This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Key Lime Pie Bars are a favorite dessert in a bar!! They have a graham cracker crust and a delicious cream cheese and lime filling.
If you love Key Lime Pie, you will love this bar version. And while you’re at it, be sure to try Key Lime Cake too!
Summertime dessert
Key lime pie bars are a favorite bright and refreshing summer dessert! They’re everything you love about traditional Key Lime Pie, with a delicious twist!
You get a little of the creamy texture and the tanginess of cheesecake with the bright flavor of lime! Oh my goodness, they are absolutely divine. If I could, I would eat these ALL summer long!
These bars are super easy to make and only require 10 ingredients. Aside from the chilling, they take about 35 minutes to make from start to finish. Not too bad, right?!
This delicious key lime bars recipe needs to go on your must-make dessert list! It was a huge hit with my family, I know it’ll get rave reviews from yours too!
How to make Key Lime Pie Bars
PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and set aside.
CRUST. In a food processor or in a large Ziploc bag with a rolling pin, crush the graham crackers until fine crumbs form.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, salt, and butter, and mix to combine. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the lined pan. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
FILLING. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add the condensed milk and mix until combined.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition followed by the lime zest, juice, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
BAKE. Pour the filling over the hot, baked crust. Return to the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until set. The top should not be brown.
CHILL + ENJOY! Remove from the oven and chill in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours before serving. I prefer dense, cold bars, so I generally give them the full 4 hours, however, the pictures taken above were shot after 2 hours. Enjoy!
Variations
These key lime cheesecake bars are delicious as is. Enhance the flavor and beautify them with an assortment of toppings!
- garnish with a slice of lime
- sprinkle with lime zest
- add a dollop of Whipped Cream
- top with toasted coconut
Recipe Tips
Graham cracker crumbs. You’ll need 15 full sheets of graham crackers or about 1½ to 1¾ cups of crumbs. Classic graham crackers can be substituted for gluten-free.
Crust variations. My favorite crust for these bars is the Graham Cracker Crust. However, for more crust options try vanilla wafers or Shortbread Cookies.
Key Limes. A key lime has a unique flavor so I recommend trying to find key lime juice or using fresh key limes. Each key lime can produce about 2 tablespoons of juice so you will need about 4 key limes.
Make your own similar juice by combining 2 tablespoons of lime juice with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Zest. Use the limes to make fresh lime zest. If you don’t have a citrus zester you can use the small side of a cheese grater.
Double it. This dessert can be successfully doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch pan.
How to Store
STORE. Keep your key lime squares in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
FREEZE. Flash freeze cream cheese key lime bars by placing them on a baking sheet and putting them in the freezer. After a few hours, wrap each bar with plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ
Of course! The difference in flavor is subtle, so you can use them interchangeably.
While you could use bottled lime juice, you do need fresh limes to make the lime zest, so you may as well use fresh lime juice instead of the bottled stuff! Freshly squeezed juice tastes better anyways. 😉
For more lime treats, try:
Key Lime Pie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 1/2 cup key lime juice or regular lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a food processor or in a large Ziploc bag with a rolling pin, crush the graham crackers until fine crumbs form.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, salt, and butter. Mix to combine. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the lined pan. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add the condensed milk and mix until combined.
- Then, add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition followed by the lime zest, juice, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Pour the filling over the hot, baked crust. Return to the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until set. The top should not be brown. Remove from the oven and chill in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours before serving. I prefer dense, cold bars, so I generally give them the full 4 hours, however, the pictures taken above were shot after 2 hours.
- Cut and serve, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
For more recipes head on over to Life Made Simple!
These key lime pie bars are one of our go-to summer dessert recipes! They are sp refreshing and brimming with flavors.
I love a good lemon bar, and this key lime one is 1000 times better! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!
Do you literally go from oven to frig to chill or let them cool on the counter a bit? Thanks!
You can do it either way! Both work just fine to cool the bars down.
PERFECT!!!!
I followed directions word for word … YUMMY! Can’t wait to make it again!!!!!
Can you substitute anything for the egg yolks?
I have never tried subbing anything for the egg yolks. I’m sure you could search/google some egg yolk substitutions and see if any of them sound like a good fit with the recipe. I personally probably wouldn’t, but we’d love to hear if you do and what you used/how the bars turned out! 🙂
If you are using graham cracker crumbs then how much cup wise do you need? I’m making them gluten free and I bought gluten free graham cracker crumbs so I need to know how much to use?
It would be about 1 1/2 cups.
I doubled the recipe to bake in 13×9 pan and it was pure perfection!
Yay!! So glad that you loved it!
Just excellent! Easy to make. Instructions are clear. And the finished product has the right balance of sweet and tart!
Thanks for sharing! I’m so happy you liked them so much!
Have made these many times and absolutely love them. I did make just a couple of minor changes. I used the full 8 ounce block of cream cheese and omitted the vanilla extract. Adding the extra two ounces of cream cheese was actually a mistake the second time I made them, as I failed to read the recipe correctly. However, it didn’t at all affect the final product, and had the added benefit of eliminating 2 ounces of cream cheese sitting in my fridge with no future need. The vanilla would only have muted the tartness of the lime juice, and I don’t believe vanilla should come anywhere near citrus. These are delicious and very easy to make. No adjustment in cooking time with the added cream cheese.
Sounds great!! Thank you for sharing all that!