Gluten Free Key Lime Pie

If you’ve never had a Gluten Free Key Lime Pie before then STOP everything – you are about to witness dessert heaven!

Key Lime Pie was one my favourite recipes as a kid and I have fond memories of my Mum making me a gluten free version.

Recreating my own gluten free Key Lime Pie is well overdue and I can’t believe it’s taken my this long, but it’s finally here.

So if you want a dessert which is sweet, zesty, easy-to-make and a real crowd-pleaser, then this gluten free key lime pie is the answer.

What is Key Lime Pie?

Key Lime Pie is an American dessert, which can only be described, in my opinion, as a cross between a tart and a cheesecake.

Originally the dessert is made from its namesake, Key Limes, which are grown in the Florida Keys.

They are supposedly more aromatic and yellow in colour than the Persian limes we commonly find in UK supermarkets.

However, I have used standard limes in this recipe and it works perfectly, so no fear if you can’t find any Key Limes!

A gluten free Key Lime Pie has a base made from crushed biscuits and butter, which is pressed into place and then baked for a short time.

This case, once cooled, is then filled with a mixture of lime juice and zest, egg yolks and condensed milk, and baked again.

The finish touch comes from whipped up cream and an extra dusting of lime zest.

Some people to make Key Lime Pie with a meringue topping instead but I prefer the easier and lighter topping of cream.

Overall, it’s a zesty and delicious dessert – not too sweet and light enough that you can eat a good wedge of it – and it’s super easy to make gluten free.

What do I need for gluten free key lime pie?

Making this recipe is super simple – and you’ll need a few, storecupboard ingredients to give it a go.

There’s a full printable recipe card down below, but for the shopping list you’ll need:

• 300g gluten free digestives
• 150g unsalted butter
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 limes (zest and juice)
• 1 x 397g sweetened condensed milk
• 200ml double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• Extra lime zest (to decorate)

See – you actually only need a minimal amount of ingredients to make this insanely good gluten free dessert.

If you like you can use something like gluten free Hobnobs instead of the digestives – I just find digestives are a lot cheaper.

In the US I think Graham Crackers are used, so I find digestives tend to be the English replacement for these.

Everything else should be fairly simple to find in your local supermarket.

And when you’re separating the eggs don’t forget to keep hold of the whites – you can use them in omelettes or for making meringues.

In fact, I’ve got an awesome pavlova recipe coming very soon so keep hold of them for that; you can just refrigerate them for a couple of days.

When picking the limes I also tend to go for ones which are a bit darker as I find the zest comes off better.

A top tip when juicing them is to roll the limes on a flat surface first as this will get the most juice out of them.

How do I make this gluten free key lime pie?

Again, there’s a full method in the recipe card below, but here’s a bit of a step-by-step guide with photos to walk you through the process.

First of all you need to make the biscuit base by mixing together crushed biscuits and melted butter.

It’s really that simple – and once it’s mixed up, you’ll want to press it firmly down into the base and sides of a loose-base tart tin.

I find using a cup measurer like this (pictured below) really helps to pack the mixture in firmly and push it into the sides of the tin.

Once you’ve made and baked the base, it’s time to create the filling. This is the zesty, fun part!

The filling is made by mixing together egg yolks, condensed milk, and the juice and zest of four limes.

This makes a filling which is creamy, sweet and tangy all at once, yet not sickly at all.

You want to whip it all together and then pour it into the case, before baking it all again so the mixture firms.

Once the baked pie has completely cooled and firmed up, it’s time to decorate it with your whipped cream.

You make this by simple whipping the double cream and icing sugar together until it forms soft peaks.

This means the mixture is still smooth and spreadable, but not too firm. Over-whisking this will cause the cream to become too thick.

When the whipped cream is ready, it should look like this (below):

Spread this onto the key lime pie and then finish the whole thing off with some extra lime zest.

This will add a lovely pop of both colour and flavour to your finished pie.

To serve, the key lime pie should simply ‘pop’ out of the tin (leave the base on if it’s easier) and onto a serving plate.

And there you have it, the perfect gluten free dessert to wow all your friends!

My gluten free key lime pie recipe

So there you go, the perfect gluten free dessert everyone will love – my Gluten Free Key Lime Pie!

Easy to make and deliciously more-ish, you’ll find even the gluten-eaters will love this and will be asking for more.

I recommend making this in a 25cm loose-based tart tin like this one as the loose base makes it a lot easier to get out of the tin to serve.

This recipe is enough for around 10-12 people, or less if you like a big portion – it’s up to you.

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!

And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me. 

Need some more gluten free dessert inspiration?

Want to have a go at some of the other gluten free dessert recipes on the blog?

Give some of these other gluten free sweet recipes a try!

There are plenty to choose from – here are a couple of autumnal baking ideas to get you going:

• Gluten free apple pie
• Apple and blackberry crumble
• Plum and amaretto crumble
• Melto (Bueno-style) no-bake cheesecake

If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram. 

And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!

Like this Gluten Free Key Lime Pie recipe? Make sure you pin these recipe cards below for later!