This Vegan Key Lime Pie is made with a 3-ingredient graham cracker crust, ultra creamy lime filling, and topped with whipped cream. It’s easy to make gluten free and can be prepared days ahead of time!
There’s no better time to enjoy refreshing fruit desserts than during summer. That’s why I’m obsessed with this Vegan Key Lime Pie! Cool, creamy, and zesty, it’s an easy no bake dessert that can be made days ahead of time for backyard barbecue parties or summer celebrations!
I don’t think you’ll find a vegan key lime pie that’s easier to put together or more delicious than this recipe. It’s made with three simple layers:
- Graham cracker crust
- Coconut cream cheese lime filling
- Vegan whipped cream
The flavor and texture are incredible! Held together with cream cheese and coconut milk, the zesty lime filling is firm and so luscious. The 3-ingredient graham cracker crust can be thrown together in minutes, while homemade vegan whipped cream is the final and most delicious finishing touch.
Is key lime pie vegan?
A classic key lime pie is made with condensed milk, eggs, and butter. Although the traditional recipe is far from vegan, it isn’t hard to replicate its rich and creamy flavors and firm texture.
The pie crust is made from graham crackers (without honey), sugar, and vegan butter. The combination of coconut cream and vegan cream cheese in the lime filling will not only hold the pie’s firm shape, but makes each bite taste luscious and smooth.
Key limes vs. regular limes
Key limes are more seedy and flavorful compared to regular limes, which adds a nice punch to key lime pies. If you can’t find them, regular limes will work just as well in this recipe.
How to make key lime pie
First, make the graham cracker crust by combining the cracker crumbs in a bowl with the sugar and melted vegan butter. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and bake for 7 minutes. Let it cool fully while you make the key lime pie filling.
Beat the vegan cream cheese using a standing or handheld mixer. Once it’s smooth, add the coconut cream, sugar, lime juice, and zest and mix again. Finally, add the melted coconut oil and mix in. Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust and use a spatula to even it out. Let the pie chill and set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
When it’s time to eat, decorate the key lime pie with vegan whipped cream and a sprinkle of lime zest. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Can it be made gluten free?
The graham cracker crust is the only part of this pie that isn’t gluten free. You can make the crust using certified gluten free graham crackers. When all else fails, make my gluten free pie crust!
Tips and substitutions
- Coconut cream – You can use a can of coconut cream or use the creamy white part in a can of full fat coconut milk. The clear liquid in the coconut milk won’t do as it will cause the filling to collapse or leak.
- Cream cheese – Any brand of vegan cream cheese will do! All that matters is the flavor because this is a no-bake dessert. Tofutti is my favorite and is easy to find in most grocery stores.
- Use refined coconut oil – This will ensure your pie doesn’t taste like coconut. Even with the oil and coconut milk together, the lime will still overpower the coconut flavors in the pie.
- Decorating – Your pie will look so beautiful with homemade coconut whipped cream on top. Otherwise, my whipped cream made from aquafaba will also work! Sometimes I also just use store bought coconut or almond reddi whip. If you’d like to add a little more to the presentation, decorate the pie with lime wedges or zest, toasted coconut shreds, or crumbled graham crackers on top.
- Make ahead – The key lime pie can be covered in the fridge for up to 7 days. Don’t add the whipped cream until it’s time to serve.
Looking for more vegan pies?
Vegan Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs *honey free for vegan
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons melted vegan butter
Key lime filling
- 2 (8-ounce) containers vegan cream cheese I used tofutti brand
- 3/4 cup coconut cream*
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons lime zest
- 1/2 cup melted refined coconut oil
Whipped topping
- Vegan Whipped Cream or vegan reddi whip
- or Coconut Whipped Cream
Instructions
For the crust
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs (I blend the crackers in my blender until they are crumbs), sugar and melted vegan butter.
- Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, evenly and firmly, coming up the sides a bit.
- Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool while you make the key lime pie filling.
For the filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the vegan cream cheese until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Now add the coconut cream, sugar, lime juice and zest and beat until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Lastly, add the melted coconut oil and mix in. When you add the coconut oil, the filling will start to thicken.
- Pour into the cooked and cooled crust and spread out evenly.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight to set.
