Gluten-Free Key Lime Pie with Matcha (Dairy-Free & Vegan Options)

Creamy and bright gluten-free key lime pie brightened with matcha with a no-bake vegan gluten-free filling made from coconut cream and avocados. Use a gluten-free flaky pie crust or a gluten-free graham cracker crust for vegan and/or dairy-free options, or serve it crustless in dessert cups!

A year ago, I shared a picture of this gluten-free key lime pie with matcha for Pi Day on Instagram. I signed off the post with, "Stay tuned for the recipe in the next week (when I find time to write while home with two kids for at least three weeks)." 

Three weeks, y'all. And I'll be real honest: I cried hard tears about that looming timeline. 

Weeks became a year and here's the pie recipe with no apologies. 

If you're like me, you've gone through the quarantine baking phase and now you're in the convenience cooking phase. This gluten-free key lime pie is one of the easiest pies you'll ever make.  

But it tastes dynamic and flavorful. As if it took hours. 

No-Bake Key Lime Pie Filling

This creamy and bright gluten-free key lime pie filling is no-bake, refined-sugar-free, and just so happens to be vegan. The crust has options for both vegan and refined-sugar-free - your call! 

Let's go ahead and call this snack pie, so make a full pie and go ahead and eat a slice every day this week with lunch. 

And with matcha, I'll call it breakfast food too.

Vegan Key Lime Pie Recipe with Avocados

This vegan dairy-free key lime pie mousse filling tastes like a whipped key lime pie, but it's sweetened only with maple syrup, is vegan, and is made with avocados.

You read that correctly: Avocados.

When I started dating Lucas (from Texas), he was shocked by the way Californians put avocados in everything. Now he’s also a super fan and we joke to our friends who visit, “welcome to California, have an avocado.” This recipe takes it to a whole new level, turning avocados into dessert. (And if you’re skeptical, don’t worry, I promise it doesn’t taste a lick like guacamole.)

Gluten-Free Key Lime Pie Mousse

When whipped with coconut cream, avocados give the mousse a light and airy creamy texture that's almost like a smooth cheesecake. Key lime zest and juice flavor the mousse with tartness balanced by a hint of maple syrup. 

Garnish it with toasted macadamia nuts to balance the sweet filling with a buttery tropical crunch.

What kind of crust for a key lime pie?

You've got two different options for what kind of crust to use: gluten-free flaky pie crust or gluten-free graham cracker crust.

You can make either of these pie crusts from scratch or opt for a pre-made store-bought shell to save time. 

Gluten-Free Flaky Pie Crust

When I first shot this gluten-free key lime pie, I made it with a flaky, buttery pie crust and decorated it with little pie crust cut-outs. This crust is beautiful and a delicious contrast against the light tropical filling.

It also takes a bit more work, but you can purchase a pre-made gluten-free vegan pie shell to keep it simpler.

If you opt to use a flaky pie crust, you'll need to line it with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights to blind bake it (without filling). Then remove the pie weights to bake it until the bottom of the crust is baked through. 

Graham Cracker Crust (gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan options)

For a quicker crust with dairy-free and vegan options, I've also made this pie using this gluten-free graham cracker crust. This recipe can be made dairy-free or vegan by using vegan butter. 

You can make this recipe as either a no-bake or a baked crust. For a no-bake crust, freeze the crust for 20 minutes before adding the filling. 

Personally, even when I'm making a "no-bake pie" I usually still opt to bake the crust and let it cool before filling. I find the baked crust more easily removes from the pan without leaving crumbs behind and makes a cleaner cut.

No crust

You can also absolutely skip the crust altogether and divide the filling among 5 dessert ramekins. Top it with whipped coconut cream and macadamia nuts for a quick refreshing treat! Same no-bake recipe, made as individual servings! (Pictured below, without matcha)

Key Lime Pie with Matcha

For this key lime pie, I've mixed matcha into the filling to add a hint of vegetal nuttiness and to punch up the green hue. For the brightest color, be sure to use high-quality matcha. If matcha isn't your thing, you can certainly leave it out.

Without matcha, the flavor will be akin to a classic key lime pie, and the color a bit paler as shown in the dessert cups above. When I first made this key lime pie mousse, I didn't use matcha and I served it without crust in dessert cups. 

