Best Ever Vegan Key Lime Pie in a Macadamia Graham Crust | Easy Plant-Based Summer Dessert Recipe
Friends, you are going to love this vegan key lime pie recipe! Trust me, I’m a Key West native. They call us conchs. Anyway, from one conch to you- enjoy!
The first thing that makes this the best ever vegan key lime pie is the macadamia graham cracker crust. Made with roasted salty macadamia nuts for a beautifully nutty flavor that pairs so well with the creamy filling.
After a few tries (I have to make sure the recipes are just perfect before sharing!) I landed on a coconut milk base with a corn starch thickener. The beauty of this combo is it’s creamy, thick, tastes just like the real thing, and bonus- they are pantry ingredients!
Feel free to swap key lime juice for regular lime juice. Bottle lime juice is just fine if you don’t feel like juicing a dozen limes for this recipe! The tablespoon of lemon juice adds another pop of citrus and will make regular lime juice taste like the key lime variety.
Another thing that makes this pie so spectacular is Nature’s Charm sweetened condensed coconut milk! I’ve been using it for years in recipes like vegan smurf ice cream sandwiches and vegan tres leches cake. It makes the key lime pie filling so decadent and delicious, just like the pie I grew up on!
Nature’s Charm makes the absolute best coconut whipping cream, which I used to top the pie. You literally just chill the can overnight, dump it all into a bowl, and whip it with a hand mixer for three minutes. It couldn’t be easier! You can find both the condensed coconut milk and the coconut whipping cream at most healthy grocery stores in the baking aisle. My favorite brand of coconut milk is Chef’s Choice. It’s the creamiest!
You’re going to love this pie! It’s:
Sweet & Salty
Easy to make
Bright & citrusy
Creamy & thick
Damn Irresistible!
Let me know if you make it by posting a photo to Instagram with the tags #carrotsandflowers and #naturescharm! We can’t wait to see your versions!
If you like this recipe, pin the photo below!
- Crust
- 9 full size honey-free graham crackers
- ½ cup (63 g) roasted, salted macadamia nuts
- ½ cup (120 ml) melted vegan butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Filling
- 1 14 oz (425 g) can Chef'd Choice full-fat coconut milk
- 1 can Nature’s Charm sweetened condensed coconut milk
- ½ cup (120 ml) key lime juice
- 2 tbsp (12 g) lime zest, plus more to garnish
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
- 5 tbsp (37 g) corn starch
- 1 can Nature’s Charm coconut whipped cream
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Process the graham crackers and sugar to a fine crumb. Add the nuts. Pulse several times until the nut pieces have achieved a coarse crumb texture. Add the melted butter and pulse until just incorporated, stopping to scrape down the sides if needed.
- Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased 9” pie pan. Use your hands to shape the mixture into a crust. I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to get it really even and tightly packed. Shape the sides with your fingers, being sure to compact the crumbs together tightly so the crust holds its shape. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Put a sauce pan on medium heat. Add the coconut milk, condensed milk, lime juice, lemon juice and zest. Whisk thoroughly to combine. Add the corn starch and briskly whisk until even. Bring the mixture a boil, then reduce heat slightly to a strong simmer for 5 minutes. Stir often to prevent lumps.
- Pour the filling into the crust. Place in the fridge to cool and set for 6 hours or overnight. Just before serving, whip the coconut cream with a hand mixer. Top the pie with whipped cream. Garnish with zest.
Definitely trying this recipe! Im a conch too! Not many can really say that, huh? Haha Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Hey! This looks like a great recipe and I plan to make it in the next few days, but I’m a bit confused.. the filling ingredients say “coconut milk” but at step 3 it says “coconut cream”, does this mean I need to do that thing where you put the coconut milk in the fridge and scoop the cream out once it has separated? Or is it just the whole can of coconut milk? Thanks in advance!
I did the whole can of coconut milk after I noticed the recipe phrasing changed, however my can was only 400g (must be a UK thing!) so I did 4 tbsp of cornflour instead of 5 and it set just fine! Delicious! Thank you 🙂
I tried this recipe & it DIDN’T work!!! After having it in the fridge overnight it was still in the form of soup!!! I baked it in the oven the next morning only for the oil from the crust to pass through the filling & for pieces of crumbs to float to the top as well!! I am so very disappointed that this didn’t work at all!!! I have no idea what to do w/ this fail of a pie!! I followed the recipe & it failed horribly!!!
Hey Jade, So sorry to hear you had trouble in the kitchen! I’ve seen dozens of people successfully recreate this recipe, so I’m not too sure what could have happened. Typically when a corn starch pie doesn’t set all the way, it’s because it wasn’t boiled hot enough or long enough. It could also be the result of using a light coconut milk instead of full-fat. Hope this helps!
Can I freeze it? I am making mini ones and need to freeze. Thanks
Hi! I tried this recipe and the flavor was good but it didn’t set as well as I hoped. It was a little too jiggly. Can you use coconut cream to replace the milk? Can these be set in the freezer instead of the fridge?
Terrible recipe. Didn’t set, the crust was too gooey and wasnt enough to cover the sides. Don’t try it.
What are the nutritional facts for this key lime pie?