This creamy, tart and sweet Paleo Key Lime Pie has the perfect balance of flavors with a crisp and nutty coconut pecan crust. A great healthy yet decadent tasting dessert for spring and summer! Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, Paleo.
I think basically everything about this Paleo key lime pie tested my sanity last week when I decided to dive in head first and experiment. From deciding what type of crust to make, to the filling, to whether the darn pie would actually use key limes, or key lime juice, or regular limes. So much to consider.
Do I attempt to make it raw and vegan or do a custard and use eggs? Do I just do a lime version of my lemon bars and call it a day? Do I put whipped cream on it? Honey or maple? How much zest? And then back around to the beginning where I freak out about the crust. I was particularly indecisive last Friday and there was so much drama surrounding this pie that I’m sort of surprised we came out alive on the other end. With, luckily, a really flipping awesome Paleo key lime pie to make again and again!
What wound up happening with this recipe was a whole lot of compromising! With me, myself, and the pie. To start, this pie wanted to be more than just a spinoff of its older-by-a-week sibling (the lemon bars) so the crust had to be something totally different.
I went with a coconut pecan crust that turned out to be the star of the pie, if you ask Diana and Adam. I don’t blame them because you could just eat the crust and feel like it was a good dessert. I happen to love key lime pie though, so for me, the star of this pie was the filling which I would’ve happily eaten all day long with a spoon. And yes, I went with a creamy custard filling, I guess because I’m just an egg lover at heart 🙂
As for the lime versus key lime debate, I compromised there, too. I used half bottled key lime juice and half regular fresh squeezed lime juice. I needed limes anyway for the zest, and I didn’t want to go ALL bottled juice. I do believe you can use whatever lime juice suits your fancy and still want to bury your face in this pie. Unless you are a major foodie who needs key lime to be legit Florida key lime, but then I’m not sure you’d be reading this if you fit that profile.
As for the coconut whipped cream layer, I just had to, mainly because I wanted it to be purrrrdy and custard pies tend to crack a bit on top, or at least mine do, probably because I’m keeping the baking simple. I used to bake cheesecakes in water baths but those times are 10 years in the past. The coconut whipped cream also just happens to taste amazing and balance out the tartness of the lime, so there’s that, and THAT is a very sweet, creamy, good dairy free thing.
But now, the recipe! Everything you’ve always wanted in a healthy key lime pie is right here at your fingertips. I’ve already done the freaking out for you, so you have nothing to worry about – just make the pie and try to convince everyone it’s actually healthy!
Paleo Key Lime Pie with Coconut Pecan Crust
Paleo Key Lime Pie with Coconut Pecan Crust
Ingredients
For the Crust
- Coconut oil for greasing
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
- 1 cup dates softened (microwave in a bit of water to soften)
- 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tsp raw honey
For the Filling
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp key lime or fresh lime juice I used a mix of both, just under 1/2 cup total
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp raw honey*
- 1/2 cup or one small can organic coconut cream (you can also use just the solid part of a can of full fat coconut milk)
- 1 tbsp finely grated lime zest
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
For the Coconut Whipped Cream
- 1 can organic coconut milk - separated - thick part only** OR 1 small can coconut cream
- 1 tbsp grade b pure maple syrup OR raw honey
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the Crust
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Grease a 9.5 inch pie dish with coconut oil
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In a food processor, combine all crust ingredients and process on high about a minute, until you get a thick pasty mixture. Press this mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish and set aside while you prepare the filling.
Prepare the Filling
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, (or in the bowl of a mixer) whisk or blend together the eggs and yolk with the honey*. Then whisk in the coconut cream, lime juice and zest, and tapioca and mix well until very smooth.
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Pour the filling into the crust (I made a 9.5 pie so if yours is smaller, you may not use all the filling) and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, cover the top of the pie loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from browning too much. Continue to bake another 10-15 minutes until just set (the center will still jiggle a bit) for a total of 25-30 minutes.
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Remove from oven and cool completely at room temp, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before topping with whipped cream.
For the Coconut Whipped Cream
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Beat or whisk the coconut cream until light and creamy (you can use an electric mixer or do it by hand) and lumps are removed, then whisk in the sweetener (honey or maple) and vanilla.
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Top the chilled pie with the whipped cream and garnish with extra lime zest if desired. Cut into pieces and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Add an extra 2 tsp - 1tbsp honey if you prefer a sweeter pie filling, mine was on the tart side
**Refrigerate canned full fat milk coconut to get it to separate into water and cream, then discard the water and use only the cream. Alternatively, you can purchase canned coconut cream.
