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.
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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
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
👨👩👧👦 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
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.
No. Bottled lemon juice is not the same and is not a good substitute.
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.
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.
Cover the pie plate with plastic wrap or store leftovers in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
👨🏼🍳 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.
- 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
Creamy Key Lemon Pie (w/ raspberry sauce)
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
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
- 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.
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
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