The BEST Keto Creamy Lemon Bars

These are the BEST Keto Creamy Lemon Bars have a delicious graham cracker crust and are filled with a thick lemony filling and topped with fresh whipped cream! This delicious easy keto dessert is also a low carb and gluten-free dessert, perfect for all lemon lovers! Just the right balance between tart and sweet!

this recipe

Easy Keto Dessert

I don't think anyone in my family has a love for all things lemon like I do. These lemon bars are my new favourite. A thick creamy filling and a crunchy crust. You get a little sweet and a little tart. It's the perfect combination of flavours. And since this easy keto dessert is so easy to make, these sugar-free lemon bars are sure to be made time and time again!

This Lemon Bar recipe came together in about 15 minutes.  I am not kidding!  By quickly mixing some basic ingredients, a low carb and gluten-free crust is par-baked in the oven. While the crust is baking, a simple combination of homemade sweetened condensed milk, with some eggs, sweetener and lemon juice, the low carb lemon bars were almost complete! Perfectly balanced with tartness and sweetness, these keto creamy lemon bars are the perfect addition to your list of easy keto dessert recipes!

After recently discovering how easy and how absolutely delicious sugar-free sweetened condensed milk is to make (yes...that's right...only 15 minutes using the insert of your instant pot!), I knew I needed to use this newfound love in some type of an easy keto dessert recipe.

Having such great success with my Keto Lemon Lime Bars with a Graham Cracker Crust recipe, I decided to try my hand at a similar style of recipe.

Lemon Bar Recipe Ingredients

Almond Flour - Make sure that you use super fine almond flour. You could always replace this with any other type of nut flour except for coconut flour. Coconut flour is too absorbent and will not crisp up as it will absorb some of the liquid from the lemon cream layer and end up soggy.

Butter - I used unsalted butter but if you only have salted butter, you can use it instead and omit the salt in the recipe. You want your butter to be softened so that it can easily be mixed with the other shortbread crust ingredients

Sweetener - I used a combination of erythritol sweetener, such as Lakanto, as well as allulose. For the crust, you can use any type of sweetener but I highly recommend allulose for the creamy lemon layer. These bars need to be stored in the fridge and erythritol-based sweeteners can crystalize when cooled. Allulose, on the other hand, does not and therefore is my first choice when making custard-type bars like my Keto Rhubarb Custard Bar Recipe

Eggs - For this recipe, you will add 1 whole large egg to the crust ingredients and then you will also need 4 egg yolks for the creamy lemon layer. Store your leftover egg whites in the fridge until you are ready to make my Keto Funfetti Macaroons

Lemons - You will need about 2-4 lemons depending on the size of the lemons. If you have a zester, zest 1 teaspoon of lemon zest before squeezing the lemons for the lemon juice. If you don't have a zester, simply add about ¼ teaspoon of lemon extract instead.

Keto Sweetened Condensed Milk - This is probably the only ingredient that you may not have on hand. I used my Instant Pot Sweetened condensed milk which only takes 15 minutes. So, after I started my Keto Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe, I may the base of the bars and by the time the shortbread cookie base was done, so was my sweetened condensed milk!

Making Sugar-Free Lemon Bars

Prepare the Crust - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside. Combine all the ingredients and press them into the pan.  Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the crust to cool slightly. Do NOT turn off the oven!

Prepare the Filling - Beat together the egg yolks and allulose until very thick, about 3-4 minutes.  Slowly add in the sweetened condensed milk while mixing.  Add in the lemon juice and zest (or extract) and mix until combined.  Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the filling is just set.  Remove from oven and allow to cool fully for about 4 hours.

Prepare the Whipped Topping - Beat together the cold cream and sweetener until light and fluffy.  Spread the whipped topping over the bars and decorate with lemon zest or lemon slices.  Keep bars refrigerated.

Easy Low Carb Lemon Bars Tips

• Make sure that you line your baking pan with parchment paper...lemon reacts with metal and can create a slightly "off" taste if it comes in contact with the metal. You can always use a glass pan or a silicone pan instead.
• You must use fresh-squeezed lemons for this. The bottled stuff just doesn't compare and will give these a weird, fake taste. Take the time to squeeze fresh lemons. You won't regret it.
• This same recipe can be used for key lime bars! Just substitute the lemon in the recipe for key limes!
• Feel free to season your crust with cinnamon, cardamon or any other spice
• PLEASE allow the bars to fully cool before slicing them. They need the time to set or they will still be runny. They need to cool in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours but overnight is best.
• You can easily freeze these bars and just allow them to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
• When you pour the sugar-free lemon filling onto the crust, do so carefully and slowly. The filling is very liquid.
• If the bars begin to brown too quickly (this happens if you use allulose as allulose browns quicker than other sugar-free sweeteners, simply lay a piece of aluminum foil over the bars
• Store these bars in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

More Easy Keto Dessert Recipes

• Easy Keto Cranberry Pie Dessert - Perfect for Leftover Cranberries!
• Easy Keto Monster Cookies - Healthy Gluten-free and Sugar-Free
• Healthy Keto Blueberry Muffins - Nut-Free, High Fiber
• Easy Keto Blueberry Pie Filling - 4-Ingredients
• Easy Keto Lemon Fudge - Only 2 Ingredients!
• Keto Cookies and Cream Fudge - Easy 4-Ingredient Keto Recipe

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