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Key lime pie bars are a favorite, bright and refreshing summer dessert! They’re everything we 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. We could eat these ALL summer long!
These bars are super easy to make and only require 10 ingredients. Aside from the chilling, they take about 30 minutes to make from start to finish. Not too bad, right?!
This delicious key lime bar recipe needs to go on your must-make dessert list! It is a huge hit with our family, we know it’ll get rave reviews from yours too!
Why we think you’ll love it:
- For lime lovers. If you love key lime pie, you will love this bar version.
- Chill for later. These bars are are perfect for making ahead of time – even several days!
- Simple steps. The graham cracker crust and filling come together easily with minimal effort – about 30 minutes of work!
Key Lime Pie Bars Ingredients and Substitutions
Crust
- 15 sheets graham crackers, (or 30 squares) – about 1¾ cups of graham cracker crumbs. Classic graham crackers can be substituted for gluten-free ones or try making vanilla wafers or Shortbread Cookie crust.
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- pinch salt – omit if using salted butter
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted – or use salted butter
Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk – do not use evaporated milk
- 4 egg yolks – How to Separate Egg Whites from yolks
- 1 tablespoon lime zest – How to Zest a Lemon or lime
- ½ cup key lime juice – Make key lime juice by combining 3 tablespoons of lime juice with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- optional garnish – a slice of lime, sprinkle with lime zest, add a dollop of Whipped Cream, or top with toasted coconut
How to Make Key Lime Pie Bars
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch square baking 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 15 sheets graham crackers until fine crumbs form.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, a pinch of salt, and melted butter, and mix to combine. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the lined baking dish. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- FILLING. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer (or the bowl of a stand mixer), beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add sweetened condensed milk and mix until combined.
- Add egg yolks one at a time to the mixture, mixing well after each addition, followed by lime zest, key lime juice, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- BAKE. Pour the key lime 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. Remove from the oven and chill in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours before serving.
Key Lime Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 15 sheets graham crackers, (or 30 squares)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- pinch salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- ½ cup key lime juice, or regular lime juice
- ½ 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.
- Cut and serve, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Keep the key lime squares in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Place bars on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer to flash-freeze. 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.
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This recipe was originally published May 2017.
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!