J. Kenji López-Alt’s Ten-Minute Lime Cracker Pie Recipe on Food52

Photo by James Ransom

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Author Notes

This icebox cake has the spirit of a Key lime pie and can be layered up in 10 minutes (if you’re not too precious about lining things neatly), then sent to the refrigerator to meld into a glorious tart-sweet-creamy-cakey pudding. But it has a salty secret: its structure comes from Ritz crackers.

A recipe this slapdash is a bit unusual coming from J. Kenji López-Alt, Serious Eats’ Food Lab columnist-wizard who famously published a 21-ingredient meatloaf recipe, including gelatin, Marmite, anchovies, and soy sauce. But smart kitchen hacks are smart kitchen hacks. This one comes by way of his wife, Adriana, who learned it from her aunt Gloria in Colombia, though there they use Ducales, a local buttery cracker, instead.

This is not the first time we’ve seen Ritz tiptoe into a dessert—the original Mock Apple Pie, a Depression-era invention, was crackers masquerading as apple slices when the fruit was unavailable or too expensive. But it does serve as a good excuse for a PSA: (almost) anything can be an icebox cake. You can use any dry, crunchy cookie-like thing, store-bought or homemade. Excellent contenders include crispy chocolate chip cookies like Tate’s, graham crackers, brown-sugary Biscoff cookies, and now (insert your favorite salty cracker here). Recipe adapted slightly from Genius Desserts (Ten Speed Press, September 2018). —Genius Recipes

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J. Kenji López-Alt’s Ten-Minute Lime Cracker Pie

Prep time 12 hours 10 minutes
Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

2 (14-ounce/396ml) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 cups (470g) heavy cream
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest, plus more for serving
¹/₂ cup (120g) freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 8 limes)
10 ounces (285g) Ritz crackers (85 crackers, from about 3 sleeves)

In This Recipe

Tools

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Directions

Whisk together the condensed milk and heavy cream in a large bowl until combined. Add the lime zest and juice and whisk until thickened, about 1 minute.
Spread 1 cup (240ml) of the condensed milk mixture on the bottom of a deep-dish pie plate, an 11-inch (28cm) oval casserole, or a similar large shallow dish. Top with a single layer of Ritz crackers. Repeat, alternating layers of filling and crackers, until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of filling. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight—the longer you wait, the more the crackers will soften and meld with the filling. Serve cold, zesting more fresh lime over the top, if you like.

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Review

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55 Reviews

Heather S. December 4, 2019

Absolutely amazing in its simplicity to make but, the wow factor in taste is where it's at. I watched the video three times just to make sure I wasn't missing something in the recipe. My household isnt that big on limes so I swapped them out with lemons. It tastes like summer to me. Next time I'm going to try blood oranges or maybe cara cara oranges. Thank you for this fabulous dessert recipe. It's going to get a permanent spot in my dessert cookbook

Leslie September 16, 2019

Ingenious and delicious, this recipe was a huge hit with friends. I gotta say though, I made one version with Ritz crackers as instructed and one with biscoff cookies instead, and everyone loved the biscoff even more. I think they're sturdier and retain more flavor once layered than the Ritz. Though obviously you get a different flavor (the idea of Ritz still appeals to me so much, they just didn't stay real ritzy when I did it). Just an idea if folks are interested in variation!

Danielle August 28, 2019

Any tips on a dairy free substitute for the condensed milk?

T August 28, 2019

Everyone loved it. We froze the leftovers and they were great. Hard to scoop, however. Thinking of trying a frozen version in a loaf pan next time so we can unmold it and slice it. Also will try with more lime zest and juice for extra tanginess. Not quite 'limey' enough for us the first time.

Tracey S. August 26, 2019

I just made this for a party. It was a huge hit. I made 1.5 times the recipe, in order to fit it into a 9x13x2" pyrex pan, and I used my stand mixer rather than a hand whisk. Aside from that, I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter. Everyone loved it. This is one of the easiest and best desserts around, especially since my oven vents into my kitchen (meaning I can't bear to turn it on during the warm months). To my surprise, it's quite easy to cut the dessert into uniform squares, which hold their shape. The balance of sweet and salty is perfect. I can imagine that this would be wonderful with other citrus fruits, though perhaps better with those on the sour/bitter end of the scale, since all the sugar comes from the condensed milk and I wouldn't want it any sweeter.

