Keto key lime bars! Tangy, delicious, and creamy, these will remind you of the key lime pie of your childhood. Low carb and gluten-free, with an amazing almond flour shortbread crust. Less than 3g net carbs per serving! This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
I consider these key lime bars as proof that the keto diet is not one of deprivation. Really, people, when you are able to make something this tangy, this flavourful, this creamy and delicious, and eat it as part of your healthy diet, life is good. I’ve been doing this for quite some time now and it can still take even me by surprise. Aren’t we the lucky ones, to have discovered this little secret?
My dad was a serious key lime pie lover back in the day. When we would travel to Florida for Spring Break, he would order a slice at every opportunity. My birthday always fell during our all-to-brief stints in the Sarasota sunshine and I always picked the same place for my birthday dinner: Charlie’s Crab on St. Armand’s Circle. Even with birthday cake waiting at home for us, my dad would take a slice of key lime pie to go. I never thought much about it, as I was a chocolate lover and much preferred it to any sort of citrus-y dessert. I don’t think I ever tried the key lime pie while in Florida and I think that’s such a shame now. It was only later in life that I discovered the joy of the tangy light green pie.
I once tried making a key lime pie while in grad school and it was not very good. I am not sure what I did wrong but the filling was lumpy and gritty, and it just wouldn’t smooth out. I was bringing it to some event or other and I believe I spent much of my time apologizing for my contributions.
But believe me when I say that you won’t be apologizing to anyone for these keto key lime bars. They are divine! And even non keto dieters will agree. I pawned some off on my friend Emily and she declared them the best dessert I’ve ever made. Of course, she’s said that about a few of my other desserts so take it with a grain of salt. That doesn’t mean they aren’t as good as she says, it simply means that she loves dessert. She absolutely loved the almond flour shortbread crust and I have to agree, it’s pretty amazing. It’s made with Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, as always, and it truly tastes like a buttery, delicious shortbread cookie.
How To Make Low Carb Key Lime Bars
A couple of things to keep in mind about these bars:
- You need to make the sugar-free condensed milk in advance, which takes 30 minutes. You can make that well in advance and store it in the fridge for up to a week.
- I used cream cheese to help thicken the filling and give it a little more substance. I am not sure that it was absolutely necessary but it sure did taste great that way and it gave the filling an extra creamy richness.
- You shouldn’t need to add any other sweetener to the filling besides the condensed milk. However, if you like things sweeter and less tangy, then feel free to add a tablespoon or two of powdered Swerve or some stevia extract.
- Key limes are teeny tiny things and it takes quite a few of them to get enough juice. They are a pain to squeeze! So if you can find it, get the bottled variety from concentrate. I found key lime juice at Cost Plus World Market but it’s also available on Amazon.
- You don’t really need key limes at all, if you don’t care about being authentic. Regular lime juice and lime zest will suffice. It’s still going to be utterly delicious.
- I know someone will ask so yes…you can make this into a pie. You will need to use my low carb almond flour pie crust, and you may need a little more filling to fill it up properly.
Yes, it still hits me by surprise sometimes. The fact that we can so easily create sugar-free versions of beloved desserts like key lime bars, and have them taste so good and so much like the real thing, is just astonishing. Letting the memories of Florida vacations wash over me…
Check out these other delicious keto lime recipes!
Keto key lime bars! Tangy, delicious, and creamy, these will remind you of the key lime pie of your childhood. Low carb and gluten-free, with an amazing almond flour shortbread crust.
- 1 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tsp lime zest
- 4 egg yolks room temperature
- 1 cup sugar-free condensed milk
- 6 tbsp key lime juice
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Preheat the oven to 325F.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture begins to come together.
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Turn out the mixture into an 8x8 baking pan and press firmly into the bottom. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until just golden brown around the edges.
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Remove and let cool while preparing the filling.
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In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and lime zest until smooth. Beat in the egg yolks until well combined. Slowly beat in the condensed milk and lime juice until the mixture is smooth.
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Spread the filling over the crust and bake 18 to 20 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t brown at all. Remove and let cool, then refrigerate at least one hour to firm up.
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Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream and lime slices
Many thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for partnering with me to bring you this recipe.
Donna Houchins says
Yay! One of my fave desserts and you made it possible! If I ever win the lottery I’m giving you part because you’ve allowed me to enjoy so many of my favorite desserts! I find I like monkfruit for my sweet supply and it works just as good
Thanks again for this! I’ll be making it this weekend
Rebecca says
How long do these keep? I made them just for me so there are quite a bit. Do they freeze?
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried freezing them. They can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Teresa says
Just ate a piece of key lime pie today thinking how to make one low carb & healthier minus all the sugar. Open my email to see your key lime pie recipe. Perfect timing, thank you! I want just the pie filling, dont even care about crust.
Looking forward to make this with your sugar free condensed milk. Will try the key lime fat bomb & Popsicle recipes also.
Carolyn says
Glad that worked out 😉 If you are doing a pie, the filling will probably need to be 1.5 times at least.
Teresa says
Didnt think to look but the key lime pie I ate had 45 carbs per slice…with sugar condensed milk. I about fell out when I looked! No wonder its so darn good, Now to detox from the sugar.
