paleo key lime pie

Spring has finally sprung around here and it feels like time to celebrate. This Paleo Key Lime Pie was inspired by the beautiful green hues that emerge as spring arrives. Far from the hearty stews, braised meats, roasted veggies and even rich dark chocolates featured in our kitchens and dotting the food blog landscape in winter, this key lime pie feels a world apart and just right for spring!

paleo key lime pie

The other inspiration for the pie came about after an email from a woman desperately hunting for a birthday dessert recipe for her friend. The trouble, you see, is her friend is Paleo AND vegan. And if that wasn’t challenge enough, the friend is also allergic to nuts. Impossible, you say? Well, at first I thought it was but keep reading and you will see the ingredients that make this dream come true.

paleo key lime pie

The day after I made the pie we had a scary experience with our youngest son. We thought Nathaniel had managed to dodge the allergy bullet. We found out the hard way that is not the case when he ingested a bit of walnut and ended up needing an Epi-Pen injection to stop his throat closing up. Thank God he is fine now and I will write more about what happened in a future post. But it seemed all the more fitting that we have a paleo dessert recipe that is safe for almost anyone.

Paleo Key Lime PIe

The Paleo Key Lime pie has no dairy, no nuts, no eggs, no soy, no grains and free of refined sugars. The taste is tart and refreshing and you will never detect the main, and surprising, ingredient – avocados.

Paleo Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

Vegan Pie Crust:

  • 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1/3 cup filtered water
  • 2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 3 tablespoons coconut crystals
  • 1/3 cup arrowroot powder
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
Paleo Key Lime Pie Filling:
  • 1 1/2 cups avocado (about 2 large, ripe avocados)
  • 1 cup coconut cream (from cans of full fat coconut milk or can of pure coconut cream)
  • 1/2 cup coconut nectar (coconut sap), raw honey (what I used) or vegan substitute
  • 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (regular or Key limes)
  • 2 tablespoons lime zestpaleo key lime pie
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Coconut cream topping:

  • 1 cup coconut cream, cold from the refrigeratorpaleo key lime pie
  • 2 tablespoons coconut nectar (sap) or honey or vegan substitute (maple syrup might work)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lime slices and lime zest for decorating

Instructions

How to make the vegan pie crust:

  1. Mix the flax seed meal and filtered water and set aside.
  2. In a food processor, grind the coconut flakes until fine. Add the remaining ingredients and process until a dough comes together.
  3. Remove dough from food processor and pack into a pie pan or a 9-inch springform pan (what I used)

How to make the paleo key lime pie filling:

  1. In a food processor or high-speed blender, process the avocado until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and continue processing until very smooth.
  2. Pour the key lime pie filling into the pie shell or springform pan. Spread until smooth on top.paleo key lime pie
  3. Refrigerate until set – a few hours. (or place in the freezer for a while to set a little faster.

paleo key lime pie How to make the coconut cream topping:

  1. Make sure your coconut cream is very cold (fresh from the refrigerator).
  2. Add the coconut cream, raw honey (or coconut nectar or other vegan sweetener) and the vanilla to a stand mixer and process slowly until combined.
  3. Continue processing a few more seconds on high speed until the coconut cream is like thick whipped cream.

Finishing the Paleo Key Lime Pie

Once your coconut cream topping is whipped, you can pour it onto the prepared key lime pie and spread. Top with additional lime zest and slices of fresh lime for a beautiful presentation. You can also refrigerate or freeze the pie and serve later. I froze the pie overnight then thawed and served it the following day. We then refrigerated the leftovers (they didn’t last long!).

paleo key lime pie slices overhead

The taste of this paleo key lime pie is so tangy and full of lime flavor you should not detect the avocado flavor. I love that the pie, though full of fat, is full of healthy fats and relatively low in sugar. The pie comes close to qualifying as a raw dessert. There are a few modifications that could be made to make a completely raw dessert but given the challenge I was facing already I figure I will leave that to another day.

paleo key lime pie

Enjoy the pie and PLEASE let me know what you think and if you try it tell us how it goes. Do you or your family or friends struggle to find paleo-friendly recipes that meet your allergy restrictions? Will this help you out? Let us know in the comments.

HAPPY SPRING! 

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Paleo Key Lime Pie: Dairy-free, Nut-free and Vegan

  • Author: Lea Valle
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1/3 cup filtered water
  • 2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 3 tablespoons coconut crystals
  • 1/3 cup arrowroot powder
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups avocado (about 2 large, ripe avocados)
  • 1 cup coconut cream (from cans of full fat coconut milk or can of pure coconut cream)
  • 1/2 cup coconut nectar (coconut sap), raw honey (what I used) or vegan substitute
  • 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (regular or Key limes)
  • 2 tablespoons lime zestpaleo key lime pie
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup coconut cream, cold from the refrigerator
  • 2 tablespoons coconut nectar (sap) or honey or vegan substitute (maple syrup might work)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a food processor or high-speed blender, process the avocado until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and continue processing until very smooth.
  2. Pour the key lime pie filling into the pie shell or springform pan. Spread until smooth on top.
  3. Refrigerate until set – a few hours. (or place in the freezer for a while to set a little faster.
  4. Make sure your coconut cream is very cold (fresh from the refrigerator).
  5. Add the coconut cream, raw honey (or coconut nectar or other vegan sweetener) and the vanilla to a stand mixer and process slowly until combined.
  6. Continue processing a few more seconds on high speed until the coconut cream is like thick whipped cream.

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