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 ;) ).
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Gluten-Free Vegan Creamy Key Lime Pie {Paleo}
Prep Time: 20 mins- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 7” pie, but can be easily doubled for a larger pie
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Pin RecipeIngredients
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 tbsp maple syrup (or another liquid sweetener)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional (see notes in directions)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp agar agar
Instructions
- I’ve decided to share the ingredients I used with you here to spare you the curiosity ;) . To see the full recipe and directions for making this pie, head on over to Ilene’s virtual potluck.
Happy baking! And congrats Ilene on your blog’s 1st birthday. That’s super exciting! :)
xo Audrey
What to substitute for Agar-agar?
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).
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.. :)
★★★★★
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!
Is there a substitute for tapioca starch? Maybe corn starch?
Thanks!
★★★★
Hi Geke. Corn starch would work great as a substitute. Enjoy! :)
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!
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.
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.
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.).
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.
Yes, I can totally relate. Hope you find some goodies to try out.
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!
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 :)
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!!
Thanks so much, Laura! :) I’ll be sure to stop by and link some more ;)
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 :)
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 :)
This vegan key lime pie looks so delicious! I love all the nutritious and yummy ingredients going on here! So creative and beautiful.
Pinning!
Thanks so much, Abbie! :)
Oooh, your Key Lime Pie looks fabulous, Audrey! Thanks so much for sharing on Gluten-Free Wednesdays! :-) Sharing …
xo,
Shirley
Thanks, Shirley! Glad to have others to share with ;)