Serve
- Pipe vegan whipped cream on top of the chilled pie and sprinkle with a little lime zest, if desired.
- Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use a can of coconut cream, or open a can of full fat coconut milk and scoop out the creamy white, thicker part. You just don’t want to use the clear liquid.
- Any brand of vegan cream cheese should work here since we aren’t baking it. Just make sure you like the flavor! Tofutti is my favorite here and probably the easiest to find in stores.
- If you can’t find key limes, regular limes work just fine.
- Make sure to use refined coconut oil for NO coconut flavor. The lime overpowers everything so the pie won’t taste like coconut even with the coconut milk. But a strong unrefined coconut oil may make it taste coconutty.
This recipe won me “best pie” at my run club’s pi day event! (Voted on by vegans and non-vegans alike).
That is so exciting, Lauren! Congratulations! Thank you for taking time to share your fantastic review, and fun story! Wishing you a happy cooking!
Hi Nora, thanks for sharing your recipe. I made this for my friend’s birthday and we really liked it. I used President’s Choice since they don’t carry Tofutti at my local grocery store and I didn’t have the grainy/curdling issue some other people have had, so that’s great. The flavor was absolutely perfect, that being said I was expecting a firm cheesecake texture but I ended up with more of a creamy custard. I let it sit in my very cold fridge for 24 hours and it couldn’t hold its shape. Still delicious, but I was wondering if that was normal?
Hi Zach! I’m not familiar with President’s Choice brand, but I think the pie not being more firm is probably as issue with that brand. Other things to think about: did you use coconut cream, the thick white stuff from a can, not liquidy coconut milk? Did you use coconut oil as well, that firms up when chilled? Those plus the cream cheese make the cake firm up when chilled, and it should be quite firm, not super soft. Hope that helps!
This recipe was amazing! I was nervous about making it after eating reviews, but I followed Nora’s directions exactly and it came out perfect. Our daughter was able to have her first piece of the famous key lime pie our family enjoys. Thank you, Nora, for having so many recipes that consistently come out delicious and give our daughter opportunities to enjoy a wide variety of dishes. You’re the BEST!!
We used Violife Cream Cheese because none of the grocery stores around us carry Tofutti any longer. We read the reviews and decided to give it a try anyway. Unfortunately, the filling turned out lumpy and didn’t set completely in the middle. The crust was amazing and the flavor of the filling was wonderful. I will definitely try it again if I can find Tofutti cream cheese.
Sorry to hear that, I love Violife for bagels and such, but it doesn’t work well in recipes like cheesecake or pie I’ve found. Miyoko’s brand works quite well if you can find it.
Sadly, this turned out gross. I dissolved the sugar based on some of the recommendations, but still ended up with a grainy mess that tasted curdled somehow. Not appealing to look at or eat! I don’t think the cream cheese + lime juice is the best idea.
Sorry to hear this! What brand of vegan cream cheese did you use? It seems that Tofutti works best here. And what did you dissolve the sugar in? Adding liquid or warming the sugar by dissolving it would ruin the recipe, I’m afraid.
This was fabulous. I used tofutti cream cheese and had no graininess. Highly recommend. Thank you Nora !!!
You bet, Chris! I’m so glad the pie turned out fabulous for you! Thank you for sharing your glowing review and recipe experience! Happy cooking!
This recipe looks great! I noticed the nutrition facts has trans fat – what ingredient is that coming from? I wanted to check if it could be made without any trans fats. Thanks!
Thanks! Oops, that was an error; the nutrition facts were pulling from dairy whipped topping. There is no trans fat in this recipe.
Can this be made in a springform pan? Thank you 🙂
Yes, you could do that. Enjoy!
This is sooo delicious ! We just tried it ! I did have issues with the texture and consistency similar to others in the comments – I followed instructions exactly and got a really grainy mixture. I used a technique I learned from a previous mixture for a different vegan dessert that had similar ingredients for a custard if the mixture separates: put the contents in a blender container with the grainy mixture in a bowl full of just boiled water for about 10 minutes , then re blend. It’s came out smooth and perfect , and set beautifully within 3 hours . Thank you for an awesome recipe !
Hi Rani. I’m thrilled you loved the pie! Thank you for sharing your wonderful tip! I appreciate your fabulous review and comments!
