These 9-ingredient Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars layer a creamy, tangy key lime filling over a baked Biscoff crust. They’re easy to make and taste just like the pie!
Love vegan pie bars? 🥧 Then you’ll have to try my Blueberry Pie Bars, my Vegan Pecan Bars, and my Blackberry Pie Bars, too.
I look forward to my Vegan Key Lime Pie every summer, but when I don’t have time to put a whole pie together, I’ll make these equally delicious Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars instead.
Yes, it’s true, key lime pie bars taste just like a real key lime pie. The secret? A blended silken tofu and vegan condensed milk filling flavored with real key lime juice and zest. It may sound a bit wild, but silken tofu is what gives the filling its silky-smooth texture.
I layered the filling over a mouthwatering Biscoff cookie crust (for an upgraded, extra-spiced version of my usual gingerbread crust) and topped each bar with a dollop of vegan whipped cream. They’re seriously heavenly and only call for 9 ingredients!
Why you’ll love key lime pie bars
- Unbelievably creamy – The star here is the soft-set key lime pie filling. Blended silken tofu and non-dairy condensed milk make it oh-so creamy, while real key limes make it lip-puckering sour (in the best way).
- Decadent Biscoff crust – Biscoff cookies give the crust a caramelized crunch and a warm hint of spice. It’s so much more decadent than your average graham cracker crust.
- Easy summer treat – Just like my Vegan Lemon Bars, these bars call for fewer than 10 ingredients and require zero fancy equipment. It’s the easiest way to bring a taste of summer to your next potluck!
How to make vegan key lime pie bars
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Make the Biscoff crust by stirring the cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted vegan butter together in a bowl until the crumbs look moist. Press the cookie crumb mixture into a baking pan and bake it for 10 minutes. Set it aside to cool.
To make the key lime filling, blend the sweetened condensed milk, silken tofu, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and cornstarch until smooth.
Pour the filling into a saucepan and heat it to a boil. Whisk it constantly until it thickens, then remove it from the heat.
Thickening the filling
If the key lime pie filling isn’t thickening, just continue simmering and whisking. It will get there! If you’re still having trouble, you can whisk in another 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch to help it thicken.
Wait for the filling to set. Pour the filling over the Biscoff crust, then set aside until it has cooled to room temperature.
Move the bars to the fridge and chill until the filling is set*.
Slice and serve the chilled bars with a dollop of vegan whipped cream and extra lime zest on top. Enjoy!
*Every time I tested this recipe, the filling was soft-set even after chilling for hours. Just serve the bars on a plate with a fork to avoid a mess! They shouldn’t be super firm.
Frequently asked questions
I usually make my own vegan condensed milk from scratch. It’s really easy; all you need is coconut cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt! If you’d rather go store-bought, you can usually find cans of oat or coconut condensed milk at most health food stores.
Yes, regular limes work if you can’t find key limes. They aren’t as tart as key limes but will still give the bars a nice citrusy flavor.
Vegan-friendly graham crackers or my Vegan Ginger Cookies are a great substitute. To make a gluten-free crust, use gluten-free graham crackers or gluten-free ginger cookies instead.
The filling needs to be refrigerated for at least 3 hours to set properly. For the best results, I recommend leaving them in the fridge overnight.
Sure! The Biscoff crust can be baked and kept covered in the fridge up to 3 days in advance. The assembled bars will also keep in the fridge for a few days.
You can refrigerate the bars in the covered baking dish for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars
Ingredients
Biscoff Crust
- 1 1/2 cups Biscoff cookie crumbs or honey-free graham crackers
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter melted
Key Lime Pie Filling
- 1 (11.25 ounce) can coconut or oat sweetened condensed milk or homemade*
- 10.8 ounces Mori Nu silken tofu drained (soft or firm)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons lime zest
- 2/3 cup fresh lime juice from key limes if possible
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Prepare Biscoff Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir the cookie crumbs, sugar and melted vegan butter until it looks like moist crumbs. Press into a parchment paper lined 8-inch square baking pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Make the Key Lime Filling: To a blender or food processor, add the sweetened condensed milk, silken tofu, sugar, lime zest, lime juice and cornstarch. Blend until smooth, then transfer to a medium saucepan on the stove. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat.
- Pour Filling on Crust and Set: Pour the filling over the cooked crust and allow it cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Serve: After 3 hours, the filling should be set and the bars chilled. Serve the bars with a dollop of vegan whipped cream, or spread a layer on top of the key lime filling and sprinkle a little extra lime zest on top of each one. Enjoy!
Notes
- For Biscoff (or graham cracker) cookie crumbs, simply blitz the whole cookies in a blender (or food processor) until you have fine crumbs.
- You may either make your own Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk or purchase coconut or oat sweetened condensed milk. I used canned coconut sweetened condensed milk here.
- Key limes can be hard to find year round, but you can use common limes if that’s all you can find. Or purchase key lime juice in a bottle; it’s not as good as fresh but it works quite well.
- You must use Mori Nu silken tofu (in a vacuum pack), not the kind of tofu that’s packed in water like firm or extra-firm. Mori Nu silken tofu has a neutral flavor and you can’t detect it at all. It just adds to the creamy richness of the bars.
Just made these for a weekly dinner I host. INSANELY delicious 🙂 It took forever to find key limes for where I live but they were absolutely worth the hunt. Will make these again many times over.
Hi Paul. I’m glad you were successful on your key lime hunt, and that the bars turned out fantastic for you! Thank you for taking time to try the recipe and to share your glowing review! Happy cooking to you!
I really want to make this, but 1 cup of sugar is too much for those of us trying to cut back on sugar. Have you tried making it with less sugar?
This is certainly not a low sugar dessert. I haven’t tried making it with less sugar (the sweetened condensed milk also has sugar in it fyi.) You can certainly give it a try with less sugar, it might work okay but they will taste different and they may not set up quite the same way. You might have better luck with my Vegan Key Lime Pie, and lower the sugar in both the crust and filling as desired. You could make the pie into bars if you wanted. 🙂 Hope this helps!
This is a perfect recipe to make in Mexico! I can’t find some US ingredients here, like Just Egg or Soy Curls, but I can certainly find Biscoff and an abundance of key limes. I will try this one out!
You will love the recipe! Wishing you happy cooking!
On the Mori Nu siken tofu for the key lime sq is it soft, firm, extra firm?, I got soft
I used soft, but firm would work as well. I will specify this in the recipe, that is helpful information. Thank you and enjoy!
You are one of my favorite vegan cooks!!! I also have your beautiful cookbook!!
Thank you so much Marsha! 🥹 That makes my day!