A creamy, coconut and lime-scented pie piled high with fresh peaches and whipped cream. Served in a salty-sweet cracker crumb crust, this is the perfect pie for summertime. My Beachy Peach Pie is an ode to the beloved Atlantic Beach Pie from Bill Smith, which I have made too many times to count. This is a favorite tropical riff, that I think all y’all with love.

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Beachy Peach Pie: Tips and Tricks

Pre-Baked Crust: Or, blind baked. The crust needs to bake for a spell before you add the filling in – and the bake time is longer than you might feel it needs to be. But trust the directions here – 20 minute is really what this cracker crumb crust needs to get nice and toasty, and all firmed up. This will enable the crust to really support the filling and not go all soggy on you.
You can top this pie with whatever ripe, juicy, seasonal fruit strikes your fancy. I think peaches are great, so that’s what I’ve leaned all the way into here. But! You also might notice the big, plump blackberries I’ve added here, as they’re delish. As would be raspberries. Or, you could scrap the peaches altogether and use a bunch of strawberries.
The pie will keep pretty well in the fridge for a few days, if covered. But the whipped cream will not. So, if you don’t plan to eat the whole thing in one sitting like I do, then you should wait to top the pie with whipped cream until just before serving. You can also serve the cream on the side. Whipped cream separates after a while, and isn’t particularly shelf stable. So, it should be served right after it’s made.

What Makes it “Beachy”

Okay, so this is my own take on the beloved, award-winning (I think), Atlantic Beach Pie from North Carolina’s Bill Smith. That pie is lemony and is so wonderfully simple in its construction. It has a saltine cracker crust (love this big time) and a filling made from sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and citrus juices. Frosted with a heap of freshly whipped cream, the pie is a total triumph what can I say?

I get why people go crazy over the thing.

So, I’ve given the basic construction a bit of a tropical spin, using sweet, fresh peaches (because I live in South Carolina), lime, and coconut flavors. I add a splash of vanilla, too, and since the filling is so sweet, I also dial back the amount of sugar in the crust. I love a sweet-salty combo (as exemplified here, here, and here), and this pie is just the absolute best .

Beachy Peach Pie: What You’ll Need

INGREDIENTS

1 sleeve of saltine crackers (about 37 to 40 crackers)

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1.5 tablespoons sugar

1 egg white

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14-ounce)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cream of coconut (usually in the cocktail mixers section)

4 egg yolks

⅓ cup lime juice (save the zest for topping, if you like)

2 ripe peaches, thinly sliced

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

Beachy Peaches and Cream Pie: How to Make It

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the saltines, melted butter, sugar, and egg white. Pulse/mix until well combined and press into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate. Bake for 20 minutes, until set and nicely golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla, cream of coconut, egg yolks, and lime juice. Pour into the pre-baked pie crust and bake until set, about 16 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before topping.

To finish the pie, pile (or politely and delicately arrange) the sliced peaches on top of the filling. Add the heavy cream to a mixing bowl and and beat on high with a mixer or a whisk until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Pile or pipe this cream on top of the pie, and serve with a sprinkling of lime zest, if you like. Or, if you plan to refrigerate the pie for a while before serving, just make the whipped cream upon serving, as it won’t keep so well.

This will keep in the fridge for about 3 or 4 days (without the cream). To serve, take the pie out of the fridge and let it get closer to room temperature. Make fresh whipped cream for serving.