Easy Key Lime Pie Dip

This dessert dip is a tangy twist on classic key lime pie with a buttery graham cracker crumble topping. Easier than pie.

On the one hand, this is blasphemous because I am advocating an unpie(?) on Pi Day. On the other hand, this is green, and St. Patrick’s Day is this week.

A few weeks ago I did a dumb thing that led to a fun result. I got a message from my Great Aunt Sue Sue asking for an idea for a green dessert for her garden party around St. Patrick’s day. Naturally, I set out to develop a recipe for her! I told her I was thinking key lime pie, but what if we made it into a dip? Just like when I reimagined her peanut butter pie recipe?

Except actually she said she was going to put green food coloring in the Peanut Butter Pie Dip recipe. Classic reading while childrearing error. Facepalm.

She went with it and we collaborated on it—then I figured it out on a reread of her message when I tested this recipe. I’m grateful she let me have fun with it. I figure we may as well start a pie dip series at this point.

This Easy Key Lime Pie Dip is tangy, sweet, silky, and I can’t get enough of it. The graham cracker crumble adds the perfect amount of crunch with a just enough buttery relief from the acidity. Just like you’d want in a pie!

It has a sort of pudding-like consistency. I wouldn’t call it fluffy, but it doesn’t really need to be. It’s thick enough to coat whatever you want to dip in it, and it holds up over time better than I expected it to.

Keys to the lime flavor

The “key” in key lime pie isn’t just geographic—key limes are a totally different variety than what you squeeze over your tacos. They’re tiny, tart and delicious.

Now that you’re in the know, realize using regular lime juice is basically a mortal sin. It’s hyperbole, but also not. A Florida state representative in the 60s wanted to fine anyone who used regular lime juice for key lime pie. Like the champagne of pies.

He failed, but what’s a $100 when you’re risking damnation?

You can buy bottles so you don’t have to squeeze 3,400 tiny limes, but don’t use the plastic limes in the produce section. I usually find Nellie & Joes: Key West Lime Juice in the baking section, but you can also find it on Amazon.

One of my favorite things about key lime pie is the graham cracker crust, so of course I had to incorporate it. Yes, you could just crumble some graham crackers on top, but I think the butter is worth it. It’s obviously adds a buttery taste, but it also helps keep the crackers crisp.

Also, it’s super simple to make. Just put a couple crackers in a sandwich bag, crush them up (don’t completely pulverize), add some melted butter and shake, shake, shake. I used salted butter to add dimension.

What I dip, you dip, we dip

This dip is great with graham crackers, animal crackers, vanilla wafers, fruit like strawberries or apples. Maybe even go salty-sweet and try out something like pretzels. You are so brave!

You could also play around with the way you serve Easy Key Lime Pie Dip. It would be cute to scoop it into individual jars or clear plastic cups for baby or wedding showers. Try a little graham cracker crumble on the bottom, lots of dip, a dollop of whipped cream, and another scoop of crumble on top.

Also why limit it to the crumble? You could add white chocolate chips or macadamia nuts if you want to get fancy.

It’s easy being green

I use a few drops of lime green food coloring in this recipe to get the color just right. Actual key lime pie is made of key lime juice, condensed milk and egg yolks. The yolks give it its greenish-yellow color. If you can only find basic green, I would start with one drop of green and one drop of yellow.

You can always leave out the food coloring if you want, but the lime juice really doesn’t add much pigment. In actual key lime pie, egg yolks give it its greenish-yellow color.

Then again, this idea for this recipe was sparked by a conversation about a St. Patrick’s Day garden party, so why not go green?

The scoop on sugar in this recipe

This is a little more sugar than I originally wanted to use, but hear me out. The lime juice makes this way thinner than your typical dip. Honestly, I loved the taste with 3/4 cup sugar, but I thought it would be a little too runny for most people.

If that doesn’t bother you, feel free to leave it out. Conversely, if you’re cool with a sugar splurge, feel free to add more to fluff it up.

I thought about reducing some lime juice and using it to make a simple syrup that probably would have meant a less liquid mix, but a) that’s still adding more sugar and b) I was tryna make this faster than a pie, okay? Cool. I might still try that, and I’ll report back here if I do.

Camera, cut to another angle of that dip please.

A hand model, I am not.

Can you make Easy Key Lime Pie Dip Ahead?

Like I said in the beginning, this holds up pretty well over time. I was still pretty happy with the leftovers on day 3. Still, you want it to be in the best shape possible when you serve it, right? I recommend making it fresh if possible.

You can make Easy Key Lime Pie Dip up to a day ahead if you need to, but wait until you’re about to serve it to add the graham cracker crumble topping. Graham crackers tend to soften in the refrigerator, and the dip can make them a little soggy after a while. You want them nice and crunchy-crisp for your first dunk.

Though this is a recipe that’s great through spring and summer (or any time), I would typically try to post something you could use for St. Patrick’s day a little further out. Now I’m not sure if anyone will or should be gathering for it. This was supposed to go up about a week ago, but things have been a little crazy.

Between COVID-19 cancelling sports and throwing my husband’s job into chaos, and the fact that I am a person with asthma and a lot of at-risk family members—it’s kind of a scary time. That being said, I hope you can find some joy in the simple things at home during all of this.

Panic isn’t good for anything (said the anxiety monster, ha!), but I hope everyone will be considerate and follow recommendations. Don’t live in fear or turn into a doomsday prepper. Even with the strict quarantine in Italy, stores and pharmacies are still open. What we’re doing is an act of public solidarity for those who could be in serious trouble if they got sick.

Check on your grandparents and neighbors. Check on your friend who carries an inhaler. Check on your friends with diabetes or high blood pressure or who are in remission.

Wash your hands, make some key lime pie dip, and binge watch 30 Rock again for them.

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