If you love the pie, then you will adore these Key Lime Pie Bars! Full of flavor, super easy and perfect for the spring and summer.
These Key Lime Pie Bars are a family hit, everyone loves the pie – but the bars are just equally loved in our household.
Don’t get me wrong I love a good pie recipe, but bars are some of my favorite desserts ever.
And when you can turn a classic into something else, why not right? That is exactly what we did with this Key Lime Pie Bar Recipe.
You have the nice tangy flavor from the key lime, the sweet and crunchiness from the graham cracker crust. Pair it with a whipped cream topping and you have a perfect balance.
I love that these are so easy to throw together, the hardest part is waiting for them to set up, but it’s totally worth it.
If you are a lime fan, then you absolutely cannot pass up making these Key Lime Pie Bars.
Some of our other favorite bar recipes that we have on our site include: No Bake Banana Cheesecake Bars, Hello Dolly Bars and Strawberry Shortcake Bars.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Minimal and easy to find ingredients help these come together nicely.
- You can double this recipe if you want more on hand.
- These have a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Graham cracker crumbs
Granulated sugar
Unsalted butter
Salt
Cream cheese
Vanilla extract
Key lime zest
Key lime juice
Sweetened condensed milk
Egg yolks
Key lime slices for garnish, optional
Whipped cream for garnish, optional
HOW TO MAKE KEY LIME PIE BARS, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare 8×8-inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil, set aside.
- Add crust ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and mix until combined.
- Press into even layer on bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes, then cool while preparing the filling.
- Add cream cheese, vanilla extract, lime juice, and lime zest into a bowl of a stand mixer or medium mixing bowl if using a hand mixer. Beat 2 minutes on medium-high speed, will be runny.
- Beat in condensed milk, about 2 minutes medium speed until combined.
- Then mix in egg yolks by hand, one-two at a time.
- Pour filling over baked crust.
- Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until filling is just set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours to overnight.
- Cut and serve with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkle of lime zest, and a key lime slice if desired.
I CAN’T FIND KEY LIMES, CAN I USE REGULAR LIMES?
If you cannot find key limes are your local grocer, you can substitute regular limes for this recipe.
The flavor will be a little different, key limes are more tangy and tart and will hold a little more punch of flavor.
But regular limes will taste equally as good in this recipe if you cannot find those key limes.
DO I HAVE TO USE GRAHAM CRACKERS FOR THE CRUST?
While this would be the traditional “pie crust” when making these bars you absolutely can substitute it.
We suggest substituting it with the same amount of vanilla wafers, you will get a slightly different flavor but still taste amazing.
CAN I DOUBLE THIS RECIPE?
Yes, if you want to double this recipe just double all the ingredients and then use a 9×13-inch baking pan instead.
The baking time should still be the same, but just check after that time and if they don’t look set just add about 5 more minutes and keep checking.
CAN I USE BOTTLED JUICE?
While I recommend using actual limes for this recipe, in a pinch you can use bottled key lime/lime juice.
You will absolutely not get the same flavor as you would with fresh, nor will you have that zest from the limes that add more flavor into the bars themselves.
HOW TO STORE:
These can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container where they will keep for up to 4 days.
They can also be frozen, do not decorate your bars and then wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap and place in a freezer container. They will keep in the freezer for up to 1-2 months.
To defrost, remove from the freezer into the refrigerator until thawed. Garnish with the toppings and serve.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature so it incorporates well.
- You can use regular limes in place of key limes but the flavor will be different, see above on the differences.
- Use vanilla wafers in place of graham cracker crumbs for a different crust flavor.
- Make sure you cool these before refrigerating.
- These need to refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving or up to overnight.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Double this recipe, see above on how to make in a 9×13-inch pan.
- Make sure you line your pan so these will come out easily.
Love a good bar that tastes like one of your favorite classic pies? Then you cannot skip making these Key Lime Pie Bars.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these KEY LIME PIE BARS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Key Lime Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Filling:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon key lime zest plus additional for garnish
- ½ cup key lime juice
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- Key lime slices for garnish sliced thin and halved, optional
- Whipped cream for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare 8×8-inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil, set aside.
- Add crust ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and mix until combined.
- Press into even layer on bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes, then cool while preparing the filling.
- Add cream cheese, vanilla extract, lime juice, and lime zest into a bowl of a stand mixer or medium mixing bowl if using a hand mixer. Beat 2 minutes on medium-high speed, will be runny.
- Beat in condensed milk, about 2 minutes medium speed until combined.
- Then mix in egg yolks by hand, one-two at a time.
- Pour filling over baked crust.
- Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until filling is just set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours to overnight.
- Cut and serve with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkle of lime zest, and a key lime slice if desired.
Notes
- Nutritional value does not include toppings.
- Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature so it incorporates well.
- You can use regular limes in place of key limes but the flavor will be different, see above on the differences.
- Use vanilla wafers in place of graham cracker crumbs for a different crust flavor.
- Make sure you cool these before refrigerating.
- These need to refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving or up to overnight.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Double this recipe, see above on how to make in a 9×13-inch pan.
- Make sure you line your pan so these will come out easily.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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