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!Â
Healthy Key Lime Tarts
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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 //Â NITK
These look so good! I’m actually allergic to avocado though (which is such a bummer because I LOVE avacados…especially guacamole! ). Anyway do you have any suggestions for a substitute for avacado? Maybe sugarfree pudding? Thanks so much!
Hmmmm.. that’s a tough one! I’m really not sure what would work well.. maybe banana? but that would change the whole taste! Have you seen my mini banoffee pies recipe? https://nutritioninthekitch.com/2013/08/02/gluten-free-no-bake-mini-banoffee-pies-a-50-iherb-com-shopping-spree-giveaway/
I was looking for some dairy-free or lactose free recipes for my 3yr. Old daughter. She loves everything but she is lactose intolerant. These will be great and healthy too for her and I will.try to make her these as a dessert or a snack!!
Wonderful, I hope she enjoys! She may need a little extra sweetness because these can be quite ‘tart’ 😉 I would up the honey!
Hi I wanted to try these for work, but I have a lot of co workers with nut allergies what could I use as a replacement for the nuts.
Thank you
Kristie Gilchrist
Hi Kristie! You can use sunflower or pumpkin seeds in the place of nuts! 🙂 Typically those with nut allergies can still do seeds – you might want to just double check though! 🙂
Hi Christal! I was wondering If I could use something else instead of dates…raisins? I have all ingredients here except the dates. They look yummy! Thank you! 🙂
and one more thing, I have pecans, would that work instead of walnuts?
Absolutely! 🙂
Thank you, you’re the best! 🙂
You could try raisins, you might just need a lot more, and maybe throw in some nut butter for extra “stickiness”!
Finally had a chance to make these for a dinner party last night. They were a huge hit and my daughter didn’t even realize she was eating avocado! It’s wonderful how the lime flavour infuses the avocado after the tarts have been in the freezer for a while. I’m tempted to have one for breakfast, and I love that I could totally do so with zero guilt 🙂
Yes! You totally could! 🙂 I haven’t made these in forever, I think it’s time! So glad you enjoyed them Deb and thank you again for always the wonderful feedback!
Is it necessary to serve after the set time, or will they stay good for a few days?
As long as they are kept cold they will stay good. At room temperature they will go mushy! 🙂 I store mine in the freezer!
I made these for a potluck. I added one tablespoon of sugar alongside the honey to give it a bit more sweetness and cover up the avocado flavor. I also added an additional tablespoon of lime juice, which I thought brought out the tartness of the limes.
In any case, I think some of the staff were intimated by the bright green, but those that really like limes enjoyed this dessert.
Hey Bethany! Thanks so much for trying these and taking the time for feedback! I love the bright green of these tarts but I can see why some people might be put off by it, and also those who aren’t used to out-of-the-ordinary desserts!
This were so awful they had no sweet taste about them all you could taste were the avocados and I even added extra honey
Wow, awful is a pretty harsh word! I’m sorry they weren’t your thing! I’ve heard great reviews and love them myself so it must be that we have different taste preferences! Thank you for the feedback regardless! You might want to try additional sweetener if you found them too bitter.
What about powderedsugar
You could use powdered sugar but that would defeat the purpose of these being healthy. Have you tried stevia? I used stevia in my tarts which adds a lot of sweetness! Stevia is a natural much healthier alternative to powdered sugar
The green was not even the same color mine was a dark green.In yours do you taste avocados
The avocado taste in mine is very subtle, it just gives them a creamy texture, I tasted much more of the lime tartness and sweetness of the honey. Maybe different varietals of avocado makes a difference too? I usually use Haas avocado variety!
Are you supposed to serve frozen?
Yes! Just slightly thawed is best!
Do you have any suggestion for a substitute for the Stevia? Possibly brown rice syrup? Or would you just recommend leaving it out entirely since it is optional?
Hi Briana, for a sweeter tart you will want to use some additional sweetener, and brown rice syrup would be fine, or even just additional 2 tablespoons of honey! If you don’ mind the top layer to be a little more sour you can leave out the stevia!