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    Vegan Grain-Free Key Lime Pie Bars with California Avocados

    By Elaine Gordon · Published: Apr 1, 2020 · Modified: Jan 4, 2022

    Jump to Recipe
    VGGFPSFEKF

    These vegan and grain-free key lime pie bars have a cool silky texture atop a sweet, crumbly and buttery grain-free crust.  They skip the butter, refined sugar, condensed milk, egg yolks and heavy whipping cream for healthier vegan ingredients.  This dessert offers plant-based protein, fiber and healthy fats all while staying true to the sweet, tangy taste and creamy, airy texture you would expect from key lime pie.  

    Paleo Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars

    Vegan & Grain-Free Key Lime Pie Bars

    I'm extremely excited to share this delicious and easy Key Lime Pie Bar recipe today.  It is basically a healthier key lime pie in bar form.  Not only are these bars vegan and gluten-free, but they are also grain-free and completely Passover-friendly.  The first layer is a sweet, crumbly and buttery “pie crust” made from almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.  Simply mix those five ingredients together in a bowl and bake for a quick 10 minutes.  Next comes all the tangy key lime flavor in the creamy California avocado layer which is made from avocados, cashews (learn more about How (and Why!) to Soak Cashews in this post.), coconut milk, limes, maple syrup, arrowroot starch and a touch of vanilla and salt.  All those ingredients get pureed at once in your blender and then poured overtop the pie crust layer.  Then the bars go straight into your freezer to firm up.  Once firm you can slice and enjoy immediately.  You can top them off with homemade coconut whipped cream for an airy, sweet, cool and creamy finish.  I sprinkled lime zest on top and garnished each bar with a fresh lime slice just to make them look extra fancy.
    Avocado Key Lime Pie Bars

    Avocados in the Key Lime Pie Bars

    The key lime layer gets it creamy richness from buttery California avocados which are a perfect pairing of bountiful flavor and nutrition, also yielding the perfect thick texture and color for this recipe.  You won’t detect them at all.  Plus, the avocados add healthy fats, dietary fiber and nearly 20 vitamins and minerals such as potassium, folate, vitamin E, C and B6.  To ensure you’re enjoying locally grown California avocados, be sure to check for California on the label!
    Avocado Key Lime Pie Bars
    Avocado Key Lime Pie Bars

    How to Select and Store Avocados

    When shopping for avocados, look for avocados with no soft spots.  To accelerate the ripening process, place the avocado in a brown paper bag along with an apple, banana or tomato and place in the warmest spot in your kitchen.  You will know it is perfectly ripe when the skin changes from green to slightly black and it it still firm but yields a gentle pressure.  Once ripe you can refrigerate for two to three days.
    Gluten Free and Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars

    Looking for more key lime pie flavored recipes?

    If you love key lime pie flavored treats be sure to check out my Key Lime Pie Pudding Parfaits and my Healthy & Creamy Key Lime Pie Popsicles.  Both are vegan and gluten-free.

    Gluten Free and Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars

    Now, let’s make Vegan Grain-Free Key Lime Pie Bars!

    This Vegan Grain-Free Key Lime Pie Bars recipe will be an instant favorite to serve for an easy dessert.  It is vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and refined sugar-free.

    I cannot wait for you to give this Key Lime Pie Bar recipe a try!

    Grain Free and Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars

    Print
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    Gluten-Free and Vegan Key Lime Pie Bars

    Vegan Grain-Free Key Lime Pie Bars


    • Author: Elaine Gordon
    • Total Time: 20 minutes
    • Yield: 16 1x
    • Diet: Vegan
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    These vegan and grain-free key lime pie bars have a cool silky texture atop a sweet, crumbly and buttery grain-free crust.  They skip the butter, refined sugar, condensed milk, egg yolks and heavy whipping cream for healthier vegan ingredients.  This dessert offers plant-based protein, fiber and healthy fats all while staying true to the sweet, tangy taste and creamy, airy texture you would expect from key lime pie.


    Ingredients

    Scale

    For the crust:

    • 1 ½ cups super-fine blanched almond flour
    • 3 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted
    • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon fine salt

    For the filling:

    • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in advance if possible. Learn more about How (and Why!) to Soak Cashews in this post.
    • ½ cup coconut cream from 1 (15 ounce) chilled can of full-fat coconut milk*
    • 1 California avocado
    • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
    • 2-3 juicy limes, juiced (¼ cup lime juice) - reserve one lime for zesting and juicing
    • 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • pinch of fine salt

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
    2. In a large mixing bowl stir together the almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt until well combined.  Transfer this mixture to the parchment-lined baking pan.  Top with another piece of parchment paper and use the bottom of a cup to flatten the mixture so it is in one even layer covering the entire bottom of the pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before adding the filling.
    3. While the pie crust bakes and cools, prepare the filling.  Add soaked cashews, coconut cream, avocado, maple syrup, lime zest, lime juice, arrowroot starch, vanilla and salt to a high speed blender.  Blend on the highest speed for one minute.  Scrape down the sides if needed and re-blend to make sure everything is fully incorporated.  Pour overtop the cooled pie crust and place the baking pan on a flat surface in your freezer.  Allow to freeze for four hours before slicing and enjoying.  If the bars have been in your freezer for longer than four hours you may need to allow them to soften at room temperature for a couple minutes before slicing and enjoying.  The bars will start to melt a little bit at room temperature after about 20 minutes so store them in your freezer until just before you plan to serve.
    4. You can top them off with homemade coconut whipped cream for an airy, sweet, cool and creamy finish.  I sprinkled lime zest on top and garnished each bar with a fresh lime slice just to make them look extra fancy.

    Notes

    * Place a can of full-fat coconut milk in your refrigerator 24 hours in advance of making this recipe.  When you open the can the solid white coconut cream will naturally float to the top of the can (leaving the coconut water at the bottom of the can).  Use a spoon to carefully separate the solid white coconut cream from the coconut water below it.  This recipe only uses the white coconut solid portion.  You can save the coconut water for smoothies.

    • Prep Time: 10
    • Cook Time: 10
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Oven + Freezer
    • Cuisine: American

    Keywords: key lime pie

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @eatingbyelaine on Instagram and hashtag it #eatingbyelaine

    This recipe is sponsored by the California Avocado Commission.  All writing and opinions are my own.  

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Julia says

      May 31, 2021 at 11:16 pm

      Hi there! These look delicious and I was planning on making these later this week. I was wondering if you knew about how many grams your avocado weighed? We got avocados from the store but they seem to be pretty small and I was debating whether I’d need to use two!

      Reply
      • Elaine Gordon says

        June 01, 2021 at 3:23 pm

        Hi Julie, Great question! I have not weighed them but typically I use medium to large avocados in my recipes... never small. So yes, I would say go ahead and double it. It really shouldn't throw the recipe off. Eager to hear what you think! This is a favorite summer dessert of mine! 🙂 Best, Elaine

        Reply
    2. Mary says

      February 22, 2022 at 5:36 pm

      My friend cannot eat dairy or coconut. What can I use in place of coconut cream? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Elaine Gordon says

        February 22, 2022 at 9:57 pm

        Hi, Mary: I haven't tested this one with anything else. You could maybe try leaving it out and increasing the cashews by 1/4 cup of so. The cashew cream is solid when frozen so it helps the filling stay together and gives it an extra creamy fluffy texture. But, LMK if you give it a try how it goes for you. Thank you, Elaine

        Reply

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