My key lime pie ice cream recipe is the best. Let me show you how to make cold creamy key lime-flavored ice cream with swirls of buttery graham cracker crust at home without an ice cream maker.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my piña colada ice cream, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Easy to Make - You don't need an ice cream maker or any special skills for this frozen key lime pie recipe. The ingredient list is short, sweet, and very similar to the ingredients for making key lime pie.
Authentic Key Lime Pie Flavor - You'll taste that signature of rich, sweet creaminess, and tart key lime that hits all parts of the mouth. Plus buttery graham cracker crumbles and a hint of spice. It tastes as good as my key lime pie recipe!
I love turning classic desserts into easy ice cream recipes. Check out my sweet potato pie ice cream, banana pudding ice cream, and peach cobbler ice cream with pie crust next--and they're all no-churn!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Key Limes, of course. Some folks will say there's no noticeable difference between key limes and regular limes but real ones know! Although they're much smaller, which means you'll need to use more of them, they're worth the effort. And as tiny as key limes are, they have the nerve to have a lot of seeds we're not trying to juice endless amounts of them so to boost the flavor factor, we are also using the key lime zest, which adds stronger taste and pretty green flecks of color to the ice cream.
If you can't find key limes or they're out of season, you can make this frozen dessert with regular limes just note the flavor will be slightly different.
Warming Spices like cinnamon and ginger add depth of flavor to graham cracker crust. While not part of the traditional key lime pie ice cream recipe, I highly recommend this twist because it's so easy and gives a lil' something extra that makes the ice cream unforgettable.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Graham Crackers or pre-made crumbs can work here depending on what's available to you and your preference. A pre-baked graham cracker crust can also work but you won't be able to add the spices with this option. They all work the same once you crush the graham crackers.
Vegan - Use plant-based sweetened condensed milk, cream--like coconut cream--and butter, as well as dairy-free and eggless graham crackers to make this vegetarian recipe vegan.
How to Make Key Lime Pie Ice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker
- Step 1: Mix up the graham cracker crumbs, spices, brown sugar, and butter.
- Step 2: Press the mixture into the bottom of a pan and bake until golden.
Pro Tip #1
This step can be done up to three days ahead of time. Just store the crust in an airtight container and refrigerate it.
- Step 3: Whip the heavy cream into whipped cream.
- Step 4: Zest and juice the limes then mix with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract, and combine with whipped cream.
- Step 5: Layer the ice cream base and graham cracker crust in a container then place it in the freezer.
- Step 6: A few hours later, it's ready!
Pro Tip #2
I like to bake the crust and make the ice cream in the same loaf pan, which makes for fewer dishes. Also, I recommend breaking up the graham crust and leaving half on the bottom of the pan then sprinkling the rest on top of the ice cream base. This will provide a bit of crust in every scoop!
Frequently Asked Questions
This ice cream can last in the freezer for up to six months, but the texture may become more icy after around one month.
How to Serve
Serve this treat ice and cold--just thaw it for a couple of minutes before scooping. Add whipped cream and a piece of graham cracker for extra razzle dazzle.
You can serve key lime-pie flavored ice cream in a bowl or cone but I personally love making ice cream sandwiches with a scoop of the ice cream and two graham crackers.
And key lime flavor is not just for desserts! Try mixing up my key lime margarita next.
More Favorite No-Churn Ice Cream Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy the best key lime pie recipe soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Best No-Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 oven-safe and freezer-safe container like a loaf pan
- 1 knife
- 1 microplane or zester
- 1 citrus juicer optional
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs or eight graham crackers
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 12 key limes
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If using whole graham crackers, crush them into fine crumbs and combine with melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger until uniform.1 cup graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Spread the graham cracker mixture into oven-safe dish and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the crust bakes, zest seven of the key limes then cut and juice all of the key limes. Mix the lime zest and juice with sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and sea salt until uniform and set aside.12 key limes, 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Using stand mixer with whisk attachment fitted or hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff, fluffy peaks form. Fold the sweetened condensed milk mixture into the whipped cream until uniform and smooth.2 cups heavy cream
- Break up the cooled graham cracker crust and remove half of it from the dish. Spread out the remaining crust to cover most of the bottom of the dish then pour in the ice cream mixture and top it with the remaining graham cracker crust, gently pressing the crust crumbs into the ice cream mixture.
- Place ice cream in the freezer for eight hours or overnight. After four hours, the ice cream will be soft-serve consistency and after six hours the ice cream will be firm enough to scoop but eight hours is fully frozen.
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