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Lime is such a refreshing taste, which is why it’s in many of my favorite summertime recipes (like this iced lime and dandelion tea). Key lime pie is one of my favorite desserts, and when made this way, it is healthy enough to eat for breakfast.
The History of a Pie
Key limes are different from the limes we typically find in the grocery store. Key limes are tarter and more aromatic, making them a great choice for baking. Since they are more perishable too, they are harder to find outside of the Florida Keys.
The exact origin of key lime pie is a bit unclear, though it’s thought to have originated in the late 19th or early 20th century in the Florida Keys.
One theory is that key lime pie originated from fisherman using shelf-stable foods on the boat. These would include sweetened condensed milk, limes, and eggs. There would also not have been an oven for baking, so the original no-bake version of the recipe would fit this possibility.
But key lime pie may not have been created in Florida at all. According to author Stella Parks, key lime pie may have originated from the Borden Condensed Milk Company in the 1930s. In any case, it’s become a staple pie in the south for it’s creamy and citrusy taste. (And there is no condensed milk in mine!)
How to Make Key Lime Pie Healthy
Traditionally key lime pie is made with egg yolks, key limes, and sweetened condensed milk. The egg whites would be whipped into a meringue for the top.
The earliest recipes were no-bake as the chemical reaction between the proteins in the eggs and the acidic lime juice caused the thickening. Today, concerns about uncooked eggs have made baking the standard. Baking the pie also continues to thicken the filling, making it more like a firm custard than a soft pudding.
But to make this recipe healthy, I’ve replaced some of the ingredients. The crust is made with nuts instead of grains and calls for a combination of coconut flour and coconut milk in place of the sweetened condensed milk. I also use just a taste of honey or stevia to sweeten it.
This recipe contains:
- lots of healthy protein from eggs
- healthy fats from nuts, coconut oil, and coconut milk
- not too much sugar (you can choose how much honey you add or use stevia for sugar-free)
So, eat it for breakfast if you like!
Here’s the recipe:
Healthy Key Lime Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
- 5 eggs
- 4 limes (key limes optional) juiced and zested (or ½ cup lime juice and 1 TBSP lime zest)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5 tsp coconut flour
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 TBSP honey (or about 1 tsp of my homemade stevia tincture)
Topping, (optional)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (or chilled coconut cream)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 drops stevia extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Make the crust according to the almond flour pie crust recipe instructions.
- Meanwhile, put the eggs in the blender and beat until smooth and frothy.
- Add the lime juice and zest, vanilla, coconut flour, coconut milk, and sweetener to taste.
- Blend until smooth.
- When crust is baked, pour the filling into the crust and bake 30-35 minutes or until the center is set.
- Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
- This is the hardest step... put in the refrigerator and do not eat until it has cooled completely.
- While you are waiting, whip the cream or chilled coconut cream and vanilla or stevia if you are using.
- Top the cooled pie with whipped cream.
- Enjoy... even for breakfast!
Notes
- I didn't actually use key limes in this recipe...they take forever to juice and I don't think they taste any better, but feel free to use either. Also, fresh limes really make the difference! I've tried this with organic lime juice and it just isn't the same!
- For the crust, please note that this will not make a sweet crust. If you prefer a sweeter crust, you can use my homemade energy bar recipe as a crust. It works really well! Also, you can use strips of foil to prevent the crust edges from over-browning.
- Optional whipped cream is not included in the nutrition facts.
Nutrition
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Are you a key lime pie person? What’s your favorite healthy dessert? Let me know below!
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I hope this post is seen as the date on most are bake in 2012
Perhaps I’m not getting the ‘bake the shell instruction correct’
‘6. When the crust is baked, pour the filling into the crust and bake till the center is set.’
I’m not new to baking the shell but I’m not sure I’m getting this correct. Is the shell baked empty and then again after it is filled?
Waiting to find out what I’m not getting my husband loves Key Lime Pie and I’m looing forward to trying it as lemon
Turely enjoy your site!
Hi! Any chance there is an egg substitute?
Try some of these? https://wellnessmama.com/37022/egg-substitute-for-baking/
Just a thought: did everybody use KEY LIMES and not the regular ones? I ask because a few people who complained about the tartness only mentioned “limes” and not Key limes. That would be a reason.
Also, you can buy bottled Key lime juice and it works just fine in Key Lime Pie. Of course, I live in South Florida where it can be found in the local grocery stores. You can find “Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice” on Amazon as well.
An additional note about bottled, regular lime juice: the RealLime brand is terrible! It is waaaay too tart and sour! I have found that Whole Foods bottled lime juice and lemon juice are much, much better.
Hi all
Sorry, I thought that nuts/nut butters in general are not a great food with fungus/mold issues and hard on digestion for adults let alone for babies? I call them anti-nutrients. Herbivores (cows/sheep) can digest phytic acid, humans cannot. So will inhibit mineral absorption. Stevia is an herb not a glucose source which babies need to develop the brain. So plain sugar is best. Check out Ray Peat and Nutrition Coach in Australia for more details.
Just found this post when looking for healthy desserts. It looked so yummy I had to make it straight away! We didn’t have limes so I used bergamot lemons that we got delivered with our organic fruit and veg this week. They worked amazingly well. Also I was able to just chop them up and mix with the rest of the filling, without juicing first, which saved time. I ended up making too much filling so I used the rest of it to make a few healthy muffins (I poured the filling from the mixer onto the crust and the remainder of the filling I mixed with more nuts, coconut oil and coconut flakes and then baked it in little muffin cups at the same time with the pie). I found the pie the best with some cream and chopped fruit before bedtime: it might be the few extra carbs that helped me sleep better which was an added bonus!
Hi. Recipe looks delish, but can someone tell what exactly is ‘filling’ – its one of the ingredients, and I’m a bit confused
The bulleted list in the recipe is a little messed up. It should read as Crust: [list of ingredients] then Filling: [list of ingredients]. “Filling” is the mixture of ingredients that make up the pie, aside from the crust.
Am I missing something? I can’t find the nutritional information for this recipe.
Like some others, mine first attempt turned out too tart. I checked other key lime pie recipes for quantity of lime juice and found lots called for a 1/2 cup (125 ml or — according to Google — 4.22675 ounces.) It was just right. Love this and so do my kids…