What is Key Lime Pie? Ingredients, Toppings & Twists 🥧

Published on July 21st, 2023
Updated on August 7th, 2025

In this article

What’s Key Lime Pie Made of?
What Does Key Lime Pie Taste Like?
Why is it Called Key Lime Pie?
Can You Freeze Key Lime Pie?
Most Famous Key Lime Pies

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FLORIDA KEYS’ MOST FAMOUS FOOD

Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie — Carousel Cake’s Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie is a lime green, fresh, tart, and sweet open-faced fruit and cream pie. Key lime pie is synonymous with the Florida Keys. This citrus pie is the official state pie of Florida. Plus, there is an annual summertime Key Lime Festival in Key West, Florida. One bite of this pie is a true taste of the Florida Keys, a 120-mile island chain off Florida’s southernmost tip.

What’s Key Lime Pie Made of?

Key lime pie is a classic Florida treat made with just a few simple ingredients. It’s surprisingly easy to prepare, especially if you skip the baking by using a ready-made crust and leaving out the eggs. The pie is named after the Key limes used to make the smooth and creamy pie.

Basic Ingredients:

While recipes can vary, most Key lime pies include:

Fresh-squeezed or bottled Key lime juice
Sweetened condensed milk
A graham cracker crust (typically made with butter, brown sugar, and crushed graham crackers)

Some versions use egg yolks to create a custard-like filling, while others opt for sour cream, cream cheese, or Greek yogurt instead—or skip the eggs altogether. You may also see variations that use a traditional pastry crust instead of graham cracker.

Topping Ideas:

Key lime pie can be served as-is or dressed up with delicious toppings like:

Fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
Candied lime slices
Chocolate sauce or drizzle
Meringue
Chopped nuts
Whipped cream

Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe — Kermit’s Key Lime Shop’s Key Lime Pie

What Does Key Lime Pie Taste Like?

Key lime pie tastes simultaneously bitter and sweet. The pie itself is not overly sweet. The sugar from the condensed milk counterbalances the acidic taste of the Key limes.

What makes Key lime pie so distinct is the type of lime used called the West Indian lime or Mexican lime. They are sour and would make your mouth pucker if it weren’t for the creamy condensed milk and whipped cream!

Why is it Called Key Lime Pie?

Key lime pies are named after the Key limes that are the signature ingredient in this classic, tropical pie. West Indian limes were introduced to the Florida Keys in 1838. They became naturalized and folks started referring to these citrus fruits as Key limes.

A hurricane in 1926 wiped out commercial lime production in the Florida Keys, but the name for these limes still endures.

Key limes are a type of lime that are perfectly round, lighter green, and smaller than regular limes. They have a floral aroma and are more acidic than the more common oblong Persian limes. These limes are slightly bitter, slightly sweet, and have a more intense taste.

Key lime pie originated in the remote Florida Keys in the early 19th century. It’s thought that condensed milk was used instead of milk because refrigeration wasn’t common in the island chain until the 1930s.

Dangerously Delicious Pies Key Bridge Lime Pie — Dangerously Delicious Pies’s Key Lime Pie

Panbury's Key Lime Pies — Panbury’s Double Crust Single-Serve Pies

Can You Freeze Key Lime Pie?

Yes, you can freeze Key lime pie. One of the most popular variations is a frozen, chocolate-dipped Key lime pie slice served on a wooden stick. Other variations include refrigerated and frozen strawberry Key lime pies.

Key lime pie can be served cold, straight from the refrigerator, or eaten frozen, like a popsicle.

Most Famous Key Lime Pies

It’s not hard to find a piece of Key lime pie, particularly in Florida and most easily in the Florida Keys. America’s best bakeries, pie shops, and restaurants are making the most famous and legendary Key lime pies.

Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe

Kermit Carpenter opened his Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe nearly 30 years ago in Key West. He has become the king of Key lime pie. Each pie is made with a graham cracker crust and double-strength Key lime juice and topped with fluffy whipped cream.

Kermit also makes many Key lime products, including his famous Key Lime Pie on a Stick. His creation is a piece of pie hand dipped in Belgium chocolate and served on a popsicle stick.

Kermit’s Key Lime Shop >

Key West Key Lime Pie Co

Jim Brush and Alison Sloat first sold their pies on the side of the road before Key West Key Lime Pie Co’s Key lime pie was named the nation’s best pie by the American Pie Council. They hand make their pies with a 100-year-old recipe and all natural ingredients sourced in Key West. Each pie is topped with generous tufts of whipped cream.

Key West Key Lime Pie Co. >

Little Pie Company

Broadway actor Arnold Wilkerson’s Little Pie Company debuted in New York City in 1985. Little Pie Company brings a taste of the tropics to New York and beyond with its Key Lime Pie.

Each regular and gluten-free Key lime pie is made with Key lime juice, homemade graham crackers, and unique pie ingredients like honey and buttermilk.

Key Lime Pie >

Key lime is so sublime. The best Key lime pies are shipping nationwide on Goldbelly!

Shop America’s Best Key Lime Pies