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
I have all the ingredients, can’t wait to try it! I don’t have a food processor though, would a blender work?
It should! You may just have to make the crust in batches! 🙂
These were delicious! I just made them tonight. I was out of honey so I used agave instead. They came out great, a bit tart.. Maybe if I used honey they would be sweeter but their still delicious! Thanks for the recipe
You are welcome! 🙂
Thank you so so so much for this recipe! I somehow managed to make the filling too watery, so I added some coconut cream, and it worked perfecty 🙂 Now I’m going to investigate the rest of your amazing recipes on the website
Many hugs and thank yous from your new Finnish fan!
Great to have you here Lotta! 🙂
I have a ton of key limes to use. Thanks for the healthy recipe. I can’t wait to try these.
How ripe should the avocados be?
ripe! not brown, but ripe! 🙂
One of our staff brought these into the office today! They are awesome! A burst of spring flavour. They are on my list to make for Easter!
Love your site, Christal!
Awesome! THanks Heidi!
These are setting in the freezer! Key lime pie is my favorite dessert and this filling is so much better than the original – health and taste wise! <3
Enjoy Victoria! 🙂
Was very sceptical at the idea of avocado at first, just had a taste to test them out before I take them to a dinner party tonight… The verdit ? AMAZIIIIING!
And they are so damn cute! Thanks for a great recipe! X
Awesome!! 🙂 SO glad to hear this!
Hi! Love the recipe. One question – what would you recommend using instead of coconut? The other ingredients taste great but I just can’t get over the coconut part. Thanks!
You can use 1 cup of instant oats!
I just made these and they are setting in the freezer!! Can’t wait!! The filling is soo good!!!
Yum! Enjoy! 🙂