This Atlantic Beach Pie has a salty cracker crust and a creamy lemon-lime filling, topped with whipped cream. It’s fantastic!
A few years ago, NPR’s All Things Considered radio show did a feature on the Atlantic Beach Pie – a North Carolina pie with a lemon custard filling and whipped cream topping, nestled inside a unique saltine cracker crumb crust.
Back when I first read about the Atlantic Beach Pie, I was very intrigued by the sound of it, so I printed the recipe and filed it away in my recipe notebook to try at a later date. Luckily for all of us – that later date is today!
I can totally understand the huge popularity of this Atlantic Beach Pie! The filling is creamy, perfectly sweet, with a burst of lemony-citrus flavor. (You can use just lemon juice in the filling or a mix of lemon and lime juices. We used a mix of the two juices, and with lime juice added, the filling has a flavor very reminiscent of a key lime pie.)
But the real star of this Atlantic Beach Pie is the crust – a salty and sweet, uniquely-textured crumb crust made from saltine crackers, butter and a little bit of sugar. It’s fantastic and the perfect complement to the citrusy custard filling. It’s also unlike any other crumb crust I’ve tasted before! (And – I have to admit – I’m already thinking about other types of pie fillings that would go well with such a unique and delicious crust!)
The lemony pie filling is topped with whipped cream plus some coarse sea salt for garnish if you’d like. (I prefer this pie without the extra salt, while Jack loved the extra salty taste!)
This simple recipe was shared with NPR by Chef Bill Smith who serves Atlantic Beach Pie at his North Carolina restaurant, Crook’s Corner. Earlier versions of this pie recipe are believed to have had a meringue topping rather than the whipped cream topping used here – the custard is made with four egg yolks and it’s likely that a meringue was made from the leftover egg whites so they didn’t go to waste.
The Atlantic Beach Pie recipe below is shared with you as written by Chef Smith with some of our own notes added based on our experience making this amazing pie. Enjoy!
PrintAtlantic Beach Pie
This Atlantic Beach Pie has a salty cracker crust and a creamy lemon-lime filling, topped with whipped cream. It’s fantastic!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 32 mins
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 1/2 sleeves of saltine crackers (about 60 crackers)
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (we found that 7 tablespoons of butter was the perfect amount to hold the crumbs together)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
For the Filling:
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice or a mix of the two (we love a mix of the two juices best)
- Fresh whipped cream (about 1 cup heavy cream, whipped)
- Coarse sea salt, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Crush the crackers finely, but not to dust. You can use a food processor or your hands. (We used our hands to ensure that we didn’t over process the crackers.) Add the sugar, then knead in the butter until the crumbs hold together like dough. Press into an 8 inch pie pan. Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust colors a little.
- While the crust is cooling (it doesn’t need to be cold), beat the egg yolks into the milk, then beat in the citrus juice. It is important to completely combine these ingredients. Pour into the shell and bake for 16 minutes until the filling has set.
- Chill completely before serving. Serve with fresh whipped cream (we used a piping bag to top the pie with whipped cream but you can also simply spoon it on top) and (optional) a sprinkling of sea salt.
Absolutely and scrumptiously delicious as light heaven
Thanks Judy!
This pie is delicious. My whole family enjoyed this pie. It taste like Key lime pie which is a Florida favorite. Should I also say it is as easy as PIe also
Thank you Marta! It IS very similar to a key lime pie!
My crust sticks to pan very hard to cut. Can you tell me what I can to do to keep this from happening? Otherwise very good
Hi Nita – I’d suggest letting the pie sit at room temperature for a little while before cutting. That should allow the butter in the crust to soften a bit which should help with the sticking and make it a little easier to cut through (make sure your knife is sharp too!).
one of the most unique and delicious pies I have ever made and eaten – it is addictive you just need one more taste – family loved it …….
One thing I did was used the egg whites to make meringue instead of the whipped cream – making more for Thanksgiving Holidays – I can hardly wait it is delicious
Thanks for the suggestion Judie!
So glad the pie was a hit Judie!
So easy to make and amazing flavor.
Thanks Susan!
I saw this pie on Andrew Zimmern’s show, “Delicious Destinations” and hoped I could find a similar recipe online. To find the actual recipe is a gift-thank you!!!
We’re glad you found us Betty! Hope you love the pie!
The filling for this pie was very good; I mixed lemon and lime juice, and it was virtually identical in taste to the Key Lime pie that I frequently make.
However, I did not care for the crust.
I wasn’t crazy about the texture, and the taste wasn’t terrific. I prefer a graham cracker crust.
I appreciate your sharing.
Thanks for your feedback Mavis.
Easy to make with extraordinary flavor!
Thanks Susan!
I originally turned my nose up at the thought of a saltine cracker crust! I’d never heard of it before. My goodness, glad I tried it! Simply delicious.! The sweet-tart flavor the filling compliments the crust beautifully.
So glad you tried it Janice! (That salty-sweet, sweet-tart flavor combination really IS delicious!)
I love to learnhow to make the best shecrab soup
Hi Jerry – I’m afraid we don’t have a recipe for She Crab Soup. I did find this highly-rated recipe online… https://www.biscuitsandburlap.com/she-crab-soup/
Hope this helps!