Growing up in Georgia, and spending so much time in Florida, I never realized how regional of a dish Key Lime Pie actually is. Since moving to California, I have not seen it on a menu even once, and both key limes and key lime juice can be hard to find out here. I went to at least 5 different grocery stores before finding one bag of almost juiceless key limes. I then proceeded to juice each tiny one by hand, but it was worth it all in the end! This key lime pie is so luscious and creamy that nobody would ever guess it’s made mostly out of nuts and avocado! No eggs, cream, or gelatin in this recipe! I also chose to leave out cane sugar, and simply sweetened the pie with agave and dates. Despite how (relatively) healthy this key lime pie is, it tastes just as decadent and delightfully zesty as its traditional southern counterpart, with macadamia and coconut in the crust just to add to the tropical flavor.

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1 cup roasted and salted Macadamia nuts

1 cup dates, pitted

1/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut

For the Key Lime Layer:

2 1/2 cups cashews that have been soaked in water overnight

1 ripe avocado

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons agave nectar

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons key lime juice

1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted

1/2 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste OR 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Whipped Cream Layer:

1 can full fat coconut milk. This is an ingredient easily found in the Asian food section of any grocery store, my favorite brand is Thai Kitchen because of the textural consistency (make sure to chill the can overnight first)

1 teaspoon agave nectar

Directions: