Keto Lemon Bars are a sugar free and low carb twist on classic lemon dessert bars. A buttery almond flour shortbread covered with a delicious lemon filling, all covered with sugar free powdered sugar. A delicious keto dessert that is sure to impress! 6 ingredients and 3 grams net carbs per bar.
When I need a simple and delicious keto dessert to impress, I love serving keto chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, and these low carb lemon bars.
One of my good friends has a huge lemon tree in their backyards. Whenever I see them, they give me bagfuls of fresh lemons, which I always use to make keto lemon desserts.
Now, I’ve been meaning to do a Keto Lemon Bars recipe for quite some time, wanting to adapt my mum’s classic recipe (which isn’t keto, but incredibly delicious).
Not to toot my own horn, but these lemon bars may very well be even BETTER than the original. A buttery, almond flour crust, topped with the most gooey lemon filling. I brought these to an event recently, and I got rave reviews from everyone- Nobody could tell they were sugar free AND low carb!
Ingredients for keto lemon bars
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for the lemon bars. It’s just 6 simple ingredients and with several easy substitutions. See my tips further down to make vegan lemon bars.
- Almond Flour– This is used for the shortbread crust. Be sure to use blanched almond flour, not almond meal.
- Butter– Either traditional butter or dairy free butter can be used. Unsalted butter works best.
- Sugar free powdered sugar– Homemade keto confectioners’ sugar, that takes 30 seconds to make!
- Lemon juice– Either fresh lemon juice or bottled lemon juice.
- Eggs– Room temperature eggs, not refrigerated ones.
- Egg Yolk– In addition to the whole eggs, the extra egg yolk gives the filling the gooey texture and gorgeous yellow color.
- Coconut Flour– Thickens the filling, without the need for any grain based flour.
How do you make keto lemon bars
Start by preparing your shortbread crust. Combine your almond flour, butter, and keto powdered sugar and transfer to an 8 x 8-inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown, and remove. While the crust is baking, prepare your lemon filling. Whisk together your softened butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar, until combined. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks, and finally the coconut flour. Once the crust is cooked, remove from the oven and quickly pour the lemon filling over the top. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the center is no longer jiggling.
Let the lemon bars cool completely, before transferring to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours, to firm up. Once firmed up, sprinkle with extra powdered sugar.
Can I make these vegan/without eggs?
Yes, you can easily make these lemon bars vegan, with a few tweaks.
Use dairy free butter for the crust. Once it has been baked, let it cool completely. Prepare a vegan lemon curd and refrigerate the bars, until firm.
Tips to make the best keto lemon bars
- You must transfer the lemon filling onto the shortbread crust, as soon as it has been baked. This ensures the mixture remains thick, and the eggs don’t separate.
- Do not overbake the bars. They continue to cook as they are cooling down, and will thicken more once they have been refrigerated.
- If you can’t tolerate coconut flour, you can try xanthan gum, but start with a tiny amount (1/4 teaspoon). If you have no dietary restrictions, you can use all purpose flour (6 tablespoons).
- For a more pronounced lemon flavor, add some lemon zest to the filling.
Storing and Freezing Lemon Bars
- To store: Lemon bars should always be stored in the refrigerator, in a sealable container. Refrigerated bars will keep well for up to 2 weeks.
- To freeze: Place bars in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
More Keto Dessert Bars to try
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Keto Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup butter melted (dairy free, if needed)
- 1/2 cup sugar free powdered sugar
For the lemon filling
- 1/4 cup butter softened (dairy free, if needed)
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar free powdered sugar
- 5 large eggs * See notes
- 1 large egg yolk * See notes
- 1 1/2 tablespoon coconut flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine your almond flour, melted butter, and powdered sugar, and mix well. Transfer the mixture into the lined pan and press into place.
- Bake the shortbread crust for 15 minutes, or until golden. While it is baking, prepare your lemon filling.
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix your softened butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. Once it is glossy and smooth, add your eggs, extra egg yolk, and mix well, before adding the coconut flour.
- Remove the shortbread crust from the oven. Moving quickly, add the lemon filling and smooth it out evenly.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the center is firm but still jiggles slightly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan completely, before refrigerating for at least 2 hours, to firm up more. Once ready to serve, sprinkle with extra powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
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to make these vegan, would I use aguafabe or egg replacer? I didn’t see it in the notes. Thanks! Looking forward to trying these recipes!
Never Mind my question about replacing eggs. I just found it.
Wow just made this for my daughter and I and we love it! Thank you!
🙂 So welcome!
Pretty darn good. My daughter even liked it.
😀 Fabulous!
Can I not use coconut flour?
This recipe only works as written.
Arman, do you have a Keto diet plan available?
No I do not 🙂 But sharing a new cookbook soon!
Omg, soo good! My 3 years keto husband, and even my 14 year old daughter and her friends loved them.
I have tips for others, though.
Powdered erythritol is expensive, but I have found that it powders easily in the coffee grinder.
It took exactly 3 huge lemons to make these.
I doubled it and used a 9×13 pan and ended up doubling the crust baking time, and the crust turned out perfect
Thank you, Michelle!
I only had to cook the custard for 15 minutes (altitude?), but these are phenomenal! I used Allulose (no aftertaste!) that I powdered in a coffee grinder and I added 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut to the shortbread. If I hadn’t made them myself, I’d never believe they’re keto! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Aw, cheers, Sabrina!
Hi Arman, I’m looking forward to making these. Are the measurements US cup sizes or Australian/Metric? Does it make a difference as the cup sizes are different?
Thank you, H.
US cups 🙂
I made the mistake of letting my butter warm but forgot to let the lemon juice come to room temp, so my butter seized; therefore, I never got to the glossy part of the instructions. The filling was all liquid so I added another tablespoon of coconut flour and the end result was great. I really loved the shortbread crust too!
These are soo good! In fact, all of your recipes that I have tried are since i have been on Keto, thank you SO much.
Can I use cold-pressed coconut oil instead of the butter and if so, the same amount as the butter?
Not sure, I’ve only tried this as written
Well, I did try it and it was a disaster. I followed your recipe and instructions precisly. as soon as I took the crust out when it was golden brown, I poured the lemon mixture over it and the crust fell apart and the lemon mixture went under the crust batter. Perhaps I would have needed to wait for the batter to settle or cool to firm up, but who knows.
I think if you let the crust cool before adding the lemon custard topping, it will work fine with coconut oil.
This is YUMMY. So I made it lighter in calories by using 4 egg whites and 2 whole eggs. No need for powdered sugar on top, it is perfectly balanced in sweetness as is. Thanks!
These were good but need salt in the recipe to bring out more flavor plus I added vanilla extract to both parts .
These were actually fantastic. You can barely tell that they are keto. For me the consistency was a touch off, probably would have been better with a powdered substitute but all I had was regular eryrithrol. Regardless, they were quite delicious, even with the slight graininess of the eryrithrol. If you’re trying to find a good keto dessert that doesn’t have a ton of carbs, and is actually good I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. I also recommend patiece with this recipe they take forever to cool.