Sabrina says
thank you for removing so many carbs with just the right ingredients, especially since I’ve skipped traditional key lime pie for awhile for that very reason
Penny says
My crust came out very soft. Is there any way to make it firm up?
Carolyn says
Soft as in too gooey? Then they probably didn’t bake quite long enough. You could freeze them if you have to. That might help.
Allison says
Omg these are delish! After making the condensed milk I waited patiently for this recipe! Rated A++ by the family too
Susan Gandara says
I started this recipe before realizing I only had 1/2 cup sugar-free condensed milk. So I added 1/2 cup powdered swerve into the topping and it came out GREAT!!
Key lime pie is my fave so thank you so much for this!!
Carolyn says
Glad it worked!
Susan says
So so happy for the sugar free condensed milk recipe and all the creative recipes to be made with it! The Key Lime bars are devine.
Kathi says
Carolyn, You’ve outdone yourself. These bars a so good they’re dangerous; I want to eat half the batch instead of just one bar. And the sugar-free sweetened condensed milk recipe works great. I wondered while making it what the resulting reduced volume of cream should be. After adding the swerve to the reduced cream, I ended up with about 1 1/4 cups of sweetened condensed milk and I think I was supposed to end up with just one cup. I needed to add the full amount of xanthan gum to get it thick enough but, mixed with the key lime pie ingredients, it baked up beautifully and bars are delicious! Perfectly zingy with just enough sweet. You’re my low carb hero! Thank you for all the delicious work you do and share with us.
Carol Maust says
I’ve been a key lime pie lover forever. I made these yesterday and believe me, this satisfied my craving that I’ve had for years now! They are really delicious. Mine came out a little more like a cheesecake but I’m not complaining. Great job again, Carolyn!
Michelle L. says
These bars are amazing and phenomenal! My husband LOVES them! I made a batch on Saturday and they are gone already. Making another batch today. Thank you for all these recipes!
Jenny W. says
I love these bars! I made them for our 4th of July get together tonight. I had MY dessert and I didn’t feel tempted my the coconut cake I made for other guests. I only made one mistake…I put too much xanthan gum in and my condensed milk was way too thick but I wasn’t going to waste it. Next time I’ll make sure to whisk really well after it cools before adding more. Thank you so much because key lime pie is my absolute face pie!!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it…even with the extra xanthan! 😉
Sonja says
I changed my mind, THESE are my favorite dessert from you! Wow is all I can say. I served these to my parents and they had no idea they were low carb. Making the sweetened condensed milk does take time but it’s oh so worth it!! Thank you for another amazing recipe
Lucy Akers says
I’m new to Keto and looking at the key lime recipe, the ingredient swerve do you use granular or confectioner?
Thank You
Lucy
Carolyn says
When I just say Swerve, it means the granular (in the same way that if a recipe says “sugar” it means the granular kind).
Beverly Brumett says
These are amazing!!! My husband has been begging for a key lime pie and he is diabetic. I made this last night and it was a hit!! I used 3 1/2 limes and it was just right.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Andrea Maxwell says
Is there anything you can think of that I could use instead of cream cheese! I am not a fan of cream cheese. Possibly Greek yogurt?
Carolyn says
The cream cheese gives it structure. Yogurt won’t do that. It doesn’t taste at all like cream cheese.
Gabrielle says
Just thought you ought to know that I used this recipe in a workplace cooking competition where it competed against some very non-keto desserts. I am pleased to say it was declared the winner by a mile! Thank you for creating these delicious recipes that make keto dieting so much easier!
Carolyn says
Wow, seriously??? That’s awesome, thanks!
Amber says
I have a key lime loving family and these past the test. I fed these to my son. I didn’t tell him they were healthy until he finished his second serving;) Their always afraid I’ve snuck avocados into their desserts 🙂
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Tiffany Goodnight says
I am wondering if these have ever been made using your condensed milk recipe with coconut milk vs. heavy cream. Unfortunately the key lime portion is not baking or rising. I’m on about 40 minutes of baking and hoping the key lime portion of the bar cooks. I’ve lowered the oven to 300. My Viking Range runs pretty true. I’m thinking it’s the coconut milk in the condensed milk. Bad idea to do this on Christmas Eve Eve! LOL
Carolyn says
It could be that, certainly, since it’s not nearly as thick as cream.
Beth Klosterboer says
I would’ve never thought to use almond flour for the crust. That sounds a yummy and healthy alternative to a classic recipe. It’ll make me feel a little bit less guilty when after I eat the whole pan… I can’t wait to try this!
Steph says
Lime + low carb = heaven. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Tara says
I adore key lime anything — so good!
Jessica says
Yum! These were such a yummy guilt free treat! Thank you!
Kristyn says
I am usually a chocolate fan, but these were incredible! Refreshing & so tasty! My family will love them!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This looks incredibly delicious! I’m going to have to try this.
