Atlantic Beach Pie has a saltine cracker crust, a tart lemon custard filling, and whipped cream on top. This amazing summer pie is frequently served at seafood restaurants in Atlantic Beach, NC. It’s a simple pie with contrasting flavors that’s perfect for warm weather.
The best thing about this pie is the Saltine cracker crust. It is so unique and gives the pie a distinctive flavor. This pie has the perfect balance between the sweetness of the sweetened condensed milk and the tartness of the lemon. It’s a magical combination.
Atlantic Beach Pie got National recognition thanks to Chef Bill Smith, the well known chef of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, NC. This recipe is a slight adaptation of his recipe.
Atlantic Beach Pie is super easy to make. Great for lazy summer days. The filling only has 3 ingredients: egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and fresh lemon juice. The original Atlantic Beach Pies most likely had a meringue topping, but meringues have fallen out of favor, and it’s hard to beat a whipped cream topping. Most likely, since the pie filling uses only egg yolks, the egg whites were used for a meringue so they wouldn’t be wasted. I just refrigerate them and use them for an omelet the next morning.
Tips for making Atlantic Beach Pie:
It’s easiest to crush the Saltines in a food processor, but you can do it by hand if you don’t have a food processor. Place them in a large ziptop bag and crush them with a rolling pin or a heavy pan.
The pie needs to be completely chilled before slicing.
More Lemon Desserts:
Atlantic Beach Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 60 Saltine crackers
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 12 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 drops yellow food coloring, optional
Topping
- 2 cups Cool Whip or freshly whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a deep dish 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
- Place Saltine crackers in a food processor with sugar and pulse 12-15 times to coarsely grind.
- Add melted butter and pulse about 10 more times.
- Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie pan.
- Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, and lemon juice. Pour into pie crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Let cool 1 hour and then refrigerate overnight.
- Top with cool whip or whipped cream before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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We doubled the lemon juice…my husband
LOVED it!