These key lime pie bars are the best key lime pie recipe baked into bar form and topped with plenty of fresh whipped cream. Don’t forget the graham cracker crust!
Want the perfect solution for serving dessert to a crowd? Look no further than these Key Lime Pie Bars! Everyone loves them.
Key lime pie is a household favorite around here. I started making it back in high school because my aunt and uncle love it…and I fell in love with it. When I met my husband, Jared, I knew I found a kindred spirit because on one of our first dates he confessed that he once spent $40 on a pie while in Key West. My kinda guy 🙂
When I’m making food for more than 6 people, I get a little nervous just making pie. Last summer was a classic example of my fears played out in real life.
We had a dinner party in July and I made my lemon cream pie and my s’mores pie. Both were HUGE hits, but everyone started going crazy for the lemon pie because it was a hot day. By the last few people, I was dishing out teeny servings of each so everyone could try.
That’s where bars come in handy. You can make a larger quantity ahead of time and cut them into individual portions when they’re cold. That way, everyone can grab and go and get a taste when it’s dessert time.
I find that this is important because people often tell me they don’t like or haven’t tried key lime pie, but when they try this recipe for key lime pie bars…they’re totally converted. So, I like to have plenty on hand!
Why are key lime pie bars the best?
I love key lime pie bars because they’re perfect year-round. I use store-bought key lime juice, which I usually find in the cocktail mixing or baking section of the store. The brand I use is called Nellie and Joe’s. When I was 16 I tried to juice my own key limes and won’t be doing that again. Talk about early-onset carpal tunnel – trust me!
Anyway, the best part is that I always have a bottle of key lime juice, eggs and sweetened, condensed milk on hand. That’s really all you need for the filling!
They’re perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Cinco De Mayo, a hot summer day, celebrating citrus season in the winter… seriously anything!
Key Lime Pie Bars
These key lime pie bars are the best key lime pie recipe baked into bar form and topped with plenty of fresh whipped cream. Don’t forget the graham cracker crust!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes + 3+ hours cooling time
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes + 3+ hours cooling time
- Yield: about 20 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 12 graham cracker sheets
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. brown or coconut sugar
- 9 Tbsp. melted butter
- 1 pinch sea salt
For the key lime pie filling:
- 2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup key lime juice
- 1 lime, zested
- 1 pinch sea salt
Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line a 9×11 baking dish with parchment paper. If you use parchment, you can easily remove the bars from the dish when they’re done.
- To make the crust, add the graham crackers, sugar, butter, and sea salt to a food processor and process until fine crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor, crush the graham crackers in a zip-top bag and mix the ingredients together.
- Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.
- Add all of the filling ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until everything is incorporated well. Pour the filling on top of the crust in the dish.
- Bake for 18-25 minutes, or until the filling looks set.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the bars cool on the counter for an hour, and then let them chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours until cold.
- Slice the large square into bars and top with dollops of whipped cream if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 106 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 28 mg
Keywords: key lime, pie, pie bars
Hi Allie,
you say all you need for the fillimg is key lime juice, eggs and sweetened, condensed milk. But when I look at the list of ingredients no eggs are mentioned.
Simone
Hi Simone, there are 6 egg yolks needed.