Matt grew up eating lemon bars, so naturally we had to make a keto version for old times sake! These keto lemon bars combine the tangy-ness of lemon and the sweetness of a sugar cookie base for the perfect sweet and sour dessert. Make these bars for the holidays or for meal prep and watch them be devoured.
More Keto Bars?
We’ve got plenty of those on our food blog that you can check out, but i’ll do you a favor and list some of our best ones below. The benefit to bars is they are easy to portion out and fit into your macros if tracking is something you like to do. It’s also a great finger food that requires no plates or utensils – less clean up for you!
Make A Simple Cookie Base
A simple cookie base as shown in the video and the recipe below makes the perfect start to any dessert. You can use it in place of a crust for pies, bake it on its own in cookie shape or use it for these keto lemon bars!
Keeping it simple will allow the lemon in this recipe to shine! You also don’t want to cook it all the way when your first bake it stand alone. Since we’ll be baking it a second time once the filling has been added a partial bake will ensure it doesn’t come out dry at the very end!
Don’t Skimp On The Lemon
You don’t want to get just a hint of lemon when you’re biting into a lemon bar. You want to be hit with it and to ensure that you need to use enough lemon.
To make sure you get the perfect sweet to sour ratio you using the lemon juice and zest is essential. The zest gives the bars a fresher taste and makes the lemon flavor pop. The cookie base and use of erythritol and stevia in the filling can be over powering so don’t be scared to use a little extra lemon in the filling.
Easy Keto Lemon Bars
Whether or not you are a lover of lemon you ARE going to love these keto lemon bars! They are dense and decadent like any good dessert should be, but they also have a freshness to them from the lemon juice and zest. If you have a time and want to impress top these with a some powdered erythritol prior to serving. It will add just the slightest sweet compliment to the tartness of the lemon!
Tip: You can even do a quick swap out for lime and make keto lime bars for your friends and family.
Keto Lemon Bars
What You Need:
- 8×8 Baking Pan
Ingredients:
Lemon Bar Base
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp erythritol
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp liquid stevia
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 4 tbsp butter, room temperature
Lemon Bar Filling
- 4 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup erythritol
- 1/2 tsp liquid stevia
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tbsp gelatin powder
Instructions:
Lemon Bar Base
- Combine almond flour, erythritol, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined.
- Add vanilla, stevia, egg and butter. Mix with hand mixer or food processor. Add flour mixture into butter mixture in 2 batches.
- Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 375F and line a 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or spray the pan with non-stick
spray. - Transfer the chilled dough to the baking pan and press down the dough with your hand or a spatula.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes – base should slightly be under cooked. Make the filling while the base cools.
Lemon Bar Filling
- Turn the oven down to 350F.
- In a large bowl add eggs, egg yolk, lemon juice, lemon zest, erythritol, stevia and vanilla extract. Mix
until well combined. Then add coconut flour, almond flour, and gelatin. Combine and allow to thicken for 5
minutes. - Pour filling into cooked crust and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the bars from oven and allow to cool. Once room temp, transfer to the refrigerator for 1 hour to continue setting.
- If desired, top with powdered erythritol prior to slicing and serving. Best served cold and stored in an air tight container in the fridge up to one week.
You forgot to add the coconut flour into the instructions for the base. I am assuming you just add it to the dry ingredients.
I love these!
These were a hit with us and our dinner guests! We’ll definitely be making these again! Thanks for the recipe!
Heads up! Someone has copied your recipe, picture and all.
I was wondering if I could use granular monkfruit sweetener in place of the stevia and erythritol..?
Yes you can!
well the lemon filling taste fine but was a little thin compared to the crust. The crust on the other hand was like stale bread. Not very tasty, and a little mushy. I think the crust needs improvement and the filling needs to be thicker.
Arg… I could not get my to thicken. WHY? Should i use more gelatin?