Key Lime Pie Cheesecake Bars

Key Lime Pie Cheesecake Bars are a creamy, tangy spin on a perfect key lime pie recipe. Creamy cheesecake filling with a tangy key lime flavor and a graham cracker crust make these easy to make key lime pie bars the perfect easy summer dessert.

When it comes to easy to make desserts, it gets no better than these Key Lime Cheesecake Bars.

That’s saying a lot coming from a girl who doesn’t particularly like key lime pie. I may have already mentioned that in my Low Sugar Key Lime Cheesecake post.

(Gasp!)

Ok, calm down! I know I am bringing on the wrath of .. um .. everyone stating that when it comes to Southern desserts, key lime pie just isn’t my favorite.

Mmmm .. but these key lime pie bars sure are!!

key lime cheesecake bars

So why do I love key lime cheesecake better than a traditional key lime pie?

• Making key lime cheesecake bars are WAY easier than making a key lime pie.
• Creamy cheesecake filling with tangy key lime flavor on top of a graham cracker crust… swoon!
• The fun little green swirl makes these key lime bars fun and perfect for potlucks, parties and get togethers.
• Completely transportable and quick to bring together ensures these key lime pie bars will be your favorite easy dessert recipe.
• Key lime flavor is perfect for summer pool parties, barbecues and anytime you want a bit of zing in your day.
• The cheesecake filling is tangy, tart, sweet and creamy. Absolute perfection!

To make these Key Lime Cheesecake Bars, you will need:

• Cream cheese
• Egg
• Sugar
• Sour cream
• Vanilla extract
• Dash of salt
• Key limes
• Graham crackers
• Powdered sugar
• Butter
• Green gel food coloring (optional)

how to make key lime pie bars

To make Key Lime Cheesecake Bars, start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees and line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper.

Next, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, dash of salt and powdered sugar together in a mixing bowl then pour the crust mixture into the baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Using your fingers or a spoon, firmly press the crust evenly on the bottom of the pan to make your crust. 

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.

While crust is baking, prepare the key limes. Zest 10-12 key limes before cutting all key limes in half. Squeeze your lime juice into a separate small bowl and watch for seeds.

In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese until creamy and then add in sugar and mix well.

Add in eggs and beat until each is incorporated before adding in the next one.

Drop in the lime zest and lime juice along with sour cream, salt, vanilla, and continue mixing until you have a creamy filling.

Transfer 1/3 cup of cheesecake filling into a separate bowl and add a few drops of green food coloring. Mix the food coloring into the batter to combine.

Pour the white cheesecake filling on top of the cookie crust crust and smooth until even. Using a spoon, pour lines of green cheesecake filling down the length of the cheesecake.

Swirl the colors into the cheesecake filing using the back of knife (or a chopstick!) to create a beautiful swirl pattern being sure not to swirl all the way down the crust. The more swirls, the better..

Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes or until center is no longer too wobbly.

Remove the bars from the oven, and cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

pro tips for perfect key lime cheesecake

• Use room temperature ingredients like cream cheese, eggs and sour cream.  They mix and emulsify better at room temperature.
• I use gel food coloring and the color I used for these key lime bars was Neon Green.
• Be sure to beat your cream cheese until they are creamy and fluffy.  Don’t skip the creaming step, you will end up with large lumps of cream cheese in your cheesecake bars.
• If your green cheesecake lines are uneven or messy, don’t sweat it .. it’s all getting swirled together anyways
• Key limes that are more yellow are harder to zest but give more juice. Green key limes are easier to zest but not a juicy. Pick your battles.
• Zest at least 10-12 key limes for this easy key lime dessert recipe but feel free to zest them all if you want even more tangy flavor.
• Use a hand held citrus juicer to make your life easier when it comes to juicing these little limes.
• Give clear vanilla extract a try in light colored batters.  Your batter will not tint due to brown vanilla extract. You can find it in your spice/extract section of most grocery stores.
• Key limes have more seeds than your regular limes and those seeds are little. When you squeeze out the lime juice, squeeze the juice into a separate small bowl first so that if any seeds find their way into your juice, you are aren’t having to dig them out of your batter.

difference between limes and key limes

Key Limes are smaller than your usual limes and have more seeds in them. They also are more aromatic and contain more acidity.

As they ripen, they turn yellow instead of dark green like Persian limes and their juice turns sweeter as it loses it’s acidity.

can you use regular limes instead of key limes

Key limes can sometimes be hard to find. If you can’t find key limes, you can substitute a combination of regular fresh lime juice and fresh lemon juice.

Use equal proportions to make up the amount of key lime juice your recipe is calling for.

what is lime zest?

This key lime cheesecake recipe calls for you to zest the key limes.  How do you do that?  Easy! When a recipe calls for citrus zest, it means finely minced or grated citrus peel.

The key lime peel is the green or yellow ‘skin’ on a key lime and it sits on top of the white pith layer. You can zest a key lime with a serrated knife, a micro-plane or even the small openings on a standard standing cheese grater.

To zest with the micro-plane, just rub the lime in one direction against the little blades. Turn the lime as you go so you remove only the green or yellow part.

The white layer is bitter so stroke only 2 or 3 times in one spot of the key lime before rotating the lime to a new area that hasn’t yet been zested.

Yellow key limes are a bit waxier and harder to zest but be patient and you will be rewarded!

more easy summer desserts

• Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
• No Bake Pistachio Pudding Dessert 
• Classic Lemon Bars
• S’mores Pie
• Triple Berry Crisp

Enjoy ♥ Heather