I’ve made this crowd pleasing pie twice in one week! I was able to find key lime juice which definitely provides the bright, tanginess you want in this amazing pie! I used Soy Delicious coco whip- simply amazing. Thank you Nora, your recipes are always 100% delectable!
You’re so welcome! Thanks so much for your fantastic review and feedback!
Really delicious! After reading the other comments about it being grainy, I combined the sugar and lime juice to dissolve the sugar as much as possible. Very smooth. I used tofutti cream cheese. My only complaint is that it didn’t set too well even after a couple of days. Even the non vegans loved it.
Thanks for your wonderful review and for sharing your tips and feedback, Seta!
Oh, I love this recipe, Nora! Made it this weekend. It is the perfect balance of creamy and tart and sweet. Family loved it! Note: It absolutely has to chill OVERNIGHT in the refrigerator. After six hours it was not set up enough to cut slices – but the next day it was perfect. The pie held together very nicely when sliced. I also wanted to respond to other reviewers, who said their mixture was grainy. That has happened to me in the past with other recipes similar to this that call for blending vegan cream cheese mixture with melted coconut oil. In my experience, it depends on the vegan cream cheese you use. Tofutti brand cream cheese is the only one I have been successful with in not turning grainy once the coconut oil is added. (Violife cream cheese turns horribly grainy for example-would not recommend using that brand to cook/bake with). Hope that helps and thanks for this recipe, Nora!
You are welcome, Sarah. How awesome you are loving the pie! Thanks for your wonderful review and for sharing your tips and feedback!
I made this recipe. The mix of cream cheese, coconut cream, sugar and key lime juice was very smooth. Upon adding the refined coconut oil the mix became very grainy. All the ingredients were room temperature except the refined coconut oil which was heated to liquify.
Taste was great, but the texture made eating unappealing.
Any hints on how to avoid the grainy texture appreciated.
Also can I use confectioner’s sugar instead of granulated sugar for a smoother texture?
Hmm I’ve never had it turn grainy, that’s a bit odd. Perhaps something to do with the kind of coconut oil you used? I wonder if some brands are grainier than others. I’ve never had this happen though. I haven’t tried using confectioner’s sugar but you probably could.
Hi Nora, I made this pie twice now with very different results.
The first time it turned out perfect, it really was amazing: taste, texture, everything! My family loved it! But the second time I made it the texture was really grainy, it looked curdled and it wasn’t okay to eat.
What do you think could have happened? I was thinking maybe the melted coconut oil was too warm when I added it, could that be it? Or maybe it happened because I used a different vegan cream cheese? I hope you have some tips because I would love to make it again!
Can you freeze this pie?
Yes, it freezes very well.
I made this and it tastes fine. However, i have these issues and would love some guidance on how to correct.
a) Texture was grainy, probably due to granulated sugar in the cream cheese. how to correct? b) my crust came out hard and gummy. how to avoid this? c) i bought a can of coconut cream and found that on top was a hard layer followed by 1/3 of liquid. i put it all in a bowl and whisked it before measure out 3/4 of cup of coconut cream. I’m not sure i did this right.
d) the texture was very light like whipped cream. Should it have been thicker?
e) Can you put a video up on this website so we can see all your steps? f) the color is too white. Key lime pie has a yellowish color. The color was off-putting. g) Do we have to put sugar in the crust? I’m convinced that this is the reason my crust came out hard after baking.
I absolutely love this pie. It is sooo delicious
Thank you, Linda! I’m glad you love the pie! I appreciate you taking time to share your wonderful review!
I adore you and your recipes. I became a vegan after years of my vegan mom trying to convert me and your recipes are a lifesaver. I never knew vegan eating could be even more delicious! <3
Thank you Autumn! I’m so glad that you are loving my recipes! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments, and happy cooking!
I’m looking for a dessert to include in a Mexican buffet. I thought to use a mini muffin pan instead of a pie pan. Any suggestions besides a reduction of bake time for the crust?
That sounds really fun, and I think it would work very well! I don’t really have any suggestions, just reduce the time for baking the crust, fill, chill, enjoy!
When chilling in the fridge should it be covered or uncovered?
I just leave it uncovered.