These delicious and healthy key lime tarts are no-bake, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and perfect for spring or summertime. Made with cashews, dates, lime and zest, they are wonderfully fresh and delightful tasting!
Healthy Key Lime Tarts
Hello August! I made these Key Lime Tarts years ago on the blog (in the middle of winter… which is kind of odd) and because the recipe has been so popular, I knew it was time for a recipe revamp, and what better a time than August long weekend.
These tarts are rich, creamy, tangy, dairy and gluten free, and they most definitely will satisfy a hankering for something sweet and cool in the hot weather. The lime flavor comes through just enough to give them a citrus hint which goes wonderfully with the richness from a few other healthy ingredients.
Just how are these “rich & creamy” tarts “dairy free”? Avocados and cashews!
Both avocado and cashews are perfect fats to make a creamy dessert as the taste from both is pretty much undetectable, the dynamic duo simply lends to the luscious, silky, texture of the top limey layer in these tasty tarts.The avocados also help to give the tarts their beautiful green shade, and not to mention the healthy omega fatty acids that avocados are known so well for.
With all of the healthy fats coming from the avocados and cashews, and the vitamin C rich limes, this really is a “beautifying dessert”. For the crust I used dates, coconut, and walnuts crust which lends protein, fiber, omega fatty acids, and many vitamins and minerals to this seemingly indulgent treat and for natural sweetness I used raw unpasteurized honey. (Strict vegans, you can easily swap out the honey for coconut nectar or agave nectar.)
When it comes to the lime… well, I have a confession to make. In the revamping of this recipe I actually used regular lime because I literally could NOT find any key limes in any of my local grocery stores. The joys of living in the prairies.
The good thing was that these tarts tasted just as amazing as the original recipe using regular lime instead, so I’m confident to say that when you are making these tarts you can use either regular lime or key lime.
In the original post I also used sliced kiwi as a garnish and I just love the look of the green kiwi on top of the pretty little green tart, so when I created them to rephotograph I decided to stick with the kiwi and then top the other half of the batch in a very thin slice of lime.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this simple recipe revamp and the new and updated recipe photos. I always have a chuckle going back to posts I created when I first started the blog to see my photography back then. While I also sometimes cringe, seeing the progress I’ve made over the years is really encouraging!
- Crust:
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded
- 1 cup walnuts
- ½ cup pitted dates (soaked in warm water for 30 minutes)
- Filling:
- 2 firm and ripe avocados (not over-ripe)
- ½ cup soaked raw cashews (soak for at least 6 hours in water, then drain)
- ¼ cup fresh lime or key lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime or key lime zest
- ¼ cup raw honey or agave nectar (for vegan)
- Garnish:
- 12 thin slices of kiwi or 12 very thin slices of lime or key lime
- Soak the cashews ahead of time, drain and set aside.
- Grease a 12-muffin tin, set aside.
- Place the coconut and walnuts in a food processor. Blend until coarsely ground. Add the dates and process until the mixture begins to stick together. Press about 1½ tablespoons of the mixture into the bottom of each cup, about ¼ full.
- Process all of the filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling into each muffin cup. Smooth the top.
- Garnish with a fresh slice of kiwi or a very thin slice of lime.
- Freeze for 60 minutes to set.
- Enjoy!
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Christal // NITK
Nellie and Joes bottle key lime juice. It’s usually on an upper shelf in the juice aisle.
Holy smokes, these look wonderful! I wish I had raw cashews and coconut so I can make these!
You better go get some, these sure are wonderful!!!
I am subscribed to your newsletter because I love all of your healthy, and scrumptious recipes. I’m going to try the key lime tarts but I’m assuming the cashews go into the processor with the other topping ingredients and not the crumbly bottom layer. Correct? The recipe doesn’t really say. Thanks and keep up the great work. Also, your pics are great too!
Thanks so much for subscribing Peggy! Yes, that’s right! The cashews go in with the top layer. I may have missed that in the instructions, will edit now! 🙂
Just made these…they are setting in the freezer! So yummy. We plan to eat these throughout the week. Do you recommend just leaving them in the freezer or transferring them to the refridgerator?
Hi Brittany! Yes I would store in the freezer and let thaw for about 10 minutes before eating!
So this might be a dumb question but I’m going to make them in advance for a party do I need to keep them frozen?
Not a dumb question at all! yes I would keep them frozen until about 15 minutes before serving! 🙂
What size avacadoes? Haas are so much smaller than those big green ones. Can you tell me approx. how many cups?
Thanks.
Hi Roberta, I would say 2 cups!
I found the recipe for these on instagram. I’ve given them a shot and theres a few things i’m wondering. The base seems really loose, there’s no real “binding” ingredient there is there.. Perhaps its not helped because 1 cup of coconut is a lot, or perhaps its because i didn’t soak my dates. My filling is GREEN! I mean the avocado i’ve used are properly green and i’m wondering how yours have so little colour?
I ended up with too much base ingredient and too little filling, so i made up some greek yoghurt lime mix for the remainder which worked quite well. Have you tried a avocado/greek yog mix before?
Hey! The dates are definitely the binder for the crust – so you may need to add some of the date soaking liquid if yours were too dry! That should help keep the crust together better!
I’m not sure why yours was much greener than mine! Maybe a different variety of avocado??
When you are putting the crust in the tins make sure you pack them down really good, that will give you less volume and help them stick! 🙂 I haven’t tried doing greek yogurt with the avocado!
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking honey in the crust, but will try soaked dates first.
I’m thinking an avocado/lime/honey/greek yoghurt mix will actually work pretty well. 🙂