Tangy Lime Bars are cooling, refreshing, and not too sweet, — if you love easy lime desserts then you’re going to flip for these, they’re the perfect little capper for a warm day.
These are classic lime bars made with a graham cracker crust and condensed milk.
Citrus has to be one of the great flavors on earth, and lime is one of my personal favorites, (have you tried my Coconut Lime Squares?) Today I’m celebrating this under-appreciated citrus flavor with a simple lime dessert where the essence of lime takes center stage. That wonderful ‘tang’ comes through loud and clear.
how to make easy lime bars
You can count on me to pare desserts down to their bare essentials, I think frills and extras just get in the way and make things necessarily complicated. These come together in no time, and I promise you, you will be so happy to see these pretty green lime bars peering out at you from the fridge at the end of a hot day.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together until well combined. Press into pan.
- Whisk egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and lime juice together.
- Pour over crust and bake until set.
- Chill.
serve chilled…or frozen!
I highly recommend stashing a few of these tangy lime bars in the freezer, they are wonderful that way. They keep their silky texture and they’re super refreshing — love!!
a word about color in lime bars
I did add a drop or two of green food coloring to my lime bars. You certainly don’t have to, but without the coloring they will be a pale yellow. For me the little boost is worth it, especially if I’m going to serve these to guests. When things are beautifully colored the eyes anticipate the flavor and send a message to the brain that actually enhances our experience of that flavor. In other words, you want your brain to anticipate that tangy lime flavor even before you bite into one of these bars. Most of the time I accomplish that through the natural beauty of the food I make, but every once in a while I feel it needs a little help. I just used regular food coloring, but you can also buy all natural food colorings that are made without chemicals or anything artificial, here.
more citrus bars to try
- Whole Meyer Lemon Bars
- Blood Orange Crumble Bars
- One Bowl Pink Grapefruit Bars
- Meyer Lemon Macadamia Crumble Squares
These are AMAZING!!! Definitely a recipe to keep 🙂
~ Jen
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Tangy Lime Bars
Ingredients
crust
- 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 sleeve or about 9 full graham crackers, crushed
- 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter, melted
filling
- 4 large egg yolks
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
- drop or two of green food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Toss the crumbs with the sugar and melted butter, making sure to get all the crumbs evenly saturated.
- Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of a 9×9 inch square baking pan.
- Whisk the egg yolks and condensed milk together in a bowl. Add the lime juice and mix well.
- Pour into the crust and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until just set.
- Let cool, then refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
- Serve cold with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.
Notes
- If you like you can make your lime bars with a shortbread crust like the one I used for my Hibiscus Lemon Bars.
- You can make these with virtually any citrus fruit. Remember fresh squeezed juice is best.
- These are unbelievable good frozen, I think that’s my favorite way to enjoy them.
These look amazing, I love the flavor of lime, this would be such a refreshing finish as a dessert in the Summer, pinned!
Lemon bars have always been my favorite so I know I’ll LOVE this lime version! Tangy and lightly sweet is perfect in my book. Thanks Sue! These are just gorgeous and now I’m drooling!
I’m a citrus freak. Just love the stuff. Lemon in particular, but lime rings my door bell too. Really good looking stuff — thanks so much.
Haha, I love that — come to think of it, so many foods ring my doorbell, I can’t keep track!!
These look so good. I LOVE lime flavoured anything so these are right up my street
These are the perfect summer dessert, so pretty too!
YUM! These look so tasty and refreshing! I bet you are right, and they are the BEST right out of the freezer. Perfect for Summer.
I was so intrigued by the frozen texture…it wasn’t hard at all, just firmer, and soooo cold. It must be the condensed milk that helps keep it silky.
These are so stunning! I love lime-flavored desserts during the summer, so I can’t wait to try these!
There’s something about limes that makes them the most refreshing of all citrus, for me, anyway. Thanks Tracy 🙂
Key lime is one of my favorite flavors! These look great!
I almost went with Key limes, they even had a bag in my grocery store, but it can be so hard to get a whole 1/2 cup of juice from them, and I don’t like using the bottled stuff. The regular limes looked nice and fat and juicy, so I went with them.
Hi Sue, oh these look so delicious, I love anything citrusy and in bar form. Love the color!
Thanks Cheri, my daughter ate the last one last night, and I’m already missing them 😉
Normally I am not fancy for colouring, but this light jade green looks really beautiful. These lime bars are gorgeous, Sue.
I’m the same way, Angie, but for some reason, I need my lime bars to be green!