-
Cut pie into wedges. If it seems too soft, freeze for 15-20 minutes.
-
Put a big dollop of whip cream on each piece.
-
Garnish with lime zest over whip cream.
Recipe Notes
*Instead of a food processor to create the graham crumbs, you can use a large zip lock bag and a mallet or rolling pin.