If you’ve never sampled a slice of Atlantic Beach Pie, you don’t know what you’re missing. The crunchy, salty, sweet, saltine cracker crust is filled with a creamy lemon-lime custard and topped with fresh whipped cream. It’s guaranteed to be one of the best pies you’ve ever tasted!
Think of Atlantic Beach Pie as a cross between a key lime pie and a lemon meringue pie. For me, that’s a match made in heaven.
Now, I’m not saying that this pie is going to change your life, but it’s certainly going to make you smile.
Made with simple ingredients, Atlantic Beach pie is creamy, tart, and tangy. Its bright lemon-lime flavors make it the perfect dessert for most seafood dishes or just because you want a slice of something sinfully delicious and soul-satisfying.
If you love lemon desserts, make sure to try our Lemon Cream Pie and Classic Lemon Tart recipes.
Ingredients to make Atlantic Beach Pie
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make our Atlantic Beach Pie recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Can I change up the recipe?
Absolutely! Instead of using saltines for the crust, you can use Ritz crackers or club crackers.
You can use orange or grapefruit juice instead of lime or lemon juice. You can also combine all of the citrus juices or just your favorites to create a signature citrus pie.
For a change of pace, top it with meringue instead of whipped cream. You don’t have to stay with the original recipe, have fun using the flavors and ingredients you enjoy eating.
To contrast the flavors, sprinkle sea salt on top of the pie. I love flaky sea salt, but coarse sea salt will also work.
How to make Atlantic Beach Pie
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the crushed crackers, melted unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and whisked egg whites to a medium bowl.
- Mix until well combined.
- Place the mixture into a glass pie plate. Press the salty cracker crust firmly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate, then place the finished pie crust in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Place the pie plate on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes.
*Think of this as a saltine version of a graham cracker crust.
- Add the condensed milk and room-temperature egg yolks to a large bowl.
- Whisk the mixture until smooth.
- Add the fresh lemon juice and lime juice to the mixture.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Pour the lemon-lime mixture into the warm crust.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 15 – 18 minutes until the center is just set. Then, remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate the finished pie for at least 3 hours until well chilled.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or a large bowl with an electric mixer). Continue beating the cold cream until stiff peaks begin to form. The process should take 7-10 minutes.
- Spread the whipped cream topping over the chilled pie, leaving about a ½-inch border of custard showing around the crust.
*Place a baking sheet on the rack beneath the pie pan to catch any spills.
Garnish the top of the Atlantic Beach Pie with lemon zest and lime zest and let it chill for at least one hour before slicing.
I fell in love with Atlantic Beach Pie years ago on my first visit to the Outer Banks. And I know after one taste, it will be love at first bite.
Any leftover pie should be stored refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to two months.
Recipe FAQ’s
Atlantic Beach Pie was created by Chef Bill Smith, the Chef at Crook’s Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Although Bill admits he didn’t create the recipe, everyone agrees that he certainly improved the vintage recipe that had been a mainstay in the area.
The pie was named after one of the local beach towns, Atlantic Beach.
Place them in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. You can also pulse them in a food processor, but make sure not to over-pulse. The crumbs should be coarse and contain small bits of the cracker; you don’t want fine crumbs.
Yes, you can, but it lacks the fresh flavor of real lemons and limes and just won’t taste as good. Take the time to squeeze fresh juice; it’s well worth the effort.
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Atlantic Beach Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups saltine crackers Crushed (about 40 single crackers) Ritz crackers or club crackers can also be used.
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 large egg white lightly beaten
Filling
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice about 2 limes
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice about 1 ½ lemons
Topping
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- Lemon and lime zest for garnish
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the crushed crackers, melted butter, granulated sugar, and whisked egg white to a medium bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Place the mixture into a glass pie pan.
- Press the cracker mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
- Place the finished crust in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Place the pie plate on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes to cool.*Think of this as a saltine version of a graham cracker crust.
Filling
- Add the condensed milk and egg yolks to a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Add the lime juice and lemon juice to the mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Pour the lemon lime mixture into the warm crust.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 15 – 18 minutes until the center is just set.*Place a baking sheet on the rack beneath the pie pan to catch any spills.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 1 hour. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours until well chilled.
Topping
- Add the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or a large bowl with an electric mixer).
- Start at a low speed and gradually build up to a faster speed (this will give you better consistency for your whipped cream than over-beating it from the beginning.
- Continue beating the cold cream until stiff peaks begin to form (just a little past soft peaks). The process should take 7-10 minutes.*Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Spread the whipped cream topping over the chilled pie, leaving about a ½-inch border of custard showing around crust.
- Garnish the pie with lemon and lime zest.
- Refrigerate the pie for 1 hour before serving.* The pie needs to be completely chilled before slicing.
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