My no bake vegan Key Lime Pie recipe is the perfect dessert following a rich, unctuous dish like Lasagne. It is terribly simple and can be made well in advance of the meal, even the night before.
The Key Lime Pie – the official pie of Florida - first originated in, where else but the Florida Keys, where the Key Limes grow sporadically. True Key Limes have a more distinctively sour ‘limey’ taste than the ones we can buy in the supermarket.
The plantations that originally grew the limes were destroyed back in the 1920s so the limes (which resemble small lemons with little green patches) are only found in the back gardens of a lucky few these days and for a very brief length of time. The limes that were replaced in the plantations are, in fact Persian Limes and do not have that rare flavour – more lime than lime itself it is said. If you fancy trying your hand at planting your own, Jo at Plant Food at Home, has a great article on how to do so!
Condensed Milk was used in the pie filling instead of regular milk because of poor refrigeration back in the late 1800s, when the pie was first produced. The discovery of Condensed Milk must have been greeted with much enthusiasm in those days before heat-treated milk (and fridges) but for this particular recipe, inspired by the Minimalist Baker, I have replaced the dairy quotient with almonds and coconut milk. Their version uses Agave Syrup and Cashews, but I didn't have either so I improvised! Actually, using blanched almonds is a great idea instead of cashews, they are both cheaper, and seem to soften quicker when soaking. I would be interested to try the vegan Condensed Milk, and I have a can here to try, but I think that might require a little more experimentation first!
The filling is painfully easy, just five ingredients: lime juice (use fresh, not bought), almonds, coconut cream and oil and maple syrup. These are blended together, spooned into your pie-crust (or crusts, if you make minis) and frozen. Once chilled, to make it extra special, how about topping it with some whipped and sweetened coconut cream for a truly luxurious finish.
Because this dessert is frozen, it is a perfect make-ahead dessert, just make sure you remove it from the freezer in plenty of time (on a cool day, it will thaw in a flash on warm days!). Here's how to make my vegan No Bake Key Lime Pie.
Options:
- Try replacing the lime with lemon or orange juice instead.
- Try different cookie bases, Digestives are a classic cheesecake base (in the UK, look for supermarket own brand, these are usually vegan), Oreos give a delicious dark chocolate element, whilst Lotus Biscuits are sweet and spicy.
- Make one large tart, or lots of minis
- Use gluten-free biscuits instead of normal biscuits.
- Mix some crushed nuts into the crumb base for some added texture: pistachios would be great!
Tips:
- To make sure your crumbs are crushed thoroughly, place your biscuits in a ziplock bag, do the bag up nearly all the way, just leaving a tiny gap, and then use your rolling pin to crush them to a crumbly dust. If you leave your crumbs too chunky, it will be tricky to press them into the case(s).
- To extract the most juice from your limes, roll them quite firmly on your work surface until they feel softer. Rolling them breaks down the membranes inside and helps release all that limey goodness!
- Once frozen, you can cut the large tart into wedges and then pop these in a freezer bag. You can also do this with the minis.
- They will last in the freezer for about a month.
Equipment
- Muffin Pan (small size, not jumbo), lined, or a 9" loose-bottomed tart tin
- Blender or Smoothie Maker
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1¼ cups vegan Ginger Biscuits (gluten free can be used too) crushed into crumbs. This is about 14 Ginger Nuts (if you're in the UK)
- ⅓ cup melted vegan Butter
For the Key Lime Filling
- 1 cup blanched Almonds, soaked for about an hour in cold water and drained
- ¾ cup Coconut Milk (can be low fat, just make sure to shake it up well)
- ¼ cup melted Coconut Oil
- ½ cup Lime Juice this is about 4 limes in the UK. Do not use ready made juice as it just isn't tart enough
- 1 tablespoon Lime zest
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup or sweetener of your choice
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
Instructions
To make the Crust
- Note: This can be made in advance. In a large bowl mix together your ginger biscuit/cookie crumbs with the melted butter until fully coated and it all starts to clump together.
- Press this mixture firmly into your 9" Tart Tin or individual muffin cases and put in the freezer to chill whilst you make the filling.
To make the No Bake Vegan Key Lime Pie Filling
- In your blender or smoothie maker, blend together all of your ingredients until completely smooth.
