Vegan Key Lime Pie Recipe

Creamy dreamy vegan key lime pie! This deliciously lime flavored pie has a perfect mousse texture and is wonderfully sweet and tart at the same time.

A slice of vegan key lime pie on a blue napkin with a cake fork.

I've been wanting to make a vegan key lime pie forever. The thing that was holding me back? I didn't know what kind of key lime pie I wanted to make.

Was I going to do something like avocado and key lime juice for a lovely raw vegan version? Was I going to do a baked version? Something in-between?

In the end it was looking at what the 'regular' version of key lime pie actually is that was the deciding factor.

A regular non-vegan key lime pie uses condensed milk, key lime juice and zest and egg yolks for the filling.

So I decided to just do an adaptation of the 'original'.

And by the way if you love key lime flavor then check out our key lime cake and key lime cupcakes too!

Vegan key lime pie topped with lime zest in a glass pie dish.

How To Make Vegan Key Lime Pie

For our vegan version we used a vegan condensed milk, whipped coconut cream and lime juice and zest.

The crust can either be made with vegan graham crackers or vegan digestive biscuits, it depends where you are in the world as to what would be easier to get. And if you can't get either of those then use any vegan cookie you like.

I baked the crust, just for 10 minutes at 350°F. I wanted to make the crust very firm and baking it is a good way to ensure that it is! You don't have to bake it though, if you're happy with a slightly more crumbly texture to the crust then you can skip that step.

Process photos of making a vegan key lime pie.

The main trick to getting this vegan key lime pie perfect is to make sure your whipped coconut cream is very very firm when whipped. If it is not, then add in ¼ – ½ tsp of xantham gum to get it nice and firm.

You also want to let your vegan condensed milk cool in the fridge after making it so that it gets nice and thick. If you're using a store-bought variety of vegan condensed milk then this won't apply, but if you're making your own, let it cool and thicken in the fridge first.

And then you have to make sure that the pie has enough time to set properly before you slice and enjoy!

It is supposed to be nice and firm, with a mousse-like texture but still, pretty firm! It is supposed to hold up nicely when you slice it. If it's not doing that then let it set for longer. You can speed things up by putting it in the freezer, just don't forget it in there, or you'll need to have patience again while it thaws.

Vegan key lime pie topped with lime zest in a glass dish.

Lime Extract

For extra key lime flavor you can use some lime extract but I have also tried this without lime extract and the flavor is still amazing, so that's an optional extra.

Key Limes vs Regular Limes

And then when it comes to key limes vs limes, you can use either/or. So whatever is easiest to get hold of, it won't make a significant difference to your end result. To be more 'traditional' use key limes, but really no worries at all if you use regular limes.

A slice of vegan key lime pie on a cake lifter.

You will love this vegan key lime pie! It is:

Creamy
Mousse textured
Deliciously lime flavored
Super easy to make
Both perfectly sweet and tart!

Keep it covered in the coldest part of your fridge and enjoy within a few days. It is also freezer friendly, just let it thaw in the fridge when you're ready for it.

A slice of vegan key lime pie on a blue napkin with a cake fork.

More Vegan Pies!

Vegan Lemon Pie
Vegan Chocolate Pie
Vegan Chocolate Tart
Vegan Peanut Butter Pie
Vegan Coconut Cream Pie
Vegan Banana Cream Pie

So let us know what you think of this vegan key lime pie in the comments and please rate the recipe too! Thanks!

Sign up to our email list while you're here, you'll get an awesome (and free) recipe ebook containing 10 delicious vegan dinner recipes and you'll be the first to know when new recipes are posted.

A slice of vegan key lime pie on a blue napkin.

Slice of vegan key lime pie on a napkin with a cake fork.

For the Crust:

▢ 10.5 ounces Vegan Digestive Biscuits (300g) or Vegan Graham Crackers
▢ ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g) Melted

For the Filling:

▢ 1 and ½ cups Vegan Condensed Milk (360ml)
▢ ½ cup Key Lime Juice (120ml) freshly squeezed, or sub regular lime juice
▢ ½ tsp Lime Extract optional
▢ 2 Tbsp Lime Zest
▢ 2 and ½ cups Canned Coconut Cream (600ml) hardened cream only from 2 14-ounce cans, chilled overnight in the fridge*
▢ ¼ - ½ tsp Xantham Gum if needed

For Decorating:

▢ Lime Zest

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Spray a 9 inch round pie dish with non-stick spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Add the vegan digestives or graham crackers to the food processor and process into crumbles. Melt the vegan butter and mix in with the cookie crumbles and then place into the prepared pie dish and pat down firmly. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press down firmly along the bottom and work the crust up along the sides.
Place the pie base into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Pour your vegan condensed milk out into a bowl and place into the fridge to cool and thicken.
Add the coconut cream (separated hardened cream at the top of 2 chilled cans) to the bowl of a stand mixer, leaving the watery parts behind. Starting at slow speed gradually increase speed until the cream is whipped. For best results in this recipe, you need the cream to be very firm and well whipped with stiff peaks. If yours is a bit on the softer side, add in a ¼ - ½ tsp of xantham gum and whip again. It will thicken fast.
Squeeze the lime juice and grate the lime zest.
Add the lime juice, lime extract and lime zest to the bowl with the condensed milk and whisk with a hand whisk to combine. Then fold in the whipped coconut cream.
Pour this over the cooled crust and place into the fridge for a few hours to set. If you want to speed it up a bit then you can put it into the freezer, just don't forget it in there or you'll have to wait for it to thaw!
Decorate with lime zest and serve.

The crust is made with approximately 26 Vegan Digestives or 20 Graham Cracker Sheets. It would be most accurate to go by weight since different brands have different size cookies.
We used one full batch of our homemade vegan condensed milk. If you want to make it from scratch as well then make it using soy milk or rice milk powder so that it's nice and thick for using in this pie. You can also use store-bought vegan condensed milk.
If you want to use a different vegan whipping cream then the amount to use would be 2 and ½ cups before whipping. Very light and airy vegan whipping creams may not work great as the pie may not set properly.
The filling for this pie is gluten-free, so if you wanted to make the whole pie gluten-free you could switch for a gluten-free cookie for the crust.

Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan

Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you'll never feel like you're missing out. Find out more about me here.

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