Does making decisions torture you sometimes?
Are you making any Mother’s Day treats this weekend?
Favorite spring/summer themed pie? (I think mine is cherry. Better work on that.)
I love this and will try it soon. We saw the last of key limes at the grocery store 2 weeks ago. I buy them, zest, and squeeze and store in the freezer. I tried to invent this recipe for a birthday party, with no eggs, and it was a fail! Brown and rubbery. I’m glad you figured it out!
I wonder if you could do it with gelatin minus the eggs, I’m curious! I do like my eggs to bake with though. Hope you try 🙂
Has anyone made this with egg replacement and been successful? I can have egg whites, just not the yolks.
How many calories does it have?
Unfortunately I don’t calculate the nutrition facts for my recipes so don’t have the answer. However you might be able to use an online calorie counter to figure it out based on the ingredients divided by servings.
How far in advance can I make the frosting if the pie is stored in the fridge until eaten?
Thanks!
I would make the whipped topping a day ahead, stored in the fridge overnight it thickens up nicely and will be perfect to spread on prior to serving 🙂
Perfect, thank you!
This pie is absolutely delicious!!!! I will admit I just used a store bought graham cracker crust I had on hand though. Next time I will try the one in this recipe!! Thank you =)
ooh those crusts are yummy though, I bet that would be delicious!
hey rebecca! i think you’ll find the online craft community quite encouraging! sure, there are plenty of brick walls – i run into them too!! – but there are plenty of people willing to help you improve your business and marketing, too!
Hi,
Can you confirm that, for the topping, it’s ude 1/2 can, or do you mean cup of the coconut cream? 2/2 can doesn’t seem like enough.
Thankz
Sorry, spell check…
Can you confirm that, for the topping, it’s use 1/2 can, or do you mean cup of the coconut cream? 1/2 can doesn’t seem like enough.
Thankz
Thanks for catching that! If you’re using the small can of coconut cream only (I think it’s a 5.4 oz can), you would use the whole can which winds up being about 1/2 cup when measured, possibly a bit more. If you’re using a larger can of coconut milk (the 14oz) you would just use the hard cream section of the milk after it separates, when chilled and discard the water in the can. Hope this makes sense, enjoy!
Great, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! My daughter asked me to make this for her birthday tomorrow, and I’m going to make it later today.
Wow! My husband has always loved key lime pie, but he’s become lactose intolerant. I made this for his birthday, and it was delicious! We’re not strictly paleo, so I subd the crust with a graham cracker crust and used corn starch instead of tapioca flour. I did need to bake it 20 minutes longer than planned, but it set up perfectly. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
I’m sure a graham crust was so yummy with this! Glad you liked it!
I made this pie on the weekend (I subbed pecans for macadamias and maple syrup for honey) but it was absolutely divine! I think it may be the best dessert I have ever made. I had so many compliments on it! It is so tart and limey and just the perfect amount of sweetness. The texture was so professional too. I didn’t realise making a curd pie could be so simple. Will become one of my staples from now on 🙂
That’s incredible! Thrilled to hear it 🙂
Hi Michele- I’m planning to try this as my wedding dessert so I’m testing it out soon. I was wondering if I could just use a different crust recipe and cook it the same as in the recipe? I’m using a cassava flour crust and don’t want to ruin the filling by baking it with a different crust. Do you think the recipe and timing would be similar?
Thanks!
Going to try it out and see myself but wanted to run it by you first!
I think if your crust recipe specifies how long to bake prior to adding filling then you should be fine. I wouldn’t put the filling in any crust that was fully baked since it would likely burn being in the oven that long. I’ve had others try this recipe with a variety of crusts and they’ve loved it though, so you should be good!
Just the response I was hoping for- thanks!!
Hi I just made your recipe for your key lime pie and it’s delicious! But unfortunately it hasn’t set and I think I figured out why. When I used my eggs, I add the two eggs with an egg white instead of the egg yolk.. is there any way I could still save my pie? I’m so bummed and was really looking forward to enjoying it. Thanks for your response in advance and I look forward to any tip you have for me in my situation.
Hmm, I haven’t made that error so not sure what will happen, however I’d say if you baked it the full time and it still hasn’t set after being chilled overnight, it might not fully set up. In that case it would still be edible (since you baked the full time and the eggs are cooked) just not in “pie” form. Hope this helps!