Key Lime Pie with Cream Cheese

The state pie of Florida is a delicious, citrusy, cool custard dessert that is unmistakably Key West on a plate. Classic Key lime pie has a cooked custard filling with Key lime juice, egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. However, this Key lime pie with cream cheese is a no-bake dessert, and the result is even richer than the original. With both a crust made from crushed store-bought cookies and a quick whipped filling and topping, the recipe couldn’t be easier.

This pie is cool, tangy and refreshing. It’s a fantastic dessert for summertime cookouts, beach parties (just make sure it hangs out in the cooler), tailgates or watching the classic film Key Largo. And if you’re looking for a bakery-quality, mile-high pie for a special occasion, this is the one!

Ingredients for Key Lime Pie with Cream Cheese

• Pecan shortbread cookies: The ultimate shortcut is store-bought pecan shortbread cookies, but you can easily make your own shortcut by adding crushed pecans to a batch of Scottish shortbread.
• Butter: The recipe doesn’t call for salt, so you can use salted butter in the cookie crust.
• Heavy whipping cream: Whipped heavy cream gets incorporated into the filling and tops the pie.
• Confectioners’ sugar: Confectioners’ sugar, aka powdered sugar, melts easily when making whipped cream. If you don’t have it, make powdered sugar by blitzing granulated sugar in a blender until it turns into a powder.
• Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese for this pie filling. Let it soften at room temperature before using so it mixes more easily with the other ingredients.
• Sweetened condensed milk: Condensed milk (not to be confused with evaporated milk) is an essential ingredient for Key lime pie, including this no-bake version. The rich sweetness creates the dreamy texture of the no-bake pie and adds a touch of caramel flavor.
• Key lime juice: Fresh juice makes this dessert taste extra delicious, but most Key lime recipes rely on Nellie & Joe’s bottled juice. Curious about Key lime vs. regular lime? Tiny Key limes are more fragrant and zingy than Persian limes (the “regular” kind sold in most grocery stores). If you can’t find Key limes, don’t hesitate to use whatever limes you can get. Use extra lime slices to garnish the pie.
• Shredded coconut: We call for sweetened coconut, but you could also use unsweetened coconut for the pie topping if that’s what you have.

Directions

Step 1: Make the crust

In a small bowl, mix the crushed cookies and butter. Press the crust onto the bottom and up the side of a greased 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

Editor’s Tip: You can crush the cookies in a food processor, or put them in a zip-top bag and roll over them with a rolling pin until they’re reduced to crumbs.

Step 2: Make the filling

In a large bowl, beat the cream until it begins to thicken. Add the confectioners’ sugar and extract and continue beating until stiff peaks form. In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese, condensed milk and lime juice until blended. Gently fold in 2 cups of whipped cream and spoon the filling into the prepared crust.

Editor’s Tip: A stand mixer, an electric beater or a whisk all work here. It just depends on how much muscle you want to put into this pie. When folding the whipped cream into the mixture, be delicate so you don’t knock out the air bubbles.

Step 3: Top and chill

Top the filling with the remaining whipped cream and sprinkle the cream with toasted coconut. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving. If desired, garnish with sliced Key limes.

Key Lime Pie with Cream Cheese Variations

• Use different citrus: Pretty much any citrus juice works in this pie. Lemon cream cheese pie? Yum! Grapefruit cream cheese pie? Absolutely. If you can imagine a particular fruit or flavor in a cheesecake, it would probably work well in this pie.
• Swap in a different extract: Use real vanilla extract for a less tropical twist.
• Change up the crust: A homemade graham cracker crust or gingersnap crust would be wonderful topped with Key lime pie filling, as would an Oreo pie crust.

How to Store Key Lime Pie with Cream Cheese

With its ultra creamy filling, Key lime cream cheese pie must be stored in the fridge. If you can tightly cover your pie dish, that would work beautifully. If not, you could carefully transfer the remaining slices to a container with a tight-fitting lid.

How long does Key lime pie with cream cheese last?

A Key lime cream pie will last up to four days in the fridge, but the crust is best within the first day or two.

Key Lime Pie with Cream Cheese Tips

Can you use regular limes for Key lime pie?

The Key lime cream cheese pie won’t have precisely the same flavor, but you can use regular (aka Persian) limes. Given the number of other ingredients in the filling, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference!

What’s the best way to get a clean slice of pie?

Before cutting a pie, make sure it’s had the proper amount of time to chill. The most important thing to remember when slicing a Key lime pie with shortbread crust, or any pie with a gooey or sticky filling, is to clean the blade of your knife or pie slicer between cuts. A damp kitchen towel or paper towel will do the trick, but you could also dip the blade in hot water.