- Pour into your chilled prepared pie crust or minis and return to the freezer for at least a couple more hours.
- To serve, remove from the freezer and let thaw for about half an hour. Grate over a little more lime zest for decoration.
Kirby Jeanne says
These look amazing Freya! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Elena says
So amazing and requires not a lot of ingredients! Really excited for this recipe!
Tanja says
Lovely !!!! CAN you bring some ?
Nive says
That texture looks OFF THE CHARTS ??
Roma says
Key lime pies are my favorite! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Jenny says
These look amazing!
Jahma says
These look amazing!! Like I’ve never needed anything more in my life, definitely giving this a go.
hanaa says
oooh love how quickly they come together! Can’t wait to try!
Angie says
Oooo I love this and the options you give too. Can’t wait to try this!
Ri says
Looks delish - can’t wait to try it.
Sarah says
These pies are divine! Love this recipe !
Deb says
I always wanted to try this pie but being lactose intolerant I never found the right recipe. This one sounds perfect and I will be making it soon!
Karen says
This is such a great recipe, I love them! Thanks Freya
Olga Veiga says
Amazing recipe!! Thanks Freya for all your vegan delicious options!
Jolayne says
Tried key lime pie for the first time last week in Florida. I liked it frozen best.
Bianca says
Omg love this recipe! Definitaly gonna give this a try ?
Jessica says
I'm ususally a chocolate girl, but these sound delicious! Thanks too for the tip about rolling the limes. I didn't know that!
Amy L Lyons says
Yum!!! I love key lime pie :)!
TheBrownSugarCafe says
Always here for any dessert recipe that’s no bake! Definitely making this!
Jeannie says
I need to try this! looks so delicious
Martha From MamaInShape.com says
This is such a quick recipe and looks amazing! Will try it this weekend.
Sharila says
These look yummy! I’ve been seeing key lime pie all over the place lately. I think that’s a sign for me to make it!
Rachael says
These look absolutely amazing! I need to make them ASAP!
Jessica says
Incredible. NEED to make these. Thank you!
Stephanie says
My mom's favorite dessert in the whole world is key lime pie. I'll bet she's never had one quite like this. With Mother's Day coming up, I'm thinking I may need to make these for her as a gift. I'm sure she'd love them!
Kristina Tipps says
The lemon and lime recipes are free flowing in my house all summer long..so I love this vegan option!
Madeline says
These are a great vegan alternative without losing any of the texture and creaminess I know and love about key lime pie. Great share!
Nora says
What a lovely recipe! Can't wait to try it out!
Addison says
These are the perfect summer dessert! So yummy!
Free Links says
This site has lots of extremely helpful stuff on it! Thanks for helping me.
Ekonomia Makro i Mikro says
I have been reading out some of your articles and i must say nice stuff. I will definitely bookmark your blog.
Michaela says
I love these mini key lime pies! Perfect portion controlled sweet treat!
Tim says
These look sooooooo good…definitely one to try
Lara says
I absolutely LOVE key lime pie! I can’t believe I finally found an amazing no-bake recipe which saves so much time! Thank you
Kayla DiMaggio says
Key lime is my favorite! These being vegan are even better! Adding this to our dessert menu this week!
Chef Dennis says
Yum! This is soooo mouthwatering!
Lara says
What a great summer recipe! Love that it tastes good and accommodates many dietary restrictions at the same time.
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/ says
Super! Less time to make something delicious! It will be this weekend's treat:)
Jeannie says
I need to try more no-baked treats!
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/ says
Because they were a success, I'll have to make them again! Actually, I had lots of help from a little baker:) and even managed to save enough ginger cookies for the actual pies! LOL
Kayla DiMaggio says
Yum! My husband was just asking me to make a key lime pie, this recipe looks great!
Toni says
This is so good!! Totally irresistible!
Anaiah says
I'm a sucker for vegan desserts and have been trying out new recipes every few days. These no bake vegan key lime pies turned out beautifully and were so delicious! I'm excited to try out some of your others.
Jeri says
These were so fun to make, and I love that they are a no-bake recipe; I certainly didn't want to turn on my oven in 34-degree heat! These were delicious. Thanks for the history on key limes; I had no idea!
Choclette says
Love a key lime pie and now I've seen your individual vegan ones, I'm keen to give them a try.