Limes
Peak season in the Midwest · up 55% this week
This fruit is at its local-harvest peak from May through October, and is sold in stores year-round. This week it's peak season in the Midwest — buying it in season usually means better quality and, as the regional prices below show, a lower price.
Per a typical 67g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Limes, raw).
- 1 SouthcentralCheapest $0.24/ea
- 2 Southeast $0.27/ea
- 3 Southwest $0.35/ea
- 4 Northeast $0.48/ea
- 5 Northwest $0.69/ea
- 6 Midwest $0.79/ea
Buying limes in the Southcentral saves about 70% versus the Midwest this week.
- How to pick a good one
- Deep green, glossy, thin-skinned, and heavy for their size. A lime turning yellow is not spoiled — it is fully ripe and often juicier, though the flavour is softer. Avoid hard, dull, or shrivelled limes, which are nearly dry.
- What a good price looks like
- Limes swing more than lemons: 25 cents each in a good season, up to a dollar when Mexican supply tightens, and there have been years when they went far higher. Under 40 cents each is a good price. When they spike, bottled lime juice is a reasonable stand-in for cooked applications, though not for a drink.
- What you actually get
- A medium lime gives about 2 tablespoons of juice — roughly a third less than a lemon — and 2 teaspoons of zest. Eight limes make about a cup of juice, which is the figure that catches people out when making a batch of anything. A pound is six to eight limes.
- How to store it
- Refrigerate in a bag for two to four weeks. On the counter they dry out and lose juice within about a week.
- In the kitchen
- Limes give up less juice than lemons and fight harder for it, so rolling and room temperature matter more here. A lime that feels heavy and has slightly thin, glossy skin will juice far better than a light one with thick pebbly skin. The zest is more aromatic than lemon zest and burns more easily, so add it off the heat.
- Getting the most out of it
- Limes yield less juice than lemons for the same size, so budget roughly twice as many. Like lemons, rolling them first helps. When limes spike in price, bottled lime juice is an acceptable substitute for cooking but not for a drink where it is the main flavour.
- Peanut Lime DressingRecipe by Budget Bytes~$0.50 / serving 2 in-season
- Cilantro PestoRecipe by Pinch of Yum~$0.53 / serving 3 in-season
- Coconut mango bars with lime glazeRecipe by RecipeTin Eats~$0.53 / serving 2 in-season
- My Sister's Citrus SconesRecipe by Pinch of Yum~$0.55 / serving 2 in-season
- Cilantro Lime Brown RiceRecipe by Cookie + Kate~$0.55 / serving 2 in-season
- Avocado Peach SalsaRecipe by Cookie + Kate~$0.57 / serving 6 in-season
See all 1347 recipes with limes →Filter by diet, time, budget, and macros.
Price from the USDA National Retail Report. Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
Limes — FAQ
When can you buy limes in season?
This fruit is at its local-harvest peak from May through October, and is sold in stores year-round. This week the Midwest has limes marked peak season.
What's the price of limes right now?
As of the week of September 4, 2026, the price of limes in the Midwest is $0.79/ea, up 55% from last week. It's cheapest in the Southcentral at $0.24/ea.
How many calories and how much protein are in limes?
A typical 67g serving of limes has about 20 calories, 0.5g protein, 7g carbohydrates, 0.1g fat, and 1.9g fiber, per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I make with limes?
SeasonSort indexes 1347 recipes that use limes, each with its cost per serving computed from this week's prices — starting from about $0.01 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.