Key lime pie is a really simple and easy to make pie for beginners. It doesn’t require many ingredients to make this flavorful and fresh pie that melts in your mouth. The secret to making an authentic key lime pie is to use real key lime juice and fresh key lime zest in the ingredients, instead of using bottled juice concentrates or fresh lime juice.
Key lime is smaller than lime (Persian lime) with more tart and bitter flavor and higher acidity. It is quite easy to find in most grocery stores these days, but is a little bit pricier than lime. When I found a bag of key limes for only $1.49 at a local grocery store, I knew it was time to make a key lime pie.
Egg yolks and condensed milk are often used in many non-vegan key lime pies. I am glad it is easy to make a vegan version by simply using non-dairy milk, corn starch, and stevia to accomplish the silky pie filling. For the pie crust, I used gluten-free rice chex cereal instead of graham cracker. Adding a few tablespoons of coco powder for a chocolate flavored pie crust makes this pie even more interesting and flavorful, for both the taste and appearance.
Although key lime pie is more of a summer pie, I like it because it is very easy to make and no baking is needed. It can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for days and still keep its fresh and unique tart taste. For you weight watchers, this low calorie dessert is one you will definitely enjoy without guilt.

- 1-1/3 cup non-dairy milk soy or almond
- 3 tbs starch corn or tapioca
- 1 can 13.5 oz full fat coconut milk
- ¼ tsp pure stevia extract powder
- 2/3 cup fresh key lime juice approximately from 13 key limes
- 1 tbs key lime zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups Gluten Free Rice Chex
- 4 tbs canola oil
- 3 tbs cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp pure stevia extract powder
- 2 tbs water
- Use the lemon zester to get the zest from key limes. Then cut the key limes in half and use a citrus reamer to collect all juice from key limes.
- Whisk together all filling ingredients in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan over medium-high heat until it is boiling. Stir occasionally. Turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature before pouring into the pie crust.
- Meanwhile, place rice cereal in a large zip lock bag, use a rolling pin to crush the cereal until fine crumbs form.
- In a mixing bowl, combine and mix the rest of the crust ingredients. Transfer the crushed cereal into the mixing bowl and mix well until the cereal is evenly coated with the oil mixture.
- Transfer the crust into a lightly greased pie dish. Spread evenly on the sides and bottom. Press with hands to compact the crumbs. Place the pie crust in a freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes or until it is firm.
- Pour the filling into the chilled pie crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until the filling is firm. Serve cold.

Would using lite coconut milk be ok? Thanks!
Lite coconut might contain too much water. In that case, you probably need to use more starch to make the filling firm.
Whats a more vegan substitute for canola oil and chex. both are gross to me and not healthy. Sorry
You can use all-purpose gluten-free flour and vegan butter (such as smart balance). You can also make the crust use my dairy-free mango cheesecake recipe (https://lightorangebean.com/dairy-free-mango-cheesecake/) if you don’t like Chex.
This looks stunning and I can almost taste that delicious zestyness of the key limes!
Thanks Kat! The recipe turned out fantastic when using fresh key limes. 🙂