I was recently invited to partake in a virtual potluck for the 1 year anniversary of Ilene's blog The Colorful Kitchen. Ilene is a health coach and has many gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free recipes on her blog -- all things I dig, as you know :) , so it was easy to jump in and partake in the celebration.
I was pondering what kind of a dessert I would bring to a healthy vegan potluck and finally decided to share my recipe for a gluten-free vegan creamy key lime pie for the occasion, which happens to also be refined sugar-free and suited to a paleo diet.
Key lime pie used to be one of my most favorite desserts, and sadly since it's traditionally filled with a ton of sugar, dairy, eggs, and gluten, it was a dessert I thought I had to leave behind... When I recently made a refined sugar-free and vegan lemon curd, someone suggested in the comments using avocado in it as a substitute for silken tofu. Suddenly I had a beautiful vision of how I could make a healthful, nutritious, and delicious creamy key lime pie! Now that's a dessert I'd absolutely LOVE to eat up at a potluck (and on any other occasion, really ;) ).
PrintGluten-Free Vegan Creamy Key Lime Pie {Paleo}
A deliciously creamy whoelsome vegan alternative for key lime pie. I originally shared this recipe on Ilene's website for her virtual vegan potluck.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 7” pie, but can be easily doubled for a larger pie
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Crust:
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted or very soft
- ¼ cup maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
- ½ tbs pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
Filling Ingredients
- Zest of approximately 7-8 key limes
- Juice of 7-8 key limes (roughly ½ cup)
- 2 tbsp agar agar flakes
- ¾ cup raw cashews, pre-soaked for at least a few hours
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 small ripe avocado
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Cream Layer Ingredients
- 1 cans full fat coconut milk, chilled overnight
- 2-3 tablespoon maple syrup (or another liquid sweetener)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional (see notes in directions)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tbsp agar agar
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a tart pan and set aside.
2. Place all crust ingredients into a large mixing bowl, except for coconut flour and potato starch. Use an immersion blender to mix all the ingredients together until smooth (or do this step in a food processor). Add in remaining crust ingredients and mix the mixture by hand, kneading it lightly until a sticky soft dough forms. Transfer this dough into your oiled tart dish and press it down and spread it evenly throughout the pan (base and edges) using your hands until it’s shaped and molded to the tart pan shape. Use a fork to pierce some holes along the base of the crust to prevent bubbling while baking. Place in the oven and bake for 22 minutes. Remove from oven and cool a on a rack.
3. Place line juice and agar agar flakes into a small sauce pan and warm on medium-low heat until the agar agar flakes dissolve into the juice. You’ll need to stir the mixture regularly and watch that it doesn’t come to a boil. Just leave it long enough on the heat for the agar agar flakes to dissolve. Remove from heat.
4. Place all remaining filling ingredients into a blender (or use a bowl and an immersion blender — that’s what I used) and process until smooth. Add in the key lime juice and agar agar mixture and blend a few seconds longer to mix it in. Pour this mixture into the baked pie crust. Place the pie pan into the freezer to set for at least 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the whipped topping. Open canned coconut milk and scoop out only the solid part of the milk into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in vanilla and maple syrup and whip it up with a mixer until it’s light and fluffy. (Store remaining coconut water for later use or discard).
6. Warm up the water and the agar agar on medium heat in a small saucepan or pot. Keep whisking it until the agar is fully dissolved. Do not wait till the mixture boils! This is important, as it’ll clump up. Once the agar is just dissolved, pour the mixture into the whipped coconut cream and whip some more until everything is combined. NOTE: You can skip this step if you prefer, and just make a batch of fresh vegan whipped cream (step 5). The agar agar addition helps to make the whipped cream set more so that it slices nicely.
7. Scoop coconut cream mixture into the pie atop the key lime layer. Spread it around evenly. Place pie in the fridge and refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving to allow it to set (or place in the freezer for 1 hour to speed up the process). I found that the longer it was chilled, the better it tasted! Enjoy!
Keywords: Gluten-Free Vegan Creamy Key Lime Pie {Paleo}
Bettie says
What to substitute for Agar-agar?
