Taking a classic summer treat and lightening them up! Homemade grain-free crust topped with a filling that is the perfect blend of tart and sweet. These healthy key lime pie bars are refined sugar free, egg free, grain free, and made with fresh key lime juice. It’s the perfect spring and summer time dessert!
My family loves key lime pie. It’s one of our favorites. If we see it on the menu at a restaurant or in a bakery case, you know we will be getting it. There is something about the combination of tart and sweet that is undeniably delicious. I will always choose a citrus dessert over chocolate, always. My old go-to key lime pie recipe called for 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk. It was an easy recipe the resulted in a good key lime pie, but man did it really need two whole cans??!! I knew I wanted to create a healthier key lime pie and bar form was the way to go… Although you can easy make it into a pie, I find that serving them in square form is so much easier.
This lightened up version taste just as good as the sugar loaded ones. The filling is made of Greek yogurt, coconut milk, fresh key lime juice, honey and a little bit of gelatin. That’s it! This crust is the best base I’ve had on any dessert. It is grain-free and the texture is very similar to the classic graham cracker crust you would find with key lime pie. Its main ingredient is pecans and I think it pairs perfectly with our fresh key lime filling.
Tidbits
Key Limes– I’ve only have tried this recipe with fresh key limes. It takes approximately 10-11 key limes to get ½ cup of juice. Can’t find fresh key limes? I’ve also have seen bottled key lime juice or you can use a combination of lemon and lime juice in equal proportions (1/4 cup of each). However, I highly recommend using fresh key limes.
Honey- Honey is my sweetener of choice here. I use a raw blossom honey. Blossom honey is light in color and has a milder flavor compared to clover honey. I find it to be the best sweetener for these key lime pie bars as it doesn’t leave a “honey” flavor in the filling.
Pecan Crust– This crust requires at least 30 minutes of chilling before baking. I have also let it chill overnight with success. This allows the coconut oil to re-solidified and hold all the ingredients together.
Chilling– I recommend chilling for at least 5 hours. Chill it overnight if you can! The longer it chills the firmer the filling will be.
This will be my new go-to key lime pie recipe. It’s so easy to make, the sweet and tart combination is perfection, and no more sweetened condensed milk!
Key Lime Pie Bars
Ingredients
Pecan Crust
- ¾ cup raw pecan pieces
- ¼ cup + ½ tablespoon coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil melted
Key Lime Filling
- 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk full fat
- 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder
- 6 tablespoons honey blossom (see tidbits above)
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup key lime juice approximatley 10-11 key limes
- ½ tablespoon key lime zest
Instructions
Pecan Crust-
- Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse all of the crust ingredients except for the coconut oil until the pecans are coarsely ground. Add the coconut oil and pulse a few times until it has been fully incorporated.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Chill the unbaked crust in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Place the pan on the middle rack of a preheated 350F oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Watch carefully as the nuts in the crust can brown quickly. Allow the crust to cool completely before adding the filling.
Key Lime Filling-
- Separate the coconut cream from the coconut water and pour the coconut water into a microwave safe bowl or small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the coconut water, set aside to allow the gelatin to absorb some of the liquid, about 5 minutes.
- Once the gelatin has absorbed some of the coconut water, you will need to warm up the coconut water to allow the gelatin to dissolve. If using a microwave safe bowl, place it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Mix it until the gelatin has dissolved completely. If you are using a saucepan, on medium-low heat warm the coconut water and mix continuously until the gelatin has dissolved. *Do not bring to a boil.
- In a medium bowl or blender, combine the gelatin mixture, coconut cream, honey, Greek yogurt, key lime juice, and zest. Mix until completely combined. Gently pour filling into the prepared pie crust.
- Cover and place in the refrigerator until the filling has set, at least 5 hours. Cut into 12 pieces and serve cold.
Wow! These Lime bars look perfect and so healthy. Great recipe!
Thanks Muskaan!