Key Lime Pie

This quick and easy key lime pie recipe isn’t just a summertime dessert. A homemade graham cracker crust is topped with a creamy, sweet and tart, 5-ingredient filling. So delicious any time of year!

My husband and I recently spent a couple of weeks in one of our favorite places – Siesta Key, Florida. I think we’ve both discovered that the only good thing about being empty nesters is heading off on vacation whenever the mood strikes.

The weather was incredible. Watching the sun set into the Gulf of Mexico became an evening ritual. We even got to attend our friend’s Hawaiian luau-themed birthday party. Overall rating for this getaway was an A+.

It's always fun to see how big my hair can get with the Florida humidity.

One of our favorite indulgences when we’re in Florida is enjoying key lime pie at pretty much every restaurant we go to. This pie ordering tradition started years ago when our son was little. We’d order one slice of pie and 3 forks (moderation matters). The evaluation process involved critiquing the butteriness of the crust, the creamy tartness of the filling, and the sweet richness of the whipped cream. At the end of the trip, we’d rank restaurants based on how well we liked their key lime pie. Those at the top of the list were visited first the following year.

Key lime pie from Walt's Fish Market.

Over the years I’ve been tweaking my key lime pie recipe. Of course, the goal is always to create a fabulous tasting piece of pie with the least amount of calories. One calorie cutting measure you’ll find in this recipe is the use of fat-free sweetened condensed milk instead of the full-fat version. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a fan of most fat-free foods, however fat-free sweetened condensed milk is a great tasting product. A 14-ounce can of regular sweetened condensed milk contains about 1,325 calories, along with 30 grams of fat and 20 grams of saturated fat. The same amount of fat-free sweetened condensed milk has 1,065 calories and no fat. It’s a fantastic ingredient swap.

The other calorie-cutting measure I use is garnishing each piece of pie with a drizzle of raspberry sauce (melted raspberry jam works nicely) and fresh raspberries in place of whipped topping made from heavy whipping cream. It’s quite common to see key lime pie recipes calling for one cup of heavy cream to be whipped up and generously spread over the pie. One cup of heavy whipping cream has a whopping 820 calories, 85 grams of fat, and 55 grams of saturated fat. Yikes!

If you’re ever in the Sarasota/Siesta Key area, two of our favorite places for key lime pie are Phillippi Creek Restaurant and Oyster Bar and Walt’s Fish Market. If you have a favorite key lime pie stop, let me know – we’re always looking to expand our list.

To your health,

Darlene

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Full disclosure – I did not receive payment or free product from restaurants mentioned in this article.

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KEY LIME PIE

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: 1 slice   

Prep: 15 minutes

Ready: 4 hours (includes chilling time)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (6 plain graham cracker sheets, crushed into crumbs)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

• 2 1/2 tablespoons spreadable butter and oil blend (such as Challenge Spreadable Butter), melted

• Vegetable oil cooking spray

• 1 can (14 ounces) fat-free sweetened condensed milk (such as Eagle Brand)

• 1/2 cup bottled key lime juice (such as Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice)

• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

• 2 large egg yolks

• 2 teaspoons lime zest

• 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam

• 2 teaspoons water

• 16 fresh raspberries (about 1/2 cup)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter and oil blend until crumbly. Press mixture over the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake crust for 8 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before filling.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, sour cream, egg yolks, and lime zest. Pour mixture over crust. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes. Allow pie to cool completely at room temperature, then cover and place in refrigerator to chill thoroughly, about 3 hours.

3. When ready to serve, heat raspberry jam and water in a small saucepan on low heat, stirring until smooth. Allow jam sauce to cool to room temperature. Drizzle sauce over pie slices and garnish with fresh raspberries.

Nutrition Information per Serving

269 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 2 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 55 mg Cholesterol, 148 mg Sodium, 49 g Total carbohydrate, 1 g Dietary fiber, 41 g Total sugars, 29 g Added sugars, 7 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 186 mg (15%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 266 mg (6%) Potassium

© 2023 RECIPES MADE HEALTHY BY DARLENE ZIMMERMAN, MS, RD LLC

Key Lime Pie

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