Want a creamy, cool, and refreshing lime pie made with yogurt? You’re going to love this healthier yogurt-based key lime pie recipe that always gets compliments. I developed this recipe over a decade ago when I was dying for something creamy, sweet, and tangy but also refused to do anything that required turning on my oven. Get your pie pan, citrus squeezer, and zester ready for this healthier version of a classic key lime pie.
I lived in this great apartment, really great actually, except for the insulation. What insulation? It baked in the summer even though I was a mile from the coast. The greenhouse effect was in full force inside a two-bedroom boxy apartment. Of course, there was no AC.
Use a pre-made graham cracker crust to totally avoid turning on the oven. Otherwise, making the graham cracker crust is easy, but you’ll need to bake for 10 minutes. If you have a toaster oven that can hold a 9-in pie pan, then you are in luck. Baking the pie crust will not heat up the kitchen!
The best recipes are often the product of desperation. Or at least this lime pie was.
How is This Recipe Different Than Traditional Key Lime Pie?
Traditional key lime pie is made with egg yolks and condensed milk. The egg yolks and milk react to thicken the pie. Because of those egg yolks, the pie must be cooked.
Other recipes call for heavy cream and condensed milk, or heavy cream, condensed milk, and egg yolks. That’s not even remotely healthyish.
What Makes This Recipe Healthy-ish?
This recipe has no egg yolks or heavy cream. Plain yogurt is the backbone of this pie. To help the pie “set up” (so you can have a slice and not a spoonful), I use a bit of gelatin.
What Is Gelatin and Is It Healthy?
Gelatin is a protein derived from collagen, which is a major component of connective tissues, skin, and bones. Gelatin is a good source of several amino acids, including glycine and proline, which are important for joint health and skin elasticity. Look for grass-fed gelatin.
Good for the Gut
Instead of heavy cream, this recipe is all about plain yogurt. Yogurt is high in protein, calcium, and is loaded with beneficial probiotics. Yogurt is rich in B-vitamins, including B-12, helping with energy production. The probiotics in yogurt can aid in digestive health.
These days, our yogurt selection is endless. You can even make yogurt at home with just a few household tools (or a yogurt maker, which makes it much easier). I like to use a creamy plain yogurt that has a little fat (not fat-free) that is less tangy.
Pro Tip: You’ll have to experiment with the brand of yogurt you use. Some yogurt brands are very tangy, others much less so. Greek yogurt is thicker than regular plain, which will make your finished product denser than if you use plain regular yogurt.
Fresh Lime Juice Is High In Vitamin C
This pie uses fresh lime juice. Lime juice is rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C can help your body fight off infection. Do Not use jarred or canned lime juice. Your pie will taste metallic and funky if you try to use the jarred stuff.
It is a bit tangy and the yogurt, has probiotics, calcium, and protein. So, all those good ingredients really cancel out the can of condensed milk, right? The trick to this recipe is time and fresh lime juice. Trust me, skip the jarred stuff.
Tools To Make Yogurt-Based Lime Pie
You’ll need the following tools to make this pie
- 9-in Pie Pan
- One large kitchen bowl for mixing and one small bowl
- measuring cups
- Citrus juicer, reamer, or squeezer
- measuring spoons
- Mixing spoon or rubber spatula
- can opener
- Microwave (to easily melt gelatin) or a small saucepan and stove
- Microplane grater or zester
- Oven or toaster oven if making crust from scratch
Ingredients To Make Yogurt-Based Lime Pie:
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 2-3 cups plain yogurt
- 2/3 cup lime juice from 2-4 lime—Do Not substitute jarred lime juice
- Zest from 2 limes
- 2 1/2 teaspoons (or one packet) plain gelatin
- 1 bottom pie crust (graham cracker works well)
Healthyish Yogurt-Based Lime Pie
Ingredients
- 3 cups plain Yogurt avoid non-fat yogurt
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk one can
- ⅔ cup lime juice from 2-4 large limes, can use part lemon juice if limes are not very juicy
- 2 tablespoons lime zest Zest limes before juicing
- 2 ½ teaspoons grass-fed gelatin
- 1 prepared Graham Cracker Crust If you opt to make your own graham cracker crust, you will need to bake the crust for 8-10 minutes.
Graham Cracker Crust
- 12 Full size graham crackers
- 6 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 375°
- Crush graham crackers using a large bowl and the back of your measuring cup. Or place crackers in a large zip-top plastic bag and whack with a rolling pin to crush cookies. Or, if you own a food processor, pulse crackers until crumbled.
- Melt butter in the microwave, or use a small pan to melt butter on the stove top.
- Mix butter and crushed crackers. Pinch some of the mixture between your fingers, it should hold together. If it is still too crumbly, add a teaspoon of water at a time until the crust holds together when pinched.
- Dump mixture into a 9-inch pie pan. Use the back of your measuring cups to firmly press crumbs evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temp before filling pie.
For the Pie Filling
- If using a microwave, add lime juice to a small microwave-proof bowl. Sprinkle gelatin on top. Microwave for about 45-seconds and mix. The gelatin should dissolve. If not, microwave for another 10 seconds and stir. If using the stove-top, do the same, except in a small sauce pan. Over low heat, stir constantly until the gelatin dissolves.
- In a large bowl. Combine the remaining ingredients. Stir in the lime juice mixture.
- Pour mixture in a prepared graham cracker crust and smooth the top.
- Place pie in the refrigerator and chill until set-up, about 2-3 hours.
