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My Key Lime Pie Bars are outrageously delicious and you need less than 10 ingredients to make them! These squares are zesty, filled with lime juice, and are the perfect springtime dessert! And the crust is seriously irresistible!
Something about springtime just makes me CRAVE lime-y desserts that are citrusy and tangy. These key lime pie bars are always the first desserts I crave when spring finally hits. It makes me feel like the humid wind blowing through my hair came straight from the Florida Keys. Or like I’m on vacation or something!
Key Lime Pie Bars! Have you had them? For me, it all starts with the perfect crust and the creamy filling.
And my crust, I guarantee, is like no other you’d had before. That’s because I add a few not-so-traditional ingredients for key lime pies into the crust. I know you’re giving me the look, but let me say that cinnamon and ground pecans are going to take these bars to the next level. The Cheesecake Factory uses nuts in some of their cheesecake crust to make the flavor so unique, along with a pinch of cinnamon. The cinnamon flavor isn’t noticeable if you’re worried about that. Just a quarter teaspoon makes the crust so delicious but keeps the eater guessing what it is that makes these key lime pie bars so addicting. You’ll also find a few typical ingredients like a boatload of fresh lime zest and lime juice in the filling.
Overall, these are sweet but tart, and totally irresistible.
Key Lime Pie Bars Video
Ingredients for key lime pie bars
- Graham cracker crumbs: I like to buy whole sheets of graham crackers in a box and then break them down into fine crumbs in the food processor. You can also just buy premade graham cracker crumbs these days so it cuts down on the prep work a little bit.
- Ground pecans: Adds nuttiness and texture to the key lime pie bar crust.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness to the graham cracker crust.
- Ground cinnamon: Just a pinch works so beautifully with the other crust ingredients.
- Butter: You’ll need a stick of melted, unsalted butter to use from the pie crust.
- Large Egg Yolks: You’ll need to separate 3 yolks from the eggs. I find it easier to separate the egg whites from the yolks while the eggs are cold. You can use the leftover egg whites for breakfast the next day or to make a meringue!
- Sweetened condensed milk: Adds sweetness to the key lime pie bars and keeps the bars nice and firm. A lot of recipes call for cream cheese, but I opt for sweetened condensed milk here and it’s absolutely perfect.
- Lime Zest: You‘ll need a good bit of fresh lime zest for this recipe. Make sure to use a good zester to help get the lime zest nice and fine. We’ll add this to the filling and whisk it together so that the flavor of the zest carries throughout the lime bars.
- Lime juice: Feel free to use key lime juice or regular lime juice for this. Nellie Key lime juice is the stuff that comes in a bottle, usually in the juice section of the grocery store. Key limes have a slightly floral scent and make the bars so much more delicious, but I do understand they aren’t available everywhere. You can also use bottled key lime juice for this recipe, but I tend to like the freshly squeezed version better.
How to make the best key lime pie bars
- Set yourself up with the basics. You want to start by preheating the oven. You’ll also want to grab an 8×8 baking pan for this recipe. Spray with cooking spray then line with a sheet of parchment paper. This keeps the sheet from moving around too much when you the press mixture of graham crackers into the pan.
- Make the crust. In a small bowl, combine the crushed-up graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Make sure that all the crumbs are evenly coated in the melted butter. This will make it much easier to press the crust into the prepared pan. Dump this out into the 8×8 pan and press it out to an even layer. It helps to use round bottom glass sprayed with cooking spray to aid in this step. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
- Make the key lime filling. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks together for 2 minutes. You want to do this when they aren’t cold from the fridge, they mix much easier when they’re closer to room temperature. Then add the condensed milk and continue to whisk until the mixture is combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixer, and add the lemon zest. With the mixer running on low, slowly drizzle in the lime juice while the filling combines. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and then bake the key lime pie bars for 15 minutes.
- Have patience, let them cool. When the bars are out of the oven allow them to cool on a wire rack without attempting to remove them from the baking dish. The filling will continue to set as it cools.
FAQs about this recipe
Yes, absolutely! Many readers have mentioned that they’ve made and frozen my key lime pie bars recipe successfully.
I like to dip my knife in hot water before attempting to make cuts. Cut all the way down to the crust with a very sharp knife, then wipe the knife between cuts to help keep things clean. It also helps to redip your knife in hot water between cutting pieces.
I think compared to most key lime pie bar recipes, my recipe has an abundance of crust – some might say too much. Something to consider if you usually prefer significantly more filling to crust. I’m the kind of girlie that wouldn’t mind pushing the filling-to-crust ratio closer to 50:50. But this recipe has a 60% ratio of filling to crust and I love how they slice up beautifully!
