I cannot explain how excited I am to share this beautiful lime, dates, and walnut pie recipe with you.
This is a superbly nutritious dessert where not a single gram of refined sugar is added.
And... it gets even more exciting since there's no baking involved in making this recipe at all!!
I have made this bake-free lime, dates avocado and walnut pie so many times this year (at my kids' increased demand) and I will confess to you: this pie is a tempting treat for kids, and you might not be able to stop them from demanding more of it, due to its addictive taste.
As you can see, it requires few ingredients, and you can swap some of these ingredients with ones you prefer or have in your kitchen fridge, cupboards or fruit basket.
This lime, dates, and walnut pie is totally vegan, baked, gluten and refined sugar-free, and totally and utterly flavorsome. Give this delicious beauty a try, please, please let me know what you think of it.
How to make dates and walnut pie
Tips:
¹ Resting/setting time: 3h
² I really can't recommend enough that you use Medjoul dates as these are simply the best. They are not dry and taste a lot better. If you can't find those and your dates are dry those will need soaking.
³ Please note that although cacao and cocoa are coming from the same tree they are not the same and the difference is quite significant cacao is the raw cold-pressed and most unprocessed product whereas the latter suffers some processing which is high-temperature roasting. It is believed that cacao is the richest of all foods yet discovered in magnesium and antioxidants. Of course, you can use whichever one you have but the best is to use the raw and unprocessed one and also look out when you buy it to buy the best stuff.
⁴ Walnuts, remember to toast them slightly. They will taste just divine.
⁵ Avocados you can use two small as stipulated or 1 ½ medium-sized ones. The trick is that the fruits have to be perfectly ripe otherwise you will get chunks of fruits. It is the same with the mango, this has to be perfectly ripe so there would be no mango lumps in the filling. You can, instead of avocado, use papaya. Superb!
⁶ If you don't happen to have any agave or dates syrup use honey, it's absolutely perfect and acceptable as well as very tasty and healthy.
⁷ Cashew nuts can be replaced with almonds, but whichever you chose to use will need to be soaked for at least 30'
⁸ Lime can be replaced or halved with passion fruit meaning that you could use half lime and half passion juice (of course you will need to remove the seeds) Delicious!
Feel adventurous with the ingredients! Go for it... and please let me know what interesting changes you've made.
Other recipes you may like:
- Cinnamon roll apple pie
- Easy cinnamon rolls with homemade jam
- No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe
- 17 Ultimate Chocolate Desserts for All Tastes
Enjoy it, my dearest friends!
Sugar and bake-free lime, dates and walnut pie
Equipment
- knife
- chopping board
- bowl
- spatula
- glass dish
- food processor
Ingredients
For the pie crust:
- 220 g dates (pitted) ²
- 30 g cacao powder ³
- 100 g walnuts (slightly toasted) ⁴
- 45 g coconut (desiccated)
- 1 teaspoon himalayan salt (pink salt)
For the pie filling:
- 2 small avocados ⁵
- 115 ml agave or dates syrup, or nectar ⁶
- 200 g cashew nuts (soaked for 30-40 minutes) ⁷
- 6-8 limes (squeeze the juice) or replace with 200-240 ml juice
- 170 ml coconut oil (melted)
- ½ mango (ripe)
- 4-5 slices lime (and/or lime) to decorate ⁸
- 1 teaspoon zest (from lemons and limes) for decoration
Instructions
- In a food processor, using the S-sharped blade whizz all the ingredients for the crust (dates, walnuts, coconut, cacao powder and the slat). You might have to start initially with pulse mode as the dates can be a bit tricky until they get going into the desired texture. When they are becoming a thick crumbed paste take out and put on a 23 cm (approx. 9 inches) tray. Ideally would be a loose base baking tray but if you do not have one of those in this size, line any dish (that has got edges of at least 1 cm height that matches the given size) with a few layers of cling film or aluminium foil and leave some extra length to form some edges to make it easier to handle when you will need to take it out and transfer it onto the serving plate. Making use of your own fist and palm, spread the base mixture and press it evenly into the base pushing against the sides of the dish so that it forms the edges that should go up for 1 cm or almost.
- Wash the food processor or wipe clean. Using the same S-shaped blade, put all the filling ingredients in (the soaked cashew nuts, lime juice, the avocado flesh, mango, the melted coconut oil and the agave or date syrup), whizz them well until you get a nice and pretty smooth paste.
- With the help of a spatula transfer the filling mixture on to the base and spread evenly, I will even allow you to give it a little shake if you wish ;-), just go for it.
- Chill for about 3 hours in the fridge allowing to set beautifully. After chilling time decorate with some thinly cut lime slices as well as some lemon and lime zest.
- Because the quantities are quite for some number you could easily freeze some by slicing it into desired sizes and it can be kept in the freezer for quite some time (up to 2 months). Whenever you wish to serve one or more, take out of the freezer and defrost for a minimum of 4-5 hours in the fridge where can be kept for as long as 6-7 days.
Christine says
Really delicious! My husband couldn't believe that there wasn't dairy in it. The base is going to become a staple for all cheesecakes and similar cakes it is gorgeous.
Definitely going to make this again.
Ramona says
Thank you so much dear Cristine, I’m super happy you guys liked this recipe. It is really creamy and delicious indeed. It’s funny, I also use this base for cheesecakes, it is a much better option (nutritionally talking) than the digestives with butter, isn’t it. 🙏🏼
Syama says
This is absolutely lovely - never mind it is healthy ! I do not have mangoes , but there is some mango puree left over - am definitely going to try this !
Ramona says
Thank you so much Syama - it really is a lovely, lovely recipe - so moreish - my kids really love it and that makes me super and extra happy. I am so glad you liked it - I do hope you will manage to make it and if you do, please do let me know if you loved it as much as we do. 😉
Melve says
Wonderful! I think I'm in love with your vegan pie, sounds delicious and I am sure my kid will also love this. Thanks for sharing.
Ramona says
Hi Melve and thank you for your lovely comment - I am sure your family would love it too. My family and friends all really, really love it. Few of my friends asked me to make it for them again and again. 😉
Beth says
oh, man! This looks so tempting! I love that it is sugar free, as well! It's health food, so I would make it for my kids all of the time!
Ramona says
Hi Beth,
My kids ask for this avocado and lime pie often, they are in love with it now- initially they were not but now they absolutely love it - they made it once too and since they know what’s in it they feel so in love with it.