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    Home » Recipes » Dessert

    Published: Oct 21, 2022 by Misty · This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.

    Creamy Key Lemon Pie (w/ raspberry sauce)

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    Sliced lemon pie with raspberry sauce, whipped cream, and text overlay.
    Overhead of lemon pie with raspberry sauce, whipped cream, and text overlay.

    Whip up this dreamy Key Lemon Pie with condensed milk, zesty lemons, a buttery graham cracker crust, and tangy raspberry sauce on top. With its ultra creamy filling and crispy crust, this may be the best ever lemon pie recipe! Plus it is easy to make and great for a crowd.

    Slice of raspberry lemon pie on white plate with a fork on the side and lemon slices in the background.
    This Key Lemon Pie recipe is easy to make and incredibly delicious!
    Skip to:
    • 🏅 Why this recipe is great
    • 🍋 Ingredients
    • 🔪 How to make Key Lemon Pie with condensed milk
    • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For a crowd
    • 🙋 Questions and Answers
    • 👨🏼‍🍳 Tips & Tricks
    • 📖 More dessert recipes
    • 👋🏻 Connect with us!
    • 📋 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    I don’t exaggerate when I say that this is the BEST Key Lemon Pie recipe I’ve ever made! Better than lemon meringue pie, better than lemon icebox pie, better than lemon cream pie. It’s the perfect combination of creamy, crispy, sweet, and tangy.

    This lemon raspberry pie recipe was inspired by our favorite easy Key Lime Pie recipe from Once Upon a Chef. If you want to avoid the key limes vs persian limes vs regular limes debate, just make it lemon instead!

    Pies make the best desserts. For more recipes, try this Pecan Pie with Maple Syrup, this Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, or even these Apple Pie Biscuits.

    🏅 Why this recipe is great

    • So creamy! You make this key lemon pie with condensed milk and Greek yogurt for the perfect texture.
    • It’s easy to make. The homemade crust is quick, there's no mixer necessary, and the creamy lemon filling just takes a handful of ingredients.
    • It's easy to decorate. Just swap the lime slices found on a traditional key lime pie with lemon slices and raspberry sauce!
    • It's a great recipe to make ahead for easy holiday serving.

    🍋 Ingredients

    Ingredients for lemon pie recipe on white countertop.
    Whip up this whole pie with only 9 simple ingredients!
    • Graham cracker crumbs: Crush them yourself or buy them as crumbs. You could also buy a store-bought crust in a pinch, but it must be deep dish to hold this amount of filling.
    • Sugar: Regular granulated sugar will do. 
    • Butter: I use salted, but unsalted will work too.
    • Frozen raspberries: You can use fresh raspberries if you prefer.
    • Cornstarch: Just a touch to thicken the raspberry sauce.
    • Sweetened condensed milk: Generic brand is just as good as Eagle brand. Evaporated milk cannot be substituted.
    • Greek yogurt: This recipe uses yogurt instead of egg yolks or egg whites for a silky, smooth filling that’s simple to bake.
    • Fresh lemons: Meyer lemons or any regular lemons will do. You will need lemon zest and fresh lemon juice to make the tangy filling.
    • Heavy cream: Make your own whipped cream or buy some from the grocery store.

    🔪 How to make Key Lemon Pie with condensed milk

    Graham Cracker Crust

    Start by pulsing the graham crackers into fine crumbs in a food processor. Add the melted butter, sugar and salt and pulse until it resembles wet sand. 

    To form the crust, dump ⅔ of the crumbs in the bottom of a 9-inch deep dish pie pan. Using your fingers or a tamper (affiliate), press the crumbs firmly into the side. Then add the remaining crumbs and press firmly into the bottom of the pie dish with a tamper or bottom of a measuring cup. Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

    Fingers pressing graham cracker crust into sides of a pie pan.
    Remaining graham cracker crumbs dumped into center of pie pan.
    Tamper firmly pressing crust into pie pan.

    Raspberry Sauce

    Combine the raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan and simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Pour through a mesh strainer (affiliate) into a mixing bowl to remove the seeds. Set aside to cool. 

    Ingredients for raspberry sauce in a silver pot.
    Straining raspberry sauce in a silver sieve over a clear glass bowl.
    Clear glass bowl with finished raspberry sauce for the top of the lemon pie.

    Key Lemon Pie

    Combine the condensed milk, yogurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. For zesting, I highly recommend using a microplane (affiliate). Pour the filling into the slightly warm pie crust and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until set. 

    Key lemon pie filling in a glass bowl with a whisk.
    Key lemon pie filling poured into crust before baking.

    Cool the baked pie at room temperature for 30 minutes, then move to the fridge uncovered for at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, beat the whipping cream with hand beaters or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Once chilled, add raspberry sauce and whipped cream to top of the pie and serve.

    Overhead of key lemon pie with lemon zest, raspberries, and whipped cream on top.
    This is a great lemon pie recipe to make ahead and serve the next day.

    👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For a crowd

    This is an easy recipe to serve to a group because you can make it early in the day or the night before and keep it in the fridge until it’s time to serve. If you’re serving more than 8, just double the recipe and make two pies at once. 

    🙋 Questions and Answers

    Can you make key lemon pie ahead? 

    Yes! This pie is best when baked the day of or day before serving. You can bake this pie and store in the fridge for up to 1 day in advance. I recommend adding the raspberry sauce and whip cream right before serving to avoid bleeding.

    To make it more than one day ahead, make the crust, filling, and raspberry sauce and store them separately. The filling and raspberry sauce will hold for 2-3 days in the fridge, and the crust will last 1-2 days on the counter. When ready to bake, assemble and bake as directed. 