I’ve also made these into lemon pie bars and they are absolutely fantastic! I love topping them with a dollop of whipped cream.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Easy Mini Fruit Tarts
- Texas Blueberry Cobbler
- Classic Southern Banana Pudding
- Quick Warm Cinnamon Apples
- Easiest No Bake Nutella Pie
Key Lime Pie Bars
Equipment
- 8-Inch Square Pan
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs 12 large rectangles
- 2 tablespoons ground pecans
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 stick ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 egg yolks room temperature
- 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
- 4 teaspoons lime zest about 3 limes
- ½ cup key lime juice regular limes are fine too
Instructions
- PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray an 8×8 square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, set aside.
- CRUST: In a small bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Make sure all the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the baking pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, leave the oven on.
- FILLING: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the yolks for 2 minutes. Add the condensed milk and continue to whisk for another 2 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides, add the lime zest. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the lime juice, let the mixer run for 2 minutes once added. The pie mixture will be slightly thicker when done. Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 15-17 minutes. The filling will finish setting when the bars cool, but it shouldn't be too liquidy.
- SERVE: Cool completely on a wire rack. Filling will set as it cools. Refrigerate for at minimum of 2 hours, and ideally overnight. Slice and serve chilled.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I’ve made these delicious bars many times and have always been tempted to comment. Apparently, your prep time starts after the graham crackers have been crumbled, the pecans have been ground, the key limes have been juiced, regular limes have been zested, and all other ingredients are ready to go.
Many recipes that I have tried state prep time that is greatly reduced from the start to finish time involved.
I must say, this recipe is fantastic, and well worth the time to prepare it!
Hi usually one can of condensed milk is 300ml in Canada …do I still use one can or top up with the rest?
I doubled the recipe and made these bars in a 9×13 inch pan, only to read afterward in the comments that the other advised people against that.
It worked just fine for me. I set aside some of the graham cracker crumb mix, because it was -a lot-. I kept the full doubled amount of filling and baked 19-21 minutes. (I didn’t keep exact track at the end, but did go longer than what the original recipe called for, and it was definitely within this range.) Chilled overnight and cut the next day. No issues whatsoever. I’m glad I didn’t do the full amount of crust, because my end result was still near 50/50. Very tasty. 🙂
Also, I did not use parchment paper. Just buttered the dish well and they came out with no issues.
I can’t wait to try this recipe…….anything citrus is my kind of bar. I have a Meyer Lemon tree and might try it with my lemons…..AFTER making it once with limes! Have you done this before?
This is my go-to recipe for key lime pie bars. I’ve been making this recipe for quite a few years now and they always turn out delicious!
About how many key limes should I purchase?
These are delicious. I forgot to add the sugar to the crust but I didn’t even miss it. Mine did not set up as beautifully as yours—perhaps I needed to bake a minute or two longer. Nevertheless, these are legit.
Can I use walnuts instead of pecans?
Amazing! Got rave reviews! I used regular lime juice and it was perfect. A little sweeter than the key lime pies I’ve had, which is a good thing. Multiple people asked be for the recipe.
Easy and super delicious!
I have a bunch of blood oranges and thought I would try this with the oranges. Think it will work?
Fabulous dessert! So quick and easy to make. Really can’t fail! Made it twice this week once following your recipe exactly – perfect and delicious! Second time I used biscoff cookies crushed up in place of the graham crackers (I actually preferred that version.) But everyone in the family loved both kinds. This recipe is definitely a keeper!!
Great recipe!! Great tang from the lime. Still creamy with No cream cheese which is great ! Family loved the bars and were done in less than 24 hours.
This didn’t seem to “set up” very well. I refrigerated it for 4 hours. It seemed like it didn’t become as firm as regular lemon bars. Any suggestions?
Is there away to make the bars in larger batches? If so what would you suggest.
I was looking for a light and refreshing summer dessert for company this summer and came across this amazing recipe! I’ve been wanting to make key lime dessert, found these bars, and they turned out to be a delightful surprise! My company I had this summer absolutely loved this dessert and they are not key lime fans like me, but we all highly recommend this recipe! Thank you
These are so good! Loved the crust to filling ratio! The pecans in the crust add a nice touch
Very easy recipe and turned out so wonderfully for a hot summer night dessert! Only had one sleeve of graham crackers (~ 8 large rectangles) so I added some more pecans instead. The pecans + cinnamon were a lovely touch!!! I also browned the butter for the crust which added a depth of flavor and caramelization. The filling was great with regular limes, and set quite well. I did everything by hand and it was ok! I think overnight refrigeration is key (while I did the minimum 2 hours in the fridge). I used a glass 8×8 and it had the same cooking time as the recipe. We added some whipped cream on top to balance out the sweetness and tartness — the extra egg whites will get cooked up for breakfast. 🙂 Thank you for this lovely, easy recipe!
I’ve never commented on a recipe before but now that I’ve made this a million times and am currently making a double batch I gotta tell you this is so delicious. The crust is better than any crust I’ve ever had and I will never made Graham cracker crust any other way now! Fabulous recipe from this choosy baker.
AMAZING! I made these for the first time a few years ago, and they’ve become my go-to for spring and summertime events. I get requests for them now. Super easy recipe and absolutely delicious. I add a little extra lime juice than what it calls for to make the tartness from the lime pop.