Key Lime Slab Pie
Fan of Key Lime Pie?? You can’t go wrong when you pair a deliciously sweet “no fail graham cracker crust” with a perfectly tart key lime filling. As one who’s always up for a baking challenge, I decided to convert my favorite “Key Lime Pie” recipe into a slab pie.
Recently, I posted about converting a “ Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Slab Pie” recipe into a slab pie. Why stop there? A slab pie is very similar to a traditional pie. Slab pies are baked in jelly roll pans, whereas traditional pies are baked in an 8" or 9" pie dish. Slab pies are also slightly larger than a traditional pie and serve 12-16 people.
I will tell you, the ingredient list for this pie is SIMPLE. You start by making a graham cracker crust before you make the pie filling. Keep reading along to see how I make a Key Lime Slab Pie from start to finish.
TO MAKE THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
You'll need the following ingredients:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs (almost 1 box of Keebler graham cracker crumbs or 21-23 crushed graham crackers)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup melted butter (12 tbsp)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
15”x11”x1” jelly roll pan (can be purchased at most dollar stores)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, melted butter, and ground cinnamon into a medium size bowl until consistency resembles wet sand. Pour and evenly spread the mixture into a 15”x11”x1” jelly roll pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup and your hands to firmly pack the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. This process takes a bit of elbow grease, but I can assure you it's worth it if you're up for the challenge. Create a 1" thick border around the sides of the pan. The graham cracker crust should be packed as tightly as possible.
Once the crust is formed in the jelly roll pan, bake for 7-8 minutes in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow prepared crust to cool to room temp. Once crust is cooled to room temp, chill for at least one hour (or up to 24 hours) before adding key lime pie filling.
While the prepared crust has baked and is cooling, prepare your pie filling.
TO MAKE THE KEY LIME FILLING
You’ll need the following ingredients:
1.5 tbsp lime zest (from 2-3 limes)
3 14 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
3/4 C sour cream
1.25 C of key lime juice (from fresh squeezed key limes or from a store brought brand like Nellie & Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Zest 2-3 limes with a micro plane to yield 1.5 tbsp of lime zest, set aside.
Add sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, and lime juice into your mixing bowl. Using either a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, a hand held electric mixer, or a whisk, beat all ingredients until fully combined for about a minute. Gently fold lime zest into your filling.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
Pour pie filling into your chilled crust within the 1" borders of the crust. Use a spatula to evenly spread the filling into the crust. Bake the pie at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 11-13 minutes, or until the filling is just set. Remove pie from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. Transfer pie to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Once the pie is chilled, cut into squares and serve with whipped cream. Key Lime Slab Pie is the perfect dessert to serve during the warmer months of the year. I hope you'll try it!
-XOXO-
Sally
P.S. If you're really into key lime pie, click here to read this article from last year about to make "Easy Key Lime Pie".
FULL KEY LIME SLAB PIE RECIPE
FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
3 cups graham cracker crumbs (almost 1 box of Keebler graham cracker crumbs or 21-23 finely crushed graham crackers)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup melted butter (12 tbsp or 1.5 sticks)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
15”x11”x1” jelly roll pan (can be purchased at most dollar stores)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, melted butter, and ground cinnamon into a medium size bowl until consistency resembles wet sand. Pour and evenly spread the mixture into a 15”x11”x1” jelly roll pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup and your hands to firmly pack the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Create a 1" thick border around the sides of the pan. The graham cracker crust should be packed as tightly as possible.
Once the crust is formed in the jelly roll pan, bake for 7-8 minutes in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow prepared crust to cool to room temp. Once crust is cooled to room temp, chill for at least one hour (or up to 24 hours) before adding key lime pie filling.
FOR THE KEY LIME PIE FILLING
While the prepared crust has baked and is cooling, prepare your pie filling.
For the filling:
1.5 tbsp lime zest (from 2-3 limes)
3 14 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
3/4 C sour cream
1.25 C of lime juice (from fresh squeezed limes or from a brand like Nellie & Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Zest 2-3 limes with a micro plane to yield 1.5 tbsp of lime zest and set aside.
Add sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, and lime juice into your mixing bowl. Using either a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, a hand held electric mixer, or a whisk beat all ingredients until fully combined, about a minute. Gently fold lime zest into your filling.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
Pour pie filling into your chilled crust within the 1" borders of the crust. Use a spatula to evenly spread the filling into the crust. Bake the pie at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 11-13 minutes, or until the filling is just set. Remove pie from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. Transfer pie to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Cut pie into squares and serve with whipped cream.
RECIPE NOTES
The oven temp. to bake the pie crust is 375F. The oven temp to bake the pie is 350F.
If you decide to make your own graham cracker crumbs, you'll need approximately 21-23 graham crackers.
If you decide to use fresh squeezed lime juice, you'll need approximately 50 key limes or 14-16 Persian limes to yield 1.25 C of fresh lime juice. You can buy key lime juice at most local grocery stores.