    Can I use bottled lemon juice?

    No. Bottled lemon juice is not the same and is not a good substitute. 

    How do you thicken runny lemon pie filling? 

    This key lemon pie filling will be slightly thick before baking, but still easy to pour into the pie pan. The combination of yogurt, condensed milk, and lemon juice will allow it to set up easily while baking. You should have no need to add extra ingredients to thicken the filling.

    Can you use evaporated milk instead of condensed milk in pie?

    Evaporated milk can not be substituted for sweetened condensed milk. It is a much thinner consistency and unsweetened, compared to condensed milk which is thickened and very sweet.

    How do I store creamy lemon pie leftovers?

    Cover the pie plate with plastic wrap or store leftovers in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days. 

    Creamy lemon pie in a clear pie plate with raspberry sauce on top and a slice or pie removed.
    Serve this pie any time of year - A summer picnic, backyard barbecue, Thanksgiving, or other holidays.

    👨🏼‍🍳 Tips & Tricks

    • Pour the filling into a slightly warm crust. If the crust is too hot, it will trap steam when you add the filling, making the crust soggy.
    • Put the raspberry sauce and whipped cream on top close to serving time to prevent the color from bleeding.
    • Don’t bake the pie more than 1 day in advance, otherwise the crust will get soggy.

    📖 More dessert recipes

    • Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie - An easy dessert with a classic flavor combination.
    • Easy Lemon Bundt Cake - Made with yogurt and oil for a super moist, flavorful cake every time!
    • Creamy Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake - Smooth cream cheese, lemon cookie crust, and tangy blackberry sauce. Yum!
    • Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes - To satisfy any chocolate craving.
    • Ultimate Crumbl Peanut Butter Cookies - Possibly the best peanut butter cookies I've ever had (and the reviews agree).

    👋🏻 Connect with us!

    If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating to let us know how it is! We’d also love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag @borrowedbites or hashtag #borrowedbites to show us your food!

    📋 Recipe

    Slice of key lemon pie with bite removed on fork.

    Creamy Key Lemon Pie (w/ raspberry sauce)

    Whip up this dreamy Key Lemon Pie with condensed milk, zesty lemons, a buttery graham cracker crust, and tangy raspberry sauce on top. With its ultra creamy filling and crispy crust, this may be the best ever lemon pie recipe! Plus it is easy to make and great for a crowd.
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Save Saved! Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 343kcal
    Author: Borrowed Bites

    Equipment

    • 9 inch deep dish pie plate
    • Tamper

    Ingredients

    Graham Cracker Crust

    • 11-12 sheets of graham crackers (or 1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs)
    • 3 tablespoon sugar
    • Pinch kosher salt
    • ½ cup butter melted

    Raspberry Sauce

    • 1 cup frozen raspberries
    • 2 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

    Lemon Pie

    • 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
    • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
    • 2 tablespoon lemon zest (2-3 large lemons)
    • ¾ cup lemon juice (3-5 large lemons)

    Optional - Whipped Cream

    • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
    • 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Graham Cracker Crust

    • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. Add the sugar, salt, and butter and pulse until it resembles damp sand.
      11-12 sheets of graham crackers, 3 tablespoon sugar, Pinch kosher salt, ½ cup butter
    • To form the crust, dump ⅔ of the crumbs in the bottom of a 9-inch deep dish pie pan. Using your fingers or a tamper, press the crumbs firmly into the side (see post for photos). Then add the remaining crumbs and press firmly into the bottom of the pan.
    • Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Reduce the heat to 350°F.

    Raspberry Sauce

    • Combine the raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan and simmer on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Pour through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Set aside to cool.
      1 cup frozen raspberries, 2 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch

    Lemon Pie

    • Combine the condensed milk, yogurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Pour the filling into the slightly warm pie crust and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until just set.
      2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoon lemon zest, ¾ cup lemon juice
    • Cool pie at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate uncovered for at least 3 hours.

    Assembly

    • When ready to serve, whip the heavy cream and sugar with hand beaters or a stand mixer on medium-high until soft peaks form.
      1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
    • Spread the raspberry sauce on top of the pie. Serve with whipped cream.
    • We love comments! Please come back and leave us one after you’ve tried this recipe.

    Notes

    Tips & Tricks
    • Pour the filling into a slightly warm crust. If the crust is too hot, it will trap steam when you add the filling, making the crust soggy.
    • Put the raspberry sauce and whipped cream on top close to serving time to prevent the color from bleeding.
    • Don’t bake the pie more than 1 day in advance, otherwise the crust will get soggy.
     
    Make Ahead Instructions
    You can bake this pie and store in the fridge for up to 1 day in advance. I recommend adding the raspberry sauce and whip cream right before serving to avoid bleeding.
    To make it more than one day ahead, make the crust, filling, and raspberry sauce and store them separately. The filling and raspberry sauce will hold for 2-3 days in the fridge, and the crust will last 1-2 days on the counter. When ready to bake, assemble and bake as directed. 
     
    Storage
    Cover the pie plate with plastic wrap or store leftovers in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days.

    Add Your Own Notes

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    Nutrition

    Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 109mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 816IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 1mg

    All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.

    Tried this recipe?Leave a rating or pin it for later!

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    Hi! We are Danielle and Misty: a mom and daughter with a serious passion for seeking out the best recipes to serve again and again to those we love. With a mix of everyday favorites and indulgent weekend fare there is something here for you and yours as you develop your own family traditions.

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