Key Lime Cheesecake Pie
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If you love key lime pie then you will adore this Key Lime Cheesecake Pie. It’s absolutely the best way to enjoy key limes.
The balance between sweet and tart is perfectly blended into a tangy cheesecake filling. The filling rests on a crisp graham cracker crust and is topped with homemade whipped cream. This recipe is quite simple and will be wonderful on a hot summer day.
I love making sweet and tangy desserts. Not too long ago I made easy lemon cheesecake bars.
And when I’m in the mood for lime, I turn to my old trusted recipe for lime pie. It’s this pie that inspired me to dig through the blog archives and revamp my recipe for key lime pie.
This is no ordinary key lime pie though. The filling is cheesecake based and the combination of sweetened cream cheese and key lime is absolutely phenomenal.
It’s my preferred recipe with lime flavor. One that I make summer after summer. One that I proudly bake for friends.
The original recipe was posted in January of 2014. Soooo long ago! It made enough for two pies and I cheated with store-bought graham cracker crusts.
Today I bring you an updated version of my favorite key lime cheesecake pie and it’s absolutely the best you’ll ever taste.
The base of the pie is a simple graham cracker crust made at home. It’s very important you make your own crust. They just taste so much better!
Crush some graham crackers in a food processor. Or you can put them in a resealable bag and pound them to pieces. Mix in a little sugar and melted butter and you have the base for your pie.
I love to use fresh key limes. I think it makes all the difference in taste. While it is tedious to juice these tiny limes, it’s so worth it in the end.
It may be difficult for some of you to find key limes. If that’s the case, you may have no choice but to use the bottled stuff.
But, double check the label to make sure it’s actual key lime juice. Regular lime juice won’t be as sweet and flavorful.
Key Lime Cheesecake Filling
If you love cheesecake, you’ll love the filling for this pie. It’s just like the one I used for the lemon bars mentioned above. It’s the exact same, only with key lime instead of lemon.
Keep in mind this is not a traditional key lime pie. There are no massive amounts of sweetened condensed milk in this recipe.
There’s actually not a ton of sugar in the pie at all. Just a little over one cup. There’s more sugar than that in cookies!
You need just 6 simple ingredients today
- cream cheese
- sugar
- key lime juice
- key lime zest
- vanilla extract
- eggs
Prebake the crust before adding the filling. This will make it extra firm and crunchy. So wonderful with the creamy texture of the cheesecake.
Once you add the filling, the pie needs to bake for 30-35 minutes. And because the cheesecake filling is super creamy, the pie will need to cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
I know that’s the last thing you wanted to hear. The wait is agony!
Top the pie with homemade whipped cream just before you plan to serve it. You can also garnish with lime if you wish. Enjoy!
Key Lime Cheesecake Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 ½ cups (148 g) graham cracker crumbs
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling
- 16 ounces (453 g) cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) key lime juice, from about 13 key limes
- 1 tablespoon key lime zest, from about 7 key limes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- homemade whipped cream, for garnish
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Tightly press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.
Make the filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
- Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Beat in the sugar until well combined. Add the lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla. Beat until combined. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold the egg into the batter until fully incorporated.
- Pour over prepared crust and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges of the filling feels firm but the center remains jiggly. Place the pie on a wire rack to cool completely then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
- Garnish with whipped cream.
Notes
- If you can’t locate key limes, try looking for key lime juice in a bottle. Make sure the label says key lime juice. Regular lime juice will not taste the same.
- The pie will keep for up to 5 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The pie can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
Hi,
This is one of my favourite pies but I don’t get Graham crackers where I live. Do you have a recipe to make a Graham cracker pie base from scratch?
I love the flavour of Graham crackers so I don’t want to use some other biscuits
Thank you!
Unfortunately, I don’t have a recipe for homemade graham crackers but there are some online if you do a quick Google search.
We made this recipe today – OMG, it’s fantastic tasting. We did, however, not add the vanilla extract, and we think it tastes great, so we recommend trying it without the vanilla.
Made this yesterday and used a store bought crust because we didn’t have graham crackers. The filling was a little too much for one pie, maybe because it wasn’t a deep dish pan. I baked for 30 minutes and it was completely liquid, so I added another 20 and it appeared set but still jiggled. I cooled over night and tried it today, it’s not firm like a cheesecake. I think it needed another 10-20 minutes, so more like an hour- hour and ten minutes Or to be baked at a higher temp. I never have baked a cheesecake under 325. Regardless, the flavor is wonderful and I will try again with different baking method.
Keep in mind this is a pie, not a cheesecake. It is not meant to be dense and firm. Instead, the filling should be soft and creamy.
This sounds amazing! Do you think this recipe would convert well from a pie to tarts by reducing the bake time?
Yes, definitely! Just keep a close eye on them so they don’t over bake.
Do you think you could make this ahead of time and freeze it?
Absolutely. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Looks amazing.
Looks amazing.
Love the combination of key lime pie and cheesecake!
Best Key lime pie ever! Its like key lime pie and cheese cake. Awesome!
Thanks, Jordan!
Best Key lime pie ever! Its like key lime pie and cheese cake. Awesome!