Vegan Key Lime pie is one of the best summer desserts! Light and refreshing, this no-bake, agave-sweetened recipe is an easy and healthy way to create vegan pie bliss!
Related recipe: Vegan Fresh Peach Pie
What you need to make vegan Key Lime Pie:
- Limes of course! Lots of them - and lemons too, for a mix of fresh lemon and lime juice.
- Agar Powder - an amazing vegan substitute for gelatin, agar powder is awesome. Don't confuse with agar flakes!
- Coconut Cream - Canned coconut cream or canned coconut milk make this pie rich and creamy.
- Cashews - these combine with coconut cream for amazing richness
- Spinach leaves - a couple of spinach leaves give this pie a lovely green color - or you can sub with a couple of drops of green food dye.
- Lemon Extract - you can leave this out if you don't have it, but I definitely recommend it! Really rounds out the flavor.
Related recipe: No-Bake Blueberry Pie
How to Make Vegan Key Lime Pie:
Start by juicing your limes and lemons! You need ½ cup of lime juice, and ½ cup of lemon juice.
Add cashews, lime juice, lemon juice, canned coconut cream (you can also use full fat canned coconut milk), spinach leaves, agave, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and salt to blender. Blend until smooth and frothy.
In a small saucepan whisk ⅓ cup cold water and 4 teaspoons of Agar powder.
Cook over medium heat while whisking constantly for several minutes until agar mixture thickens and turns clear.
It will be very thick. Use a spatula to scrape activated agar into blender, adding to the rest of the pie filling. Blend everything together until smooth and frothy.
Pour the key lime pie filling into a large store-bought 9-inch graham cracker crust and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours! (The pie will firm up more if left overnight.)
Garnish with lime zest, vegan whipped cream, lime slices and serve!
Related recipe: Vegan Strawberry Shortcakes
How long will Vegan Key Lime Pie keep?
You can keep this vegan key lime pie in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. I haven't tried freezing it yet, so let me know in the comments if you try that and how it goes!
The pie will tend to soften a bit at room temperature so keep it chilled to keep it sliceable.
Related recipe: Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
More about Agar Powder:
Maybe you've used Agar a bunch or maybe it's your first time. It's a vegan substitute for gelatin and Agar powder can be used to replace gelatin in a 1:1 ratio for most recipes. I buy it here on Amazon.
Agar flakes work similarly to Agar powder but aren't as concentrated. In case that's what you've got on hand here's the replacement ratio: 1 teaspoon of powdered agar = 1 tablespoon agar flakes.
If you're interested in learning more about Agar, check out this article by One Green Planet.
More vegan deserts you HAVE to try!
- Amazing Vegan Cheesecake
- Best Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
If you’ve tried this Vegan Key Lime Pie or any other recipe on my blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food!!!
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Vegan Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
Into the blender:
- ½ cup cashews, raw
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup agave
- 1 14 oz. canned coconut cream, or full-fat Coconut Milk
- ½ cup lime juice
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 3-4 spinach leaves, or 2-3 drops green food coloring
In the saucepan:
- ⅓ cup water
- 4 teaspoon agar powder
Crust
- 1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
Instructions
- Add cashews, lime juice, canned coconut cream (you can also use full fat canned coconut milk), spinach leaves, agave, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and salt to blender. Blend until smooth.
- In a small saucepan whisk ⅓ cup cold water and 4 teaspoons of Agar powder. Cook over medium heat while whisking constantly for several minutes until agar mixture thickens and turns clear. It will be VERY thick.
- Use a spatula to scrape activated agar into blender, adding to the rest of the pie filling ingredients. Blend everything together until smooth and frothy.
- Pour the key lime pie filling into a large prepared crust and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours!
- Garnish with lime zest, vegan whipped cream, lime slices and serve!
Jonathan
Great flavor, but the agar amount is far too much. The texture was too rigid.
Kate
Thanks for the feedback! I hope you try it again with less agar next time. Textures are definitely a personal preference!
Deb
Do you need to soak the cashews?
Kate
I actually didn't soak the cashews for this recipe, but you can certainly do that if you want to make sure you have softer, more blendable cashews and to remove any lingering cashew flavor.
Jonathan
I would actually recommend to follow the recipe, but refrigerate the filling and then reblend it after it has time in the fridge before you add it to the crust
Ashley
what pie crust was used for this?
Kate
A store-bought graham cracker crust!
vanessam20p
i froze this pie and when thawed for 15 minutes it is ready to cut. i had some extra key lime so i poured it into a glass and froze it. it was key lime icecream. im telling you it was sooo good. i dont have ingredients for the crust so im making this recipe again just to have key lime icecream!
Rebecca
Thanks so much for the comment! Love the idea of key lime ice cream! Yum!
Ashley
Can I use tapioca or corn starch instead of agar?
Rebecca
Corn starch would probably work with the right ratio, although it would be a different texture. If you can get it, Agar powder is the best for this!
Mary Ann
Great flavor, but perhaps too tart for some. I added 2 T of organic sugar. Also the agar mixture thickened immediately, and added a slightly gritty texture. The texture felt like coconut pieces, but I knew it was the agar. Does the agar always do that? Still an awesome treat for those avoiding dairy or going vegan. Thanks!!
Rebecca
Yes it can be tart! Glad you found a happy medium with a little more sugar! The agar mixture thickens on the stove but then it should be blended with everything else in the blender before adding to the pie crust and chilling in the refrigerator. Perhaps it didn't get blended quite well enough? It should be perfectly smooth... Hope that helps!
Tony Lombardo
Which is the correct amount of agar? You list both 4 tsps of agar AND/OR 1 1/2 tsp. Which is it? Thanks.
Rebecca
Thanks for catching that! I actually had 4 tsps or 1 1/2 Tablespoons but that is still very confusing and not exactly the same amount! 4 teaspoons is the correct amount! Happy cooking!