Costco Key Lime Pie Review

Author’s Note: I was not paid to write this review. I bought this pie with my own money. As per always. I have noooo affiliation with Costco.

Righteous.

I live in coastal Florida, where key lime pie is as plentiful as love bugs (but much more welcome). Since an ocean of excellent key lime pies are already available (ahem, Publix), it took me 3 years to try Costco’s rendition. But, I’m glad I did.

I think the best feature of this pie is the strong lime flavor. It’s richer than I expected, and provides a palate-electrifying jolt of citrusy joy. But without too much sourness! While there is a delightful tangy undertone, the lush creaminess mitigates the tartness. I was pleased to see real concentrated key lime juice in the ingredients.

How sweet is it?

My second favorite feature is the not-too-sugary sweetness of the custard. Now, don’t get me wrong — this pie is sweet! But, I’ve had other key lime pies that were a slice of diabetes, with a garnish of dental cavities. This one is “just right.” It’s also “creamier” than others, with less wanton stickiness, and more buttery smoothness. Sweetened condensed milk is the first ingredient.

However, my first impression of the texture was that it was “too soft.” Almost like blobby pudding. Not quite liquid, but ya know. I think that was because my pie hadn’t finished firming up under refrigeration. Twelve hours later, I had a different opinion — the custard is soft, but structured, with enough density to create a great mouth-feel. Just firm enough to hold fork marks. Behold:

The Crust

The crust is fine. It’s a traditional graham-cracker crust. Full stop. I don’t detect any additional flavors here besides “graham cracker.” It has a homemade vibe. Mine was much too powdery and dry the first day, but it became more solid and moist by the next day. It doesn’t have a buttery taste, but it is thick and provides a warm flavor change under the custard.

Sad Garnish Woes

You already know what I’m going to say about the whipped “cream” garnish. It’s not cream. It’s frothy plastic sadness and despair. As per usual. Although, after the surprisingly fabulous mascarpone whipped topping on Costco’s Tiramisu Cheesecake, I had a glimmer of hope. Alas.

Serving the Pie

Since this pie improved within 24 hours, I’d recommend buying it the day before you serve it. Sounds weird, but ya know. I had a similar take on Costco’s Pumpkin Pie — I liked it better after it had sat for a few days.

How many servings will you get? I’d say 12-16. I used the swirled garnishes as a guide for cutting my slices. But there ended up being an odd 19 garnishes, and mine were inconsistently sized. It sort of worked? The slices are looong and thin. This is rich pie, and I definitely didn’t want a thicker slice.

It tastes best cold. So, refrigerate it until right before serving.

Price and Weight

The label weight on this pie is 4 pound, 4 ounces. If you’ve been reading my other reviews, you know I weigh stuff at home on my kitchen scale. Like the weird food troll that I am. Most of my Costco desserts have been significantly larger than the label weight. This one was not. In fact, it was barely 4.25 pounds. No extra. But no lies, either.

Anyway. This pie cost $18 at my local Costco. If you got 16 servings, each slice would cost $1.13.

This is a “Kirkland Signature” (Costco store-brand) product, and the item # is: 92008.

Ingredients in Costco Key Lime Pie

Here are the ingredients from the label. I’m not going to pretend like these are fantastic ingredients. They’re not fantastic. I was especially worried about the Sodium Metabisulfite (preservative) in the Key Lime Juice Concentrate, as I have a sensitivity to sulfites and avoid them. I’m happy to report, I did not experience my usual reaction, even after eating 4 slices over two days. So, hopefully, it’s a small amount? *chirps sadly*

Most of the nasties are in that whipped topping (the “frothy plastic sadness and despair”), so I guess you could scrape that off, if you wanted.