Lime Bars + Video
Lime Bars are exactly like lemon bars, but made with limes instead. A shortbread crust is topped with a tangy lime custard. Easy and delicious!
If you’re a citrus fan like me, then you’re going to love this recipe. It’s a knock-off of classic lemon bars but made with limes.
I’ve even made Ruby Red Grapefruit Bars with the same basic recipe, if you want to keep the citrus bar trend going. Just think of all the citrus variations you can try!
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Lime Bars
I love my citrus desserts to be tangy. The lime filling in these lime bars is creamy and tart with just enough sweetness.
The shortbread crust is a simple and sturdy base to hold the lime filling. And a dusting of powdered sugar on top is the “icing on the cake.”
Obviously these lime bars wouldn’t really be this green without food coloring, but if you are against stuff like that in your food, then just leave it out.
If the green food coloring is left out, they will be more yellow, like lemon bars.
Baking Tips:
- Use parchment paper with a 2-inch overhang on both sides. Anytime I make bars, I like to be able to lift them out of the pan for easy cutting. This also makes it easy to trim the edges off if everyone wants “the middle piece.”
- Prepare the lime filling while the crust is baking. Then pour it over the crust while it’s still in the oven. Pouring the filling over a hot crust creates a nice evenly baked custard.
- Use a microplane zester to create a fine zest, that will be unnoticeable to eat, but give you maximum lime flavor.
- I used a little yellow and green food coloring to create the same green color as the limes I was using, but food coloring is optional.
Lime Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, (cut into 8 pieces)
Filling:
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp lime zest
- ⅔ cup (159 ml) fresh lime juice
- drop of green (+ yellow) food coloring, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease or line an 11×7-inch or 8 to 9-inch square glass baking dish with parchment paper that overhangs 2-inches on both sides.
- To make the crust: Combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press into prepared pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Meanwhile make the filling: Whisk together the sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the zest, lime juice, and a drop of green (+ yellow) food coloring, if desired. Mix until everything is smooth and combined.
- Pour filling over hot crust and return to oven to bake for an additional 18 to 20 minutes or until set. When done, the filling will no longer jiggle.
- Let cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour. Then refrigerate for 1-2 hours and serve cold. Lift bars out of pan with parchment paper for easy cutting and serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Video
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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*Originally published on my blog 3/3/13.
I baked them for 20 more minutes than it says to, 40 minutes total. They still jiggled quite a bit,but I was afraid any longer, they’d burn.
What size pan did you use?
I would prefer a graham cracker crust-how ong would you bake it before adding the filling?
Graham cracker crusts usually bake in 8-10 minutes.
Turned out perfect! Thank you for the recipe! I was worried it would be too sweet or too tart, but my friends and I enjoyed it as is! Will make again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these lime bars Melody! Thanks for your comment.
This looks so good! What a great treat to make for friends!
Could these be frozen?
Yes. They will freeze just like lemon bars would. Make sure to freeze in single layers with parchment paper in-between.
So easy to make. At first I was skeptical, because mine had to bake a little longer. But they set perfectly. They were a HUGE hit. My hubby devoured literally the entire pan. I’m planning on making these for my sister’s wedding shower this month. Thanks again!
Glad it was a hit! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the recipe Erica!
I totally loved this! The family was torn on being a tad too tart. Next time, I’ll probably leave out the zest and see if the family will approve
Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, hold off on the zest to make it less tangy for the family.
How can I convert this to 9×13. Filling only. Would you use 8 eggs?
I used to make this in a 9×13-inch pan, but several readers complained that it was too thin, so I now recommend the 7×11-inch pan. I would only 1.5x the recipe if you want a thicker filling to accommodate the larger pan. The baking time will increase as well.
Hi, thank you for the recipe of lime bars! Made it for my family and they loved it. But one thing that I would change next – the bars are so much sickly sweet. At least one third of all sugar should be removed from ingredients, maybe even one half. And you can always regulate the sweetness with some powder on top. Though in my case it wasn’t welcome at all.
Loved the wonderful lime aroma while cooking and from cookies of cause!
Reading the ingredients made my mouth water. Key Lime