Fluffofstuff August 9, 2019

I’m only 5 hours in to this recipe and being 5 months pregnant I needed A preview taste. I had to use Persian limes because that’s all my store had I’m wondering if that’s affecting the acidity ? I was like where’s the lime ? I followed the recipe to a T, it was easy and beautiful. I’m hoping that overnight and the next two days the acid comes through more or if using Persian limes affected the taste ? Will try again though for sure, thank you for sharing !

Fluffofstuff August 23, 2019

Update:: I just made this again but used lemons and biscoff cookies.
Exact same proportions as the recipe calls for. It’s bangin. I think it set up in the fridge for about 7 hours. Go for the lemon too, why not? The biscoff cookies tastes like a perfectly balanced pie crust it’s just so good. Will try the lime again with bigger limes next time as well.

drbabs August 26, 2019

I just made it with lime juice and gluten free crackers for a party, and ended up using an extra 1/4 cup of the lime juice and tripling the zest in order to get the lime flavor. Everyone loved it.

CLK July 21, 2019

This is delicious. For some reason, I thought it might be good frozen. It is! It is like a frozen custard, also delicious. It scooped out easily like a no-churn ice cream.

melissa Y. June 17, 2019

It's the perfect summer party recipe: It really does take only ten minutes. And one bowl. And can be made the night before. The only bad thing: You will eat seconds. And thirds. And if you picnic long enough, fourths. It is crazy delicious exactly as written and will be a standard at all BBQs from today. (If you don't want leftovers, I'd halve the recipe for less than 10 adults. It makes a very large amount.)

Robyn J. May 3, 2019

I really loved this recipe! I made the recipe exactly as it was written and it was perfect! I think this will be great to bring to a summer potluck.

Sabine G. April 30, 2019

This was so easy. So good. I loved it on day 2 and 3 most although it was quite tasty just hours after making, too. I love the ease of this when you are in a pinch or just want something at the snap of a finger! And it’s fun to tell people they’re eating ritz crackers!

jcasare April 22, 2019

So easy! Loved by kids and grandparents alike. Did make it night before, which seems important. Tastes like key lime pie. This is a keeper. Not that it's not rich enough already... but might put whipped cream on top with some zest for looks.

Stacy December 31, 2018

Loved this fresh, easy dessert. Halved the recipe but kept lime juice and zest the same as others suggested and it was perfectly sweet and sour to us. Used Late July organic (Ritz-like) crackers which were very good.

Jenny A. December 30, 2018

The video is a hoot! And I learned from it too. Thank you, will try this recipe.

Kerry G. December 23, 2018

Yes, and yes.

judy November 25, 2018

HI: this is terrific. That being said, I did modify for my family needs/preferences, without too much difficulty. There are only two of us, so I easily halved the recipe. Used Graham crackers instead of Ritz and added a 1/2 tsp salt for teh saltiness of the omitted crackers. Used FULL amount of lime juice and zest as we like it to be puckery. Next time I will ad even more zest. But a GREAT and say substitute for key lime pie. Persian limes work great and are far juicer, in general than key limes. I only needed 3 to make my 1/2 cup, but use the full amount of juice yielded, about 2 tsp more--plus ALL the pulp and zest from these 3 limes. This will go in our rotation. Thank you again.

Virginia October 5, 2018

I rename this recipe Beach Pie. Because you can easily throw this together using a spatula, single bowl, a knife (all that was available in our rented beach house), and ingredients from the smallest corner store. And it is still delicious! I cut the recipe in half and then managed to whisk the remaining cream with a broken whisk to put on top (it really helped to cut the sweetness). The half recipe fit easily in a standard Pyrex pie pan. This recipe is a keeper.

Valerie September 16, 2018

Just made this for extended family. It was a hit, but so sweet people could only have very small amounts. Is there a way to reduce the amount of condensed milk but retain the texture of the mixture? Could it be made with just cream but add sugar? It’s so hard to control the sweetness when using condensed milk.

ninadora September 14, 2018

Outrageously good and easy. I need to make all the ice box cakes now. Everyone asked for the recipe. recipe

L E. September 13, 2018

So fast to make! Perfectly thick when chilled overnight. Used more lime juice, because we like things tart. Will definitely make again!

Emma September 11, 2018

Okay, this is good. And the taste reminds me of something but I can't think what. Unfortunately my husband is repelled by anything made with Ritz crackers due to being fed mock apple pie as a child. Luckily I made a half recipe!