Mini Key Lime Pie Tartlets
Mini Key Lime Pie is a special treat–and it’s deceptively easy to make! With or without meringue, these cute tartlets are perfect for Pi Day, or any time.
Hooray, it’s almost Pi Day! I am always excited because pie is one of my favorite desserts! And while it can sometimes feel intimidating, many pies are super easy to make. For example these Mini Key Lime Pie Tartlets.
Yes, all you do is squeeze lime juice, mix with a couple other ingredients and bake (briefly) in a (pre-made) graham cracker crust. So simple, it even falls into the 5-ingredient recipe category!
And today I’m also giving you an option to take it to the next level by adding a meringue pie topping if you’d like. You can even make the Pi symbol with meringue! But with or without meringue, this pie is totally going to be a hit.
Why You’ll Love This
Tasty. Sweet, tart, and tropical, Mini Key Lime Pie Tartlets have flavor that doesn’t quit!
Impressive. These are so exotic and fun, they can’t fail to impress your guests!
Easy. If it’s tasty and impressive, it can’t be easy, right? Nuh-uh, these are a snap–just mix and pour (the meringue version is just a little harder).
Step by Step Instructions
Top with whipped cream and optional additional lime zest. Or skip the whipped cream and top with meringue (see below).
How to Make the Meringue Pie Topping
For those new to meringue, it is much easier than you would think. It comes in three different versions—French, Italian and Swiss, which vary based on when/how they are cooked. I use a Swiss Meringue here because it is very stable for piping. In addition, it gets cooked to 160°F which means no one needs to worry about consuming raw egg!
To make the meringue you heat and whisk egg whites (leftover from making the pie) with sugar, vanilla and cream of tartar. I just place my mixer bowl over a saucepan with a little water in it.
When the mixture reaches 160°F, you beat it right in the bowl it was heated in until light and fluffy, like soft marshmallow.
Then spoon into a piping bag and pipe onto the pie, then brown with a kitchen torch.
Variations
You can also make a single full sized pie with this recipe. Instead of 9 individual graham tartlets, use a single 9-inch commercial graham crust. Then increase the baking time to 15 minutes. Or see my Key Lemon Pie for reference.
If you’d like to use a homemade graham crust, that should be delicious! But if you’re making a full-sized pie, use a shallower pie pan to more closely match the smaller commercial graham crusts. Or you may be short on filling.
Looking for a topping a little richer and more durable than whipped cream? You can make mascarpone whipped cream by beating 1/4 cup heavy cream, then beating in 1/2 cup softened mascarpone, 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until fluffy. Pipe on like regular whipped cream.
Tips and FAQs
Once incorporated into a recipe, the flavor differences between key limes and Persian (regular) limes are pretty insignificant. I once made two identical pies, one with key limes and one with Persian limes and my youngest (aka my “picky” daughter) and I tasted them side by side. Knowing there was a difference, we could definitely recognize the subtle herbal notes from the key limes and the slightly less astringency.
But both were wonderful and if we hadn’t been looking for a difference, I don’t think we’d have noticed.
The best tool for zesting citrus is a microplane, since it shaves off just the very outer dark part of the rind. The white pith has most of the bitterness which is best to avoid in most recipes.
It was fun piping the Pi symbol. I used a piping bag with no tip at all but even a zip loc with a corner cut out would work. Happy Pi Day!
Pi Day Pies
- Air Fryer Blueberry Hand Pies from Creative Cynchronicity
- Chicken Pot Pies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Deep Dish Hawaiian Sourdough Pizza from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Mini Key Lime Pie from Art of Natural Living
- Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie from Jen Around the World
- Tamale Pie from That Recipe
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Key Lime Tartlets (with optional Meringue)
Ingredients
- 1 9 ¼-cup capacity graham cracker tartlet crusts or 9 inch graham cracker crust
Filling
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice from key limes or regular limes
- 2 teaspoons fine lime zest no white
Meringue (optional)
- 4 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar optional
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Make filling and bake pie
- Whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, juice (add half at a time) and zest until well combined.
- Pour filling into crust(s) and bake at 350 F for for 10 minutes for tartlets (or 15 for full size pie). Cool pie completely on rack, then chill (see note).
- You can stop here and serve a regular key lime pie--just top with whipped cream. Otherwise...
Top with meringue if desired
- In a medium-sized, heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, vanilla and cream of tartar (optional).
- Place the bowl over a small pan with simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl.
- Whisk the mixture at least until the sugar has fully dissolved. If you want to pasteurize the meringue, keep whisking until the mixture reaches a temperature of 160°F. Take off the heat.
- Using a hand held or a stand mixer, beat the warm mixture until the meringue holds a medium peak and has cooled to room temperature.
- Fill a piping bag, then pipe on top of a pie or tartlets.
- Brown with torch, then serve or refrigerate until needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from the original dated March 14, 2019.
These are perfect for me! The hubs doesn’t like citrus desserts so I can make these and nibble on them while he has something else for dessert.
Oh, the minis are perfect for that!
These are super cute! I love the photo of them lined up. The green mixer is great!
Thanks Karen! (I love my green mixer 🙂 )
Having lived for some years in Key Largo, Florida, I can tell you that I’ve eaten my fair share of key lime pies. You will see many versions but most stories are that it is authentic when made with meringue. When first developed years ago, no one would have thrown away the egg whites. Whether true or not, I do love it with a meringue topping and your little tarts look great.
as a lover of both math and pie, pi day is my jam! these little tartlets are adorable, and while meringue has never been my friend, i couldn’t pass up a bite!
Inger, these are the cutest meringue tartlets…I love everything that has lemon/lime…thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Juliana. It was fun!
Why on earth did I never think of putting the Pi symbol on my pies?? You are – yet again brilliant! Our key lime pie recipes are pretty much identical… as I am so lucky to live where key limes are easy to find!
Interestingly, we didn’t see any key limes for sale in Florida, but when I got home I found a bag at a Hispanic grocer. Not local of course 😉 !
Really beautiful Inger ! I love all with lime or lemon is delicious !
I couldn’t agree more on the lemon and lime love, Gloria!