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    Home » Recipes

    Published: Apr 9, 2020 Updated: Oct 13, 2023 By: Melissa Oleary

    My Favorite Key Lime Tart

    Jump to Recipe
    Total Time: 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
    10 comments
    5 from 12 votes

    This Key lime tart is made up of just 3 ingredients (plus the graham cracker crust) and is the traditional key lime pie recipe from Key West. This Key lime tart is one of my favorite desserts and I love sitting down to a slice with a nice warm cup of coffee.

    key lime tart
    The perfect key lime tart!

    About This Key Lime Tart

    As the name suggests, Key Lime pie comes from the Florida Keys. Key limes actually grow in Key lime groves which you can find all throughout the Florida Keys. I have eaten my fair share of this delicious tart lime dessert growing up in South Florida and this recipe is the one I love most. I think you will become a fan once you try it.

    Key Lime Tart vs Key Lime Pie

    I really prefer making Key Lime tarts as opposed to Key Lime pies because the tart filling is not as deep as you would get when making a pie. The ratio of graham cracker crust to filling is more even with the tart in my opinion.

    I do love Key lime pie too but making it at home in a tart pan is always my preference 🙂

    When making this Key lime Tart, the filling should not be too high in the pan because you want the right amount of crust and filling in each bite. I recommend that the filling not be thicker than about ¾ inch.

    Also, when making this key lime tart, you want to make sure you make your own crust because store-bought graham cracker crust will be too deep of a pan. I like using the graham cracker crust recipe that I use for my cheesecake bites and I have added that below in the recipe.

    Pro-Tip:

    You can buy graham crackers crumbs at the store in the same area that they have graham crackers. This saves you that extra step of having to crush them yourself.

    Ingredients For Key Lime Tart

    • Graham Cracker Crust (Graham crackers, sugar, salt, and butter) or a store-bought graham cracker crust.
    • Sweetened Condensed Milk.
    • Key Lime Juice.
    • Egg Yolks.

    The great thing about this recipe is how few ingredients there are. Because you are using sweetened condensed milk, you do not need any additional sugar in the filling.

    I make so many recipes with sweetened condensed milk for this reason. If you like this one, my creamy lemon bars are very similar.

    Whole Key lime tart top view

    How to make (step-by-step photos)

    graham cracker crumbs
    First: Prepare Graham Cracker Crust.
    graham crackers pressed in to pan
    Second: Press Graham Crackers into Pan and Pre-bake.
    custard for Key Lime tart
    Third: Mix egg yolks, condensed milk and Key Lime juice.
    custard in tart pan before baking
    Fourth: Pour custard into prepared crust and bake.

    The first thing you want to do is make your graham cracker crust. You can also use store-bought crust if you decide to make and Key Lime pie instead of a tart.

    Once the crust is ready, it is just adding the condensed milk, Key lime juice, and egg yolks into a bowl and mix. This mixture gets poured into the crust and it is baked in the oven.

    Once it is done baking and has cooled, the Key lime tart will need time to chill in the fridge so make sure to plan for that!

    Recipe Tips

    key lime tart slice
    Slice of Key lime tart.
    • Making Sure To Use Real Key Lime Juice: When gathering ingredients for this Key lime tart, you will want to make sure you are using real Key Lime juice and not lime juice. Key limes are not the same as limes. Key limes are lighter in color and more tart than regular limes. If you cannot find Key limes in the grocery store (they are usually out in the Spring and Summer) then you can find bottled Key Lime juice online.
    • Where to Buy Bottled Key Lime Juice: Nellie and Joe, the owners of Nellie and Joe's Key Lime Juice, made a business out of juicing and bottling Key limes and it is a real lifesaver! Key limes are rather small so it takes a long time to juice those little Key limes to the amount that this recipe calls for. Sometimes we all want to try our hand at juicing our own Key limes. Maybe you just bought a big bag in the store. This will work fine too. Just juice enough limes to reach the amount of Key lime juice that the recipe calls for below.
    • Making this Ahead of Time: This Key lime tart can (and should) be made ahead of time for up to 2 days. The recipe calls for it to firm up in the refrigerator for a few hours so it should be made a little ahead of time. It will be just fine in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. After that, the graham cracker crust will not be as crisp.
    • How to store the tart in the fridge (so the top is not ruined): When storing the key lime tart in the fridge, you want to cover it but also make sure plastic wrap does not touch the custard top or else it will stick to it. Here is what I like to do to prevent the cover from touching the top of the tart:
    1. Place the cooled tart pan on a dinner plate that is a little bigger than the pan.
    2. Take a second dinner plate and flip it over so it is upside down and place that over the top of the tart. Since the tart will sit just below the top of the tart pan, the top plate will be able to rest on top of the tart pan.
    3. Gently place in the fridge until you are ready to eat it.
    key lime tart angle view with a slice cut out

    How to serve

    If you are looking for the best ways to serve this Key lime tart, here are some of our favorites:

    • Spoon a little blackberry puree on a small plate and place a slice of key lime tart on top of it. Blackberries and limes are a match made in heaven!
    • With a good dollop of whipped cream.
    • With a light dusting of powdered sugar.
    • Plain as is.
    • With a nice cup of coffee on the side 🙂
    slice cut from key lime tart

    More Condensed Milk Recipes

    If you love how easy this Key lime tart is, you may also like these:

    • French toast casserole in glass baking dish with powdered sugar and berries on top.
      Baked French Toast Casserole with Condensed Milk
    • bread pudding
      Italian Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
    • vanilla condensed milk bread pudding sauce
      Condensed Milk Vanilla Sauce
    • top view of crustless pumpkin pie
      Crustless Pumpkin Pie

    More easy desserts

    We love easy desserts. Here are some more for you:

    • balsamic strawberries
      Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar
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      The Best Cranberry Crumb Bars
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    key lime tart
    Print Recipe
    5 from 12 votes

    My Favorite Key Lime Tart

    A delicious and easy Key Lime tart that makes the perfect dessert any time of year.
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    cooling3 hours hrs
    Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Servings: 8 slices

    Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!

