Key Lime Pie Bars
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You need less than 10 ingredients to make my Key Lime Pie Bars. These squares are zesty, filled with lime juice, and are the perfect springtime dessert!
Something about spring time just makes me CRAVE desserts that are citrusy and tangy. These key lime pie squares are always the first desserts I crave come spring time. Here is proof. Around the same time last year, I made these ‘not key lime squares’, and if you’re looking for an explanation as to what in H-E-Double hockey sticks that means, well, let me explain. Basically it’s key lime with regular limes.
So this is the part where you ask me if I’m repeating recipes on you and I’m going to say um.. yeee-as, kinda. I highly urge you to give these lime bars a try — disappointed, you won’t be. <– We’ve been watching ALL the Star Wars movies with some friends and that’s my inner Yoda coming out. (side note: I didn’t really think i’d like Star Wars at all, but it’s not soo bad. I may even say, I kinda like it. But not like you’ll see me at a sci-fi convention anytime soon or anything like that.)
Have you ever had a food craving that lasted you a week? That’s what it’s been like for me. Just torturing me. At one point I even purchased some key lime pie flavored white chocolate. Which btw, was totally gross. Chocolate should taste like chocolate and not key lime pie. Or frozen yogurt. I tried this greek frozen yogurt that was key lime pie flavored. Oh. Ew! Yuck. This was a craving that would only go away with the real deal.
The first time I made these bars last March, I took one bite and told Anees that these absolutely, hands down, had to be the BEST thing i’ve ever baked. And though Anees had a hard time believing that something that didn’t contain chocolate could be the ‘best’ anything, upon taking a bite, he was nodding along that these would definitely make the list of top 5.
What really makes these key lime pie bars outstanding is the crust:
Raise your hand if that’s your favorite part! Okay, well don’t. Because your boss may walk by and give you a peculiar look as to why you’ve got your hand up in the air. The crust on these key lime pie bars is a few simple ingredients. We’re using graham crackers, sugar, butter, and here’s the shocker — cinnamon and ground pecans.
Okay, so before you hit the little X at the top window, let me say that cinnamon and ground pecans are going to take these bars to the next level. The Cheesecake Factory uses nuts in their classic 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.
These key lime pie bars are quick and easy to make.
They’re the perfect spring/summer dessert to serve at any gathering. Nobody wants to slave in the kitchen when the heat hits, these bars are your answer to a quick dessert. They require a quick 30 minutes of hands on time, just 9 simple ingredients, and they taste like a million bucks. No, really, they do.
Creamy, cool, smooth, and so much flavor. After baking the bars, they need a couple of hours to chill in the refrigerator. This had to be the hardest part of the whole process. I couldn’t wait to dig in to these key lime pie bars. That first bite, it makes it alllllll worth it.
Happy Friday, y’all!
P.S. If you like this recipe, you might also want to check out my creamy lemon squares – equally delicious with a lemony twist!
Key Lime Pie Bars
You need less than 10 ingredients to make my Key Lime Pie Bars. These squares are zesty, filled with lime juice and are the perfect spring time dessert!
Ingredients
- 12 large graham cracker rectangles
- 2 tablespoons ground pecans
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 4 teaspoons lime zest (about 3 limes)
- 1/2 cup key lime juice (regular limes are fine too)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray an 8x8 square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, set aside.
- 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 oven on.
- 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 mixer run for 2 minutes once added. Pie mixture will be slightly thicker when done. Pour the filling into crust and bake for 15 minutes.
- Cool completely on rack. Filling will set as it cools. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Slice and serve chilled.
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104 Comments on “Key Lime Pie Bars”
Can you freeze these?
My family absolutely loves this recipe. I was never a key lime pie person until I tried this recipe. Delicious!
Do you have any suggestions if someone is tree nut allergic what we can use to substitute for pecans?
Hi Daisy! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! If you’re dealing with a nut allergy, you can simply omit the pecans and use an additional 2 tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs in place 🙂
Thank you! ☺️
Do you place the ingredients over the parchment paper & then peel it off after slicing each piece ?
Hi, Lisa! Yes, the crust would be pressed on top of the parchment paper to keep it from sticking to the pan. I use the parchment to lift the bars out of the baking pan and place of a cutting board. You shouldn’t need to ‘peel’ the paper as it doesn’t get stuck to the bars. Hope that helps!
When you say key lime juice, do you mean fresh or from concentrate? Thanks!
Hi Katie! Either would work here so I didn’t specify but if you have the option, fresh is best!
I want to make these but no pecans in house ~ I have everything else though. I have walnuts and also almonds – possible to swap the pecans?
Hi Karen! I’d use walnuts, think that should work out pretty well.
Hi! We dont get key limes or limes where we live. Is it possible to use lemon juice or will that affect the texture?
Hi Aleena, I have a recipe for lemon squares that uses lemon juice if you’d like to give that a try – they’re very similar to these!
Calories?
Love these!!+
Glad to hear it, Patricia!
This is made on a 8X8 pan. I need to use a bigger rectangular pan. Do you have the recipe for a bigger pan?
Hi Adry! You would just need to double or triple the ingredients based on the size of pan you use. Also, keep in mind that baking times could change significantly if it’s a much larger batch. I always suggest to try the recipe at lease once as written before making any changes 🙂
I made these for a small neighborhood get-together & everyone loved them, already printed out the recipe for one! I doubled the cinnamon because I love cinnamon, I was 3 graham crackers short so added 2 Tbs more of pecans. I will definitely make these again!!
I was lucky to get a piece it went so quickly! I made it with gingernuts (With the same butter and sugar amounts) as the base, as we don’t have graham crackers in NZ and it was very successful! Had to forward the recipe to everyone!
Happy to hear that, Michelle! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Great recipe! I have a electric oven so I had to bake the crust a little longer then what is said. Also I made it in a cheesecake spring pan and it worked great. These are very tasty. Best crust I’ve ever had with the pecans in them. Highly recommend for any occasion.
Isn’t the crust so good? Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
These were absolutely delicious. The crust is unbelievable. The pecans in the cinnamon made such a difference. Everyone who had them raved about them.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the addition of cinnamon and pecans – the crust is our favorite part 🙂
These bars were delicious! The crust was perfection. I don’t think I’ll ever make a plain graham cracker crust again. The crust was just right for keeping the bars from falling apart while serving and holding them. My boyfriend and I don’t like super sweet desserts so my only adjustment was that I did 8 oz sweetened condensed milk and 6 oz of evaporated milk that I boiled off until it was condensed, just to lower the sugar content a bit. I think they would have been wonderful with the full amount of sugar too though, still not too sweet. I topped them with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and some fresh lime and lemon zest and they were brilliant. They will definitely be a staple for us!
So happy to hear they were enjoyed, Charlotte! Thanks for sharing your tip on making these a little less sweet!
Perfect! Very easy to make. I used 1 2/3 cups of the graham cracker crumbs. Adding this to my roster of favourites!! The lime flavour was amazing and everyone in the family loved them. Thank you!!
So glad to hear it was enjoyed by all! Appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment!
These bars are perfect! I love keylime pie bars and my family destroyed these within minutes. Can’t wait to make more, they brought us happiness during a crazy time. Thank you for the recipe!
These are delicious!! And the crust! Worth making the crust vs premade because it’s easy and so delicious. I like the bars vs pie slices because they cut nicely and smaller for pie baby shower. Can you freeze these?
Glad to hear you enjoyed them! I think another reader mentioned that these bars freeze well 🙂