Audrey says
Hi Bettie,
You can omit the agar agar and add another 1-2 tbsp coconut oil. That will mean though that the pie will have to be kept frozen (instead of refrigerated).
laurent says
Do we have to usde the freezer to set for 1 hour or does it also work by just putting it in the refrigerator? I have no freezer.. :)
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Laurent. A fridge would work fine -- just give it a bit more time, like an hour or two to fully set in the fridge. Enjoy!
Geke says
Is there a substitute for tapioca starch? Maybe corn starch?
Thanks!
★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Geke. Corn starch would work great as a substitute. Enjoy! :)
Brittany says
Any suggestions for those with allergies to all nuts? Is the purpose for the nuts to provide additiinal stabilization to the key lime layer? Thank you in advance!
Audrey says
Hi Brittany, finny enough I literally just published a nut-free cake recipe using tigernuts -- I think they could work quite well in this pie as a substitute for the cashews. Have a read here.
And yes, the cashews add stability, a good texture, and a subtle sweet natural flavor.
Another alternative you can try is using 2 extra avocados in place of the cashews. I have several raw avocado cakes on the blog here and I know they work quite well for fillings (I would add an extra tbsp of coconut oil to help with stability). So you could give that a go as well. Here's an example of an avocado cake you can have a look at for inspiration.
Taun P. says
I love key lime pie but the main ingredients you mentiined in your introduction are all things I need to remove from my diet. I can't wait to try this. I want to incorporate avocados into my diet while not giving it the main flavor and I think this recipe is just what I am looking for. Thanks for sharing.
Audrey says
That's great, Taun -- enjoy it :) I also have lots of other avocado-based desserts on the blog if you're interested, and lots of recipes that fit your dietary requirements (if you search on the recipes page you can select all the things you're looking for, like "grain-free", etc.).
Taun P. says
Thank you. I have browsed through quickly and I am really happy to know recipes that fit my dietary requirements are available. It's very difficult to change your diet if you don't know what to use in place of the items eliminated or how. Especially the average staples used in cooking.
Audrey says
Yes, I can totally relate. Hope you find some goodies to try out.
Redgeraniums says
Hello, love this! Any ideas for what to substitute for the agar agar (perhaps finely ground tapioca beads?) and the cashews, for allergies? My daughter is craving Key Lime pie :) Thanks for posting!
Audrey says
I think adding some tapioca would probably work in place of the agar agar. I wouldn't add anything to the cream layer though in place of the agar -- just add the whipped cream fresh right before serving and you'll be good to go. As for the cashews, macadamia nuts are the next closest substitute. I hope your daughter gets to try this out -- I'd love to hear how it turns out :)
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
Audrey, I can't believe this pie is vegan and gluten free. All of your desserts are inspirational, I love seeing all of your alternative desserts when you link up with us each week. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
Audrey says
Thanks so much, Laura! :) I'll be sure to stop by and link some more ;)
Shonalika says
Oooh, I've been looking for a healthy(er) key lime pie recipe for a while now - its my sister's favourite dessert, and I want to be able to make a really good dairy-free one:D I tried a VERY simple avocado recipe before - it was nice as a dessert in its own right (and if you like avocados, which my sister doesn't), but you wouldn't think "key lime pie" whilst eating it. Your recipe has quite a few few more steps and ingredients, and more chance of hiding the avocado, so I think I'll try it next :)
Audrey says
Hi Shonalika. I can definitely say that you can't taste the avocado in this recipe! I hope your sister gets to try it out sometime :)
Abbie @ Needs Salt says
This vegan key lime pie looks so delicious! I love all the nutritious and yummy ingredients going on here! So creative and beautiful.
Pinning!
Audrey says
Thanks so much, Abbie! :)
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
Oooh, your Key Lime Pie looks fabulous, Audrey! Thanks so much for sharing on Gluten-Free Wednesdays! :-) Sharing ...
xo,
Shirley
Audrey says
Thanks, Shirley! Glad to have others to share with ;)