Last Updated on September 16, 2024
Key Lime Pie with a tropical coconut crust is easy to make. It is made with simple ingredients and everyone will love the tart flavor.
Key Lime Pie
Next Wednesday is St Patrick’s Day so we’ve been thinking about a menu that fits the holiday. But today is March 14th, National Pi Day, as in the Greek symbol used in mathematics to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
Pi is always the same number (3.14159265359), no matter what the size of the circle you use to compute it. When you do that calculation, Pi continues on past its decimal place infinitely, with no pattern or repetition.
Pi deals with circles, so it has become an international day to bake pies for those of us nerds who also love to bake.
Joe and I were talking about a blog entry for a St Patrick’s Day dessert, so I suggested a Key Lime Pie. I’ll do darn near anything to avoid making a regular pie crust, and I wanted to switch up the usual graham cracker crust, so I decided to go with a coconut crust. I also wanted to try a filling made with something other than the sweetened condensed milk that is in nearly every key lime recipe you’ll find. Like this traditional Key Lime Pie recipe.
Making Simple Key Lime Pie
After some research, I combined and adapted recipes from several different sources and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with the results. The combination of lime and coconut is so darn good, and the filling is really smooth.
I don’t care for meringue on pies, so I always substitute whipped cream and find another use for the leftover egg whites.
Be sure to use canned unsweetened coconut milk, not coconut cream. It adds a subtle smooth flavor to the lime which can sometimes be a little harsh. You’ll probably find it in the ethnic foods section of your grocery store.
You can substitute lemon juice and/or orange juice for the lime juice. I made a pie last year with equal parts lemon and orange juice and it was so delicious I couldn’t believe I had never heard of that combination in a pie before.
Anyway, if you’re looking for a great dessert for St Patrick’s Day or you just want to pretend that you’re in Florida or the Caribbean, try this recipe. It’s easy and delicious.
So this pi day, make a tasty Key lime pie…simple and so tasty.
Also, try these great-tasting Desserts:
- Pumpkin Bars
- 30 Minute Chocolate Cookies
- Dresden Style Christmas Stollen
- Fresh Fruit Kabobs with Honey Yogurt Dip
- Applesauce Pineapple Toasted Bread Cups

Key Lime Pie In A Coconut Crust
Ingredients
Coconut Pie Crust:
- 2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Key Lime Filling:
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 13.5 oz can plain coconut milk
- 1/2 cup Key lime juice (freshly squeezed or bottled)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons butter
- food coloring, green (optional)
Topping:
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- zest from 1 lime (optional)
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325ยบF.
- Spray a 9" pie plate with cooking spray.
- Combine coconut and melted butter and mix thoroughly.
- Press onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie plate.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until coconut is golden. Cool on a wire rack while making the filling.
Filling:
- In a small bowl whisk the egg yolks; set aside.
- In medium saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
- Whisk in coconut milk and lime juice until smooth.
- Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat.
- Gradually whisk about 1 cup of the hot pudding mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk the egg yolk mixture back into remaining pudding mixture and return to the heat.
- Bring back to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add the butter and optional food coloring, stirring until smooth. Immediately pour filling into the baked coconut crust. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate until serving time.
Topping:
- Whip cream and sugar until soft peaks form, then spoon or pipe onto the chilled pie and decorate with lime zest, if desired.
Notes
- A graham cracker crust can also be used to make this pie. Crush 10 or 12 full sized graham crackers in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor, (1 1/2 cups). Combine the crumbs in a bowl with 5 tablespoons of melted butter and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Press the crackers into a 9" pie plate evenly on the bottom and up the sides. Chill the crust in the refrigerator for 2 hours prior to filling.
Nutrition
Anne
what color is it if you don’t add food coloring?
Joe
Hi Anne. The pie would be yellow. Thanks for asking.
MaryJo
Hi Anne,
Ordinarily, I never put food coloring into a key lime pie. The only reason I did it with that particular pie was because I was making a combination Pi Day and St. Patrick’s Day dessert.
Key limes and their juice are actually a light yellow so a natural key lime pie is a lovely pale yellow.
Hope you try the recipe!
Jay
I rate this high for the beautiful photos of that delicious looking pie!
Pam Spooner
This looks amazing!! I’m going to try it this week!
MaryJo
This is great, if I do say so myself. =0)