Lyle Drew says
Great recipe. I doubled the filling amount but used half line and half lemon juice (same total amout as per the recipe) but kept a single recipe amount of shortbread crust when spread over a 9×18 baking pan. The end result was a nice mix that wasn’t overpowering with a thinner crust which I prefer. The only problem is that it doesn’t last very long before its all gone.😉
Lyle Drew says
Please correct spelling of “lime” (not line) in my last post. Thanks.
Ira says
These are amazing! Tastes just like the real thing! I used 1/2 cup of butter in the crust and added a dash of cinnamon. I doubled the filling recipe and baked it in a cake pan for 5 extra minutes. Only used half the condensed milk in the filling and saved the other half to pour on top after baking, instead of adding whipped cream. They were a hit with the whole family!
Byenia says
Made this last night for the first time and we enjoyed it. This is the 3rd or 4th recipe I’ve tried from you and all have been wonderful. 🙂
Lori says
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour? I have almond meal but not almosnd flour.
Carolyn says
Use the almond meal. Coconut flour does not make a very good crust.
Denise says
Well these are fantastic and a hit with everyone whether or not they eat keto! My first batch had a hint of bitterness. Turns out, I put pith in instead of zest. I did not know that “zest” is “peel.” I fixed it with the second batch and they were perfect. So freaking delicious. Thank god the condensed milk is gone so I can’t make any more of these little temptations. I had some problems making the SCM. The first batch didn’t reduce at all, so I cooked it longer and ended up with very caramel-flavored SCM. I tried again and stopped at thirty minutes even though it hadn’t reduced at all. Didn’t thicken like it should have. The first batch was a perfect consistency. So, I mixed them together and that seemed to do the trick! I even used the caramel heavy one on its own this last batch and the flavor was fine. Thanks for a great summer recipe! Do you have one like this for chocolate cream pie?
Carolyn says
Oh, I am sorry about that. Yes, the pith tends to be much more bitter.
Denise rodriguez says
I learned the hard way. The second batch was PERFECTION! And, I have since figured out that the crust makes a really great cookie for using cookie cutters. The dough is a bit delicate before baked so I used a spatula to move each unicorn cookie to the baking sheet, but once they cool, they are just perfect for a glaze of being sprinkled with “sugar.” You’ve given me a great start to having a great variety of keto cookies for my Christmas baking extravaganza. Do you have a chocolate cream pie recipe?
Linda says
These are AMAZING – a friend whose favorite dessert is key lime pie and who is not keto/low carb crowned these the best dessert EVER!
I increased the filling by 1.5 since the condensed milk recipe makes 1.5 cups – didn’t want the rest to go to waste. I also toasted the almond flour before pressing in to the crust and used browned the butter – just to give it a little more nuttiness to get it closer to a graham cracker kinda taste.
Thanks for another amazing recipe, Carolyn. You are a rockstar!
Kathleen Lesnau says
Suggestions for the left over egg whites? Another recipe perhaps?
Carolyn says
https://asweetlife.org/21-low-carb-recipes-for-leftover-egg-whites/
Michael Helm says
I made this spur-of-the-moment NY eve. I make a regular KLP using something close to the Nellie & Joe simple pie recipe, & the result is pretty popular – but way too much sugar content. I’ve tried a number of keto recipes & this one looks promising (others have coconut or avocado fat in them). For this pie to work in our group, it seems like the texture and the consistency are important.
This recipe’s result pie had good reaction about flavor. The consistency was more like cheesecake (from the cream cheese perhaps?). It also was a bit heavier, and definitely crumbled more – wouldn’t stay together nearly as well as my regular KLP. I also pick up a bit of graininess altho no one complained. I had Lekanto Monkfruit Golden in house, didn’t have time to get Swerve. I tried to powder it in a blender before adding to the milk. BTW the recipe amounts were maybe just a little more than needed for the pie – I had a small amount of overflow (which is ok).
It was tricky for me to tell when it was done – the regular recipe has a light, nearly dry look at about 15min – this pie still had the “sweaty” look at 20, & I kept baking it for at least another 5 mins – I think that was a mistake, the crust was way too done. The regular KLP rises slightly, this recipe looks like it does when cooking but then condenses.
Thanks for reading this far – any recs? I’m thinking for the next refinement I’d use Swerve and/or leave out the cream cheese for now. (I like the idea of a KL cheese cake but I want to get something close to the popular regular pie.) Any hints on cooking time? Better cooler and longer or hotter & quicker? My oven is not real accurate for temperatures but is consistent.
Carolyn says
I honestly think you need to make peace with the fact that this will never be the high carb version of Key Lime Pie. It’s not meant to be. Also, this isn’t meant to be baked in a pie so that could be a large part of the problem, since it would bake very differently and yes, it wouldn’t hold together nearly as well. Another issue is the fact that you didn’t use a powdered sweetener, which accounts for the graininess.
Keto Katie says
WOWZA! This is the Unicorn of all Keto dessert recipes (and believe me, I’ve tried TONS!) – made them for our FL relatives and ZERO out of NINE people suspected they were keto or low carb at all! These are decadent and so insanely delicious — I now make a double batch and freeze them (with the SF whipped topping on!) so I can have one whenever. Finally, a keto dessert recipe that tastes exactly identical to the real deal. Thank you!!
Carolyn says
That’s so fabulous to hear!