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Key lime pie is one of my family’s all time favorite desserts. Making it conventionally is a surefire way to risk a nasty cold or sinus infection though. The reason is the sweetened condensed milk that is a key ingredient of this dish. It is one of the most allergenic and unhealthy processed foods on the market!
Dr. Weston A. Price noted in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration that white sugar, white flour, and condensed milk were the original “displacing foods of modern commerce” which caused ancestral cultures to abandon their traditional diets to the peril of themselves and their children.
Even using organic sweetened condensed milk is problematic. The lengthy heating time required to reduce organic milk down to a condensed state thoroughly denatures the fragile milk proteins. Denatured milk proteins do not digest well even for those with a healthy gut. The enzymes produced by the body to perform the task no longer work properly, as the damaged milk protein molecules do not fit them like puzzles pieces to complete the appropriate metabolic reactions.
Undigested food molecules are a primary food for gut pathogens. They encourage their growth and proliferation, crowding out beneficial microbial strains. In addition, when a food does not digest well, a cleansing or allergenic reaction can be triggered by the body which frequently manifests as increased mucous production.
For these reasons, key lime pie made with sweetened condensed milk is to be avoided, organic or not!
Healthy Sweetened Condensed Milk for Key Lime Pie?
It is still possible to enjoy delicious key lime pie, however. A healthy sweetened condensed milk is easily made with coconut milk instead of dairy milk.
Coconut milk has very little protein, so the lengthy heating process to condense it down does not denature as it does with milk. I used to make it myself, but now I can actually buy affordably priced sweetened condensed coconut milk (sources). This saves a tremendous amount of time!
Key Lime versus Lime Juice
Another tweak I make to my personal key lime pie recipe is to use actual key lime juice.
The picture above shows me holding real key limes. As you can see, they look like mini lemons rather than limes.
When you cut them open, key limes are greenish on the inside just like a regular lime! The juice from key limes if much tarter, however, which makes the sweet-sour flavor of the key lime pie that much more tantalizing.
If you can get hold of true key limes to make the recipe below, it is well worth the effort. The flavor is significantly improved over using regular limes.
Key Lime Pie Crust
A third difference between conventional key lime pie recipes and my personal creation is using a chocolate cookie crust instead of a graham cracker pie crust.
The tart key lime flavor of the pie filling goes particularly well with the rich chocolate flavor of the crust.
As of this writing, there are no healthy chocolate cookie crusts on the market, so you will have to make your own. This recipe for a homemade chocolate cookie crust is very simple, fast and uses healthy fats. It also does not require pre-baking.
By using sweetened condensed coconut milk, juice from actual key limes, and a healthy chocolate cookie crust, you can create a key lime pie that will truly wow your family and friends. It will also be a pie that is not only delicious, but one that can be enjoyed in moderation with no risk to health.
Be sure to top each piece with a dollop of nondairy homemade whipped cream!
Key Lime Pie Recipe
This healthy and delicious key lime pie recipe uses all natural healthy ingredients and is dairy free too. Certain to wow your family and friends especially when made with a chocolate cookie crust!
Ingredients
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed coconut milk
- 4 large eggs preferably pastured
- 1/2 cup key lime juice substitute lime juice as necessary
- 1 tbsp dark maple syrup preferably organic
- 1 chocolate cookie crust
Instructions
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Separate the whites from the yolks for 3 of the 4 large eggs and set aside.
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Lightly beat the 3 egg yolks with the whole egg in a glass bowl.
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Slowly mix in this brand of organic sweetened condensed coconut milk with egg yolks and optional additional whole egg until just blended. Do not overblend or the pie will end up soupy. If you prefer, you can refer to this how to make sweetened condensed milk tutorial instead.
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Slowly drizzle key lime juice into egg yolk mixture until just blended. Take care not to overbeat or the filling will get soupy.
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Pour key lime filling into chocolate cookie pie crust. A graham cracker pie crust may be substituted if desired.
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Beat egg whites with dark maple syrup until stiff. Pour meringue onto key lime filling and spread with a large spoon until the pie surface is completely covered.
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Bake key lime pie at oven preheated to 350 °F/ 177 °C for 15 minutes.
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Remove pie from oven. Meringue should be light brown on top.
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Let key lime pie cool on the counter until room temperature.
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Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Recipe Notes
If you use canned sweetened condensed coconut milk, take care to pour out and discard any clear liquid at the bottom of the can. Be sure to use 14 ounces of the thick sweetened condensed coconut milk and not any of this clear liquid else it will cause the filling to be too soupy. This may require more than 1 can depending on the brand purchased.
Bottled lime juice may be used in a pinch, but fresh key lime juice produces the tastiest results.
If you prefer to make your key lime pie without meringue on top, you can whip the egg whites and make macaroons instead. This video plus recipe for macaroons shows you how.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
How runny should the filling be right out of the oven? Mine is like soup. I use 2 whole eggs. Will it set later?
That is very odd … did you perhaps overbeat the eggs when you added the sweetened condensed milk?
Thanks for the tip, I’ll try 2 eggs next time!
I found this recipe easy to follow, I did see under the coconut condensed milk blog you recommended baking the pie longer than 15 minutes but I forgot! It’s on the runny side, but still tastes amazing and is nice and tart, and sweet! Even though my condensed milk cooked down to less than 14 oz it was still ok in the end! I will make this again, my husband and I love key lime pie!
The coconut condensed milk does not hold the pie filling together as well as dairy condensed milk … cooking a bit longer and using 1-2 whole eggs in addition to egg yolks does the trick 🙂
I don’t think this is a clearly written recipe. It is not clear what is beating too much. If the optional extra egg is so important, why is it optional then? Also, it should say that the beating utensil and bowl should be cleaned in between beating the batter with the egg yolks and whipping the egg whites–the whites should not have any yolks on them! This did not turn out, needless to say, and it was a lot of waste of work and food.
Any ideas on how to salvage the soupy result of overbearing the pie?
I’ve overbaked before and we ate it anyway … more as a pudding! It still tastes amazing.
I repeated the recipe using 1 and 1/3 cans. It still came out like soup though I lightly folded in the ingredients. After mixing the ingredients should they still be visibly separated? I’m not a novice cook, this has me puzzled and I want to get it right! I will try it again in the future. Thanks for your response Sarah.
Try using one whole egg as suggested in the recipe in addition to the egg yolks next time .. it firms it up nicely if you are having troubles.
I followed instructions to the letter and used the products recommended in the recipe. The can of condensed coconut milk is 11.25 ounces but when I put it in a measuring cup it was much less and I had to use another can to equal 14 ounces.(?) There was no clear liquid at the bottom of the can. The pie came out liquid, and the meringue shrank away from the plate sides in the refrigerator! The filling has a wonderful taste but I couldn’t get anyone to eat it. Any thoughts on why this happened?
Overbeating the filling before baking can cause it to be too liquid. The notes section of the recipe mentions this. Did you use the optional whole egg to firm up the filling?
Thanks you sooo much Sarah! I have avoided making recipes calling for sweetened condensed milk for years because of the horrible sinus mucous that you get from eating it. Now we finally have an option for a healthy alternative.
Made this for the office holiday party to take. Could not taste the coconut at all!
Hi Sarah!
Does this have a noticeable coconut flavor from the sweetened coconut milk?
Thanks & Merry Christmas!
Kelly
Actually, it really doesn’t that I can taste anyway! I don’t think anyone would know the difference.