    Author: Melissa Oleary

    Equipment

    • 1 9.5 inch round tart pan or 14x5 inch rectangular tart pan

    Ingredients

    Graham Cracker Crust

    • 1 ½ cups Finely Ground graham crackers Add graham crackers to a food processor and pulse until it is like a fine sand.
    • 5 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
    • 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

    Key Lime Filling

    • 1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
    • 3 egg yolks
    • ½ cup Nellie and Joe's Key Lime juice or similar You can also juice your own Key Limes just make sure to juice ½ cup
    • Whipped cream for serving optional

    Instructions

    • Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees

    Graham Cracker Crust

    • In a large bowl add your finely ground graham crackers crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt and mix well.
      1 ½ cups Finely Ground graham crackers, 3 tablespoon granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 5 tablespoon unsalted butter
      graham cracker crumbs
    • Pour the mixture into your tart pan pressing it down with your fingers along the bottom and sides of the pan.
      graham crackers pressed in to pan
    • Now find a flat bottomed glass or something similar and begin to press down the graham cracker crumbs really well, making sure to get the edges.
    • Place in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.
    • Remove and let cool completely.

    Key Lime Filling

    • In a large bowl, add your sweetened condensed milk (making sure to scrape it all out of the can), Key lime juice and egg yolks and mix well until smooth.
      1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk, ½ cup Nellie and Joe's Key Lime juice or similar, 3 egg yolks
      custard for Key Lime tart
    • Now, pour your mixture into your prepared tart crust.
      custard in tart pan before baking
    • Bake for 15 minutes or until the very center is just slightly jiggly when the pan is shaken.
    • Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Do not remove the sides from the tart pan while it is cooling or setting up in the fridge.
    • Once cooled, refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
    • When ready to serve, remove the tart from the fridge and gently remove the sides from the tart pan. The easiest way to do this is to place a medium bowl uoside down on the counter. Place the tart pan on top of the upside down bowl (the tart pan will sit on the bottom of the bowl). The sides of the tart pan should fall to the sides of the bowl.
    • Serve with whipped cream and coffee.
      Whipped cream for serving
    • Enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 251mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 432IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition Values are estimates only.

    See full nutrition disclaimer here
    Course :Dessert

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    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Carrie says

      June 11, 2023 at 2:20 am

      Hi there! This recipe looks incredible! Would it be possible to spread it out among some 4.75 x .75 tarlet pans instead of one large tart? Thank you!

      Reply
      • Melissa says

        June 11, 2023 at 5:56 pm

        Hi Carrie. I haven't tried the smaller tartlet pans but it should be fine if you adjust the time.

        Reply
    2. Steve the cook says

      January 23, 2023 at 12:08 am

      5 stars
      First of all, this cook and recipe are first-rate. As an experienced cook, I would NEVER put on a review unless I tried it first.
      Now the good part-Lower in calories than key lime pie (about 1/2) just as flavorful (I squeezed my own limes) and one might put in a slice of key lime is with the whipped cream ( I think the whipped cream absorbed a bit of juice from the fruit. Thank you for this- a new dinner favorite ( I can tell when everyone smiled).

      Reply
      • Melissa says

        January 23, 2023 at 12:43 pm

        Hi Steve. I am so glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sharing 🙂

        Reply
    3. Melissa says

      October 12, 2022 at 12:14 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
    4. Jill says

      October 14, 2021 at 10:21 pm

      Could I make this recipes in mini muffin pans with liners?

      Reply
      • Melissa says

        October 15, 2021 at 12:08 pm

        Hi Jill.

        I have not tried that before so I am not sure. If you do try it I would suggest making the granola base into little cups in the liners by pressing the granola up on the sides and pre-baking the crust (like how I pre-bake the crust in my mini cheesecake recipe) so the filling does not stick. The key lime filling is soft so that could happen.
        Let me know if you try it!

        Reply
    5. TJ says

      August 14, 2021 at 1:21 pm

      5 stars
      Loved it!

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Easy Creamy Lemon Bars • Keeping It Simple Blog says:
      May 4, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      […] you have made key lime pie before, this is what inspired this recipe. It is the same simple ingredients but it’s made […]

      Reply
    2. Mini Cheesecake Bites • Keeping It Simple Blog says:
      November 6, 2020 at 4:01 pm

      […] Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Tart […]

      Reply

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    I am so excited you are here. My name is Melissa and I started this recipe website to share easy recipes that I have been cooking for years. I have written hundreds of easy recipes that are tested and perfected. Some of the recipes I learned during my years of working in restaurants, some from owning my own food company and others come from friends and traveling.

    More about me →

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