Healthy Key Lime Pie
This healthy key lime pie is the perfect lightened-up summer treat! With a creamy tofu-based filling and toasted pumpkin seed crust. No bake and sweetened naturally with dates and maple syrup, this key lime pie recipe is also vegan, gluten-free, and super easy to make.
Ingredients Needed To Make Healthy Key Lime Pie
Dates: For sweetness and structure, dates are the perfect main ingredient for this healthy key lime pie’s crust. They’re also loaded with fiber and natural sugar. No need to soak them, just remove the pit and make sure to really pack them down in the measuring cup to ensure you end up with the correct amount.
Oats: Instead of flour or graham crackers, oats act as a more nutritious binder, keeping the crust in one piece.
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds: Adds a nice nuttiness to the crust. Make sure you buy hulled pumpkin seeds. If they are not already toasted, you can do this yourself by heating them in a dry skillet for about 5-10 minutes or until they’re fragrant and popping.
Coconut Oil: Helps the crust harden in the fridge and makes it easy to remove from the pie plate. Make sure to melt it completely before adding.
Extra Firm Tofu: If you’ve never made a dessert with tofu before, this may seem like an odd ingredient. It’s a great way to achieve silky smooth cheesecake and pie fillings without all the added fat. Plus, tofu is vegan and loaded with plant-based protein. Make sure you buy extra firm, not firm or silken. These will not set properly in the fridge.
Coconut Cream: For richness and creaminess. Coconut cream is the solid white part in a can of full-fat coconut milk. I find it is easiest to remove the cream when the can has been chilled for a couple of hours.
Maple Syrup: For a little sweetness.
Lime Juice + Zest: So while this may be a key lime pie recipe, key limes can be quite difficult to find. Don’t worry, regular limes will work just fine in this recipe. However, if you can get ahold of some key limes, feel free to use them!
How to Make Healthy Key Lime Pie
- Start by tossing the dates, oats, toasted pumpkin seeds, and melted coconut oil into the bowl of a high-powered food processor. Blend it up until soft and crumbly. You should be able to easily press it into a pie plate or springform pan. Set that aside while you make the filling.
- For the filling, it’s very important that the tofu is as dry as possible to ensure the pie sets in the fridge. Wrap the tofu block in a few sheets of paper towel, or ideally a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. It’s ok if it crumbles, we’re going to blend it up anyway. Add that to the bowl of a food processor. For this step, you can also use a high-speed blender if your food processor is not super powerful.
- Hopefully you’ve chilled a can of coconut milk for a couple of hours so the coconut cream is very easy to separate from the liquid underneath. Once you have the cream, we need to heat it back up so it can blend up nice and creamy. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove. Heat the cream until it’s liquidized and slightly warm.
- Now add the dried tofu, warm coconut cream, maple syrup, lime juice, and zest to the food processor (or blender) and blend until very smooth. Depending on the power of your food processor, this may take up to three minutes of continuous blending.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Chill the pie for at least 6 hours, until set. Overnight is ideal. This healthy key lime pie is best served right away once you take it out of the fridge. Top with whipped cream or vanilla yogurt, slice, and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Chilling the healthy key lime pie for at least 6 hours is very important. If possible, we recommend that you make it a day in advance so it has time to set completely in the fridge. Due to the nature of coconut cream, the filling will also become quite soft pretty quickly. To avoid any mess, make sure to serve this healthy key lime pie right away once you take it out of the fridge.
- While a high-powered food processor is ideal for this recipe, a high-speed blender can be used instead. For the crust, just make sure you scrape down the sides between every few seconds of blending.
- For a quick dairy-free whipped cream topping, add about 1 ½ cups of chilled coconut cream to a blender with a ½ cup of powdered sugar. Blend until smooth and then refrigerate for another hour before serving. Maple syrup can also be substituted but the cream will be slightly thinner.
More Healthy Treats to Try
Healthy Key Lime Pie
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Ingredients
The Crust
- 1 cup packed pitted dates
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup hulled pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- Pinch of salt
The Filling
- 1 block extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1 cup coconut cream, from a chilled can of full fat, unsweetened coconut milk – see notes
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons lime zest
- Whipped cream or vanilla yogurt for serving
Instructions
- To make the crust, add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and blend to combine. Press into a 9-inch springform pan or pie plate. Set aside and wipe out the bowl of the food processor.1 cup packed pitted dates, 1 cup rolled oats, ¼ cup hulled pumpkin seeds, 3 tablespoons coconut oil, Pinch of salt
- For the filling, start by wrapping the tofu block in a clean kitchen towel and squeezing out as much moisture as possible. It's ok if it crumbles apart.1 block extra-firm tofu
- Scrape the chilled coconut cream off the top of the can and heat in the microwave or over the stove until completely melted and slightly warm. Add to the food processor along with the dried tofu, maple syrup, lime juice, coconut oil, and lime zest. Blend until very smooth, about 3-4 minutes.1 cup coconut cream, ½ cup maple syrup, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 2 tablespoons lime zest
- Pour the filling over the crust and smooth with a spatula. Chill in the fridge for 6-8 hours, ideally overnight or until completely set. Serve chilled with whipped cream or vanilla yogurt and more lime zest if desired.Whipped cream or vanilla yogurt for serving
Notes
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Sounds great! What size should the springform pan be?
This is best made in a 9-inch springform pan!
Enjoyed this for dessert last night and it did not disappoint! Was exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth and is the perfect summertime treat!
This pie is seriously amazing! Love that it’s so easy to make and healthy too!
My daughter and I love key lime pie, so glad I found this healthier one! I’m putting the ingredients on the list now! I can’t wait to make this. So excited and this is also perfect for my lactose intolerant daughter!
I have everything I need for this dish, can’t wait to make it this weekend!
This key lime pie is absolutely divine! Will definitely make again!