These Irresistible Key Lime Pie Bars are just that – IRRESISTIBLE! Made with the perfect graham cracker crust and fresh key lime juice, these bars are bound to become your new favorite dessert! Love all things key lime? Make sure to try my Key Lime Pie Fruit Dip and famous Key Lime Pie!
Key Lime Pie Bars
If there is one type of food that I enjoy more during the summer than any other time of year – it would have to be citrus. Orange. Lemon. Lime. Oh, especially lime. Key lime to be exact. It’s so utterly refreshing with that bit of tartness that makes your mouth water….#cantgetenough
So do you guys remember the Key Lime Pie I made a few months back? Yeah. I called it Key Lime Pie but I actually couldn’t find any key limes so I just made it with regular lime juice. The verdict? Ridiculously good. And, you could totally sub in key lime juice in the recipe, obvi.
Buuut, a few of you were like, “What the heck Trish??“, so, for this key lime pie bar recipe I stepped up my game and used actual key limes, juiced those babies, and made these legit.
Do I Need REAL Key Limes?
A bunch of key lime zest also made their way into and on top of these bars for the ULTIMATE key lime pie bars EVER. My handy dandy zester made short work of these key limes.
Holy key lime.
But guess what? You can also buy key lime juice that is outstanding. Yep, it’s a thing. I used it in this Key Lime Pie Fruit Dip and it has amazing flavor.
What Kind of Crust?
So let’s start with at the beginning with the graham cracker crust. Because, duh, that’s how key lime pie bars should ALWAYS start.
The crust is such a key component to these bars because it needs to withstand the cutting and hand-holding that happens before they can be devoured.
Butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar is all it takes – it’s the ratio that makes the difference. And the quality of ingredients of course. I am excited to be partnering with Challenge Butter as an ambassador again this year and even more excited to be using their top-quality butter in my recipes, including these Irresistible Key Lime Pie Bars.
Challenge Butter is made with 100% real cream butter – nothing artificial – just the way I like it. No hormones, additives or fillers. And straight from the farm to the fridge in just 2 days – can it get any fresher?
Ingredients Needed for Filling
You only need FOUR ingredients for the key lime bars filling (three for the crust and then a little zest and powdered sugar to finish these bars off).
- sweetened condensed milk
- egg yolks
- key lime juice
- key lime zest
You’ll notice the 5 egg yolks in the recipe below. These yolks create a richness and creaminess that will have your friends and family begging for your recipe. (Just send them my way!) Sweetened condensed milk, fresh key lime juice and zest round out the perfectly tart filling.
Do Key Lime Pie Bars Need To Be Refrigerated?
The bars are baked to perfection, chilled, and topped with a generous dusting of powdered sugar and even more key lime zest. I like to zest a lemon too for some additional color.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
And then finally, when the pictures are taken, it’s time to dive in. These bars are not only gorgeous but utterly delectable as well. If you prefer a thicker bar, bless you, just use an 8×8 inch baking dish instead of the 9×9 inch I used here.
Take these delicious Key Lime Pie Bars to your next BBQ, picnic, or family gathering – you won’t regret it!
More Yummy Desserts
- Coconut Cream Pie
- To Die For Carrot Cake
- The BEST Ambrosia Salad
- Easy Ice Cream Cake
- No Bake Lemon Pie
How To Make Key Lime Pie Bars
Irresistible Key Lime Pie Bars
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tbsp Challenge Butter melted
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Key Lime Filling
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup key lime juice
- 2 tbsp key lime zest
Topping
- powdered sugar optional
- 2 tbsp key lime and/or lemon zest optional
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Spray an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar in a small bowl and stir until combined.
- Press the graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and press down firmly. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to really pack it in.
- Bake the graham cracker crust for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Key Lime Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice and zest together in a medium bowl.
- Pour over cooled crust and bake for 25 minutes. Let the bars chill before serving.
- Dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle with additional zest if desired. Cut into bars.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
More sweet treats to try!
S’mores Rice Krispies Treats Pinwheels
For all appetizer recipes, go HERE.
For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
Sign up to get emails when I post new recipes!
For even more great ideas follow me on Facebook – Pinterest – Instagram – Twitter – Bloglovin’.
Have a great day!
Disclaimer: As an Ambassador for Challenge, I was provided product and compensation for this post by Challenge Butter, but all opinions are, as always, 100% my own. I LOVE Challenge Butter! Thank you for supporting the brands that make Mom On Timeout possible!
Michelle Gunnell says
These were so good! I made them for our family dinner on Sunday (added some green food coloring for our St. Patrick’s Day theme) and everyone loved them! The recipe doubles perfectly for a 9×13!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Excellent! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Michelle!
Winnie says
These look FANTASTIC !!
We finally have some lime here (we usually don’t!), so I was looking for a good recipe. I think I’ve just found it 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Oh yes Winnie! This is the one you want to make!
sameh omar says
Nice
Leo Sigh says
Definitely need to try these. Absolutely love key lime pie, and these would be a great alternative. They look so nice all piled up as well. Thanks for this 🙂
pmm says
I made these last night and they are amazing- that said from someone who lived in Key West. Because many of the locals used a vanilla wafer crust when I lived there, I used 1/2 recipe of your Best Nilla Wafer Crust instead of the graham cracker crust. I also used a springform pan, took the crust just a bit up the side, and they were so easy to get out of the pan. They looked beautiful with the powdered sugar and key lime zest, and even gave me a delightful memory-filled flavorful ‘trip’ back to Key West this morning when I had one for breakfast since no one was home. (!!)
Thanks for sharing such excellent recipes. Each that I have tried have been delicious!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Such a wonderful compliment – thank you! I love that you made these in a spring-form pan – perfect for getting them cut beautifully I bet! And I’m all for enjoying these bars for breakfast – your secret is safe with me 🙂
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
I seriously want to dive into a pan of these bars!!! We puffy heart love Challenge Butter at our house too 🙂
Tavette says
These look so cool & refreshing -just what I need to bring to a birthday party next week. It’s going to 93 today w/tons of humidity so we all need something that smacks of citrus.
Tavette – S. Fla.
Susan | LunaCafe says
You’re killin’ me here. These look soooo delicious. 🙂
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
Ohhhh these look so amazing!