Small Batch Coconut Key Lime Pie (Gluten Free, Diary Free, Refined Sugar Free)

One of my favorite summer time desserts is key lime pie, but it’s no secret that the classic version is super unhealthy. This small batch coconut key lime pie tastes just as good as the original, but it’s gluten free, dairy free, and free of refined sugar. Additionally, I made it in a loaf pan which makes six perfect slices that are on the smaller side, so you don’t have to feel guilty about having a whole big pie sitting in your fridge waiting to get eaten. I didn’t tell anyone that this was a healthy version, and no one knew the difference!

I adapted this recipe from Paleo Running Momma’s recipe here. Her recipe is wonderful, but I made a few tweaks to suit my taste, and to make it in small batch format because I didn’t want to make a whole pie.

Ingredients

Crust

• Coconut oil for greasing
• ½ cup lightly salted roasted macadamia nuts
• ½ cup medjool dates (pits removed)
• ¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Filling

• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• Zest of 1 lime, grated
• Juice of 1 lime + juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup juice in total)
• ¼ cup raw honey
• ¼ cup coconut cream
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Coconut Whipped Cream (optional)

• remaining coconut cream, chilled for at least 6 hours in the fridge, or 1 hour in the freezer

Instructions

Prepare the crust

Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper and grease with coconut oil

In a food processor, combine all crust ingredients and process on high about a minute, until you get a thick pasty mixture. Press this mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish and set aside while you prepare the filling.

Prepare the filling

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the egg and yolk with the honey, then whisk in the coconut cream, citrus juice, and zest.

In a separate small bowl, add 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 2 tbsp of the filling mixture and whisk until smooth to ensure that there are no lumps. Once the cornstarch mixture is smooth, add it back into the rest of the filling and whisk to combine.

Pour the filling into the crust and cover the loaf pan with tin foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the foil and continue to bake another 15-18 minutes until just set (the center will still jiggle a bit) for a total of 30-33 minutes.

Remove the small batch coconut key lime pie from the oven and cool completely at room temp, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before topping with the coconut whipped cream if you’re using it.

If you do want to top this small batch coconut key lime pie with coconut whipped cream, simply chill the rest of the coconut cream that you didn’t use in the pie. The coconut cream needs to be really cold to ensure that it acts like a whipped cream, so either keep it in the fridge for at least six hours, or if you’re impatient like me, put it in the freezer for one hour. Once it’s super cold, you can just scoop it out and dollop it on each slice of pie.

Once the small batch coconut key lime pie is chilled, remove it from the loaf pan and slice into six triangle slices. Enjoy!