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Dessert

Great Key Lime Pie

A vegan key lime pie made with tofu, soy cream cheese, and key lime juice.

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Why it works: Vanilla and honey are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,262 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Great Key Lime Pie

Time2–3 hours chilling

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Drain any excess water from the tofu.

  2. Blend tofu and lime juice in a processor or blender until creamy and smooth.

  3. Add the rest of the ingredients (except crust!), and blend again until smooth.

  4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and beat on high speed with an electric mixer, since it was too thick and stiff for the blender.

Set the pie

  1. Pour the mixture into the crust and chill 2–3 hours or until firm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

393Calories
17 gProtein
21 gFat
35 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 10 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Tofu100g firm76
Cracker5 saltine crackers (15g)66
Honey1 tbsp (21g)64
Soy Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Matenot in our table0
Puddingnot in our table0
Pastrynot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Vanilla + honeytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,262 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Tofu + limetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together123 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Cream cheese + honeytop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together170 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  4. Cream cheese + vanillatop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,929 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  5. Lime + honeytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together679 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Firm silken tofu
Provides the creamy body and structure of the filling without dairy.
Soy cream cheese
Adds richness and a tangy, creamy texture to the filling.
Key lime juice
Supplies the sharp acidity that defines the pie's flavor.
Vanilla pudding mix
Thickens the filling so it sets firm when chilled.

The step that matters

Beating the filling until smooth. The mixture is thick and stiff, so the blender may strain or leave lumps. Beating with an electric mixer makes it smooth and evenly textured, which helps the filling set uniformly.

Swap the lime

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, cream cheese, mate, vanilla, honey):

  1. Coconutfits better
  2. Blueberryfits better
  3. Mangofits about as well
  4. Limethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tofu, cream cheese, mate, vanilla, honey. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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