How to Make Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Key Lime Pie

Here's how to make the quickest creamy key lime pie:

1. Prepare your pie crust. Mixed crushed graham crackers with sugar, butter, and salt, then press the crumbs into your pie dish. Chill it for 20 minutes or bake it for 8 minutes and let it cool.
2. Blend the filling. Add all of your mousse ingredients to a high-powered blender/food processor and puree until completely smooth, scraping sides as needed. Pour it into your prepared crust and chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Whip coconut cream. Whip chilled coconut cream with maple syrup.
4.  Garnish and serve. Serve chilled pie dolloped with coconut cream and garnish with macadamia nuts.

Recipe

Gluten-Free Key Lime Pie with Matcha

yields: 1 9-inch pie

prep time: 30 minutes mins

cook time: 1 hour hr

Chill Time: 3 hours hrs

total time: 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Creamy and bright gluten-free key lime pie brightened with matcha with a no-bake vegan gluten-free filling made from coconut cream and avocados. Use a gluten-free flaky pie crust or a gluten-free graham cracker crust for vegan and/or dairy-free options, or serve it crustless in dessert cups!

5 from 3 reviews

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Ingredients

Gluten-Free Key Lime Pie with Matcha

• ▢ 1 baked gluten-free graham cracker crust, vegan, if needed, OR
• ▢ 1 fully baked gluten-free flaky pie crust, store-bought or homemade (homemade recipe below)
• ▢ ½ cup canned oconut cream, solid cream only (or solid cream only from canned full-fat coconut milk), chilled for at least two hours (*see brand note)
• ▢ 2 ripe medium avocados
• ▢ ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• ▢ ⅓ cup key lime juice, from 2-3 limes, or substitute regular lime juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons key lime zest, from 1½ limes, or substitute regular limes
• ▢ 1½ tablespoons high-quality matcha powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For serving

• ▢ ⅓ cup canned coconut cream, solid cream only (or solid cream only from canned full-fat coconut milk), chilled 12 hours (*see brand note)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ Optional: ¼ cup chopped dry-roasted macadamia nuts, for garnish

Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crust Option (Vegan/Dairy-Free Option)

• ▢ 1 Gluten-free graham cracker crust

Gluten-Free Flaky Pie Crust Option

• ▢ 1 Gluten-free pie crust, blind-baked

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INSTRUCTIONS

Coconut Cream

• I do not recommend using the coconut cream from Trader Joe's as they seem to have updated their supplier and the new consistency is a very oily/grainy and does not whip up well. I reliably use Native Forest, 365 brand, and Thai Kitchen coconut cream (in that order).

Matcha Key Lime Pie

• Prepare your desired gluten-free graham cracker crust (unbaked or baked) or gluten-free flaky pie crust, up to step 3 of Single Crust Pie with Par-Baking or Blind-Baking, where the crust is fully blind baked. Let cool completely before filling. Note: If also baking pie shape cut-outs, place them on a separate small baking sheet with parchment paper, brushed with cream and sprinkled with sugar. Bake alongside the crust, but pull them out after 10-12 minutes, once lightly golden brown.
• Add all of your filling ingredients to a high-powered blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth, scraping sides as needed. Pour into cooked and

  cooled

  pie crust and chill for at least 2 hours.
• To serve, put the remaining ⅓ cup solid coconut cream into a stand mixer with whisk attachment or bowl with a hand mixer. Mix as you would make whipped cream, until soft peaks form. Slowly add maple syrup & vanilla & whisk until fluffy.
• Pipe or dollop whipped coconut cream onto the top of your pie and garnish with toasted macadamia nuts and, if using, baked pie crust shapes. Serve chilled.

Notes

Vegan or Dairy-Free

Both crusts have a vegan and dairy-free option. For the graham cracker crust, use dairy-free gluten-free graham crackers (such as Nairn's oat grahams) and vegan butter, and for the flakey pie crust, use plant butter as instructed!

Crustless Mousse Cups

For a quicker lighter version, skip the crust and divide the filling among 5 dessert cups or ramekins and top with whipped coconut cream.