Silky smooth keto lemon bars are the tart dessert your diet has been missing!
Okay, so these lemon bars aren’t technically a mile high.
But I’ve been jones’n for a keto lemon bar recipe that can give me an inch of super-tart lemon filling. Let’s face it. I deserve it. You deserve it. We will no longer be disappointed by wimpy lemon bars with lackluster flavor!
Let’s talk Lemon Bar Basics.
That bar right there☝? It’s got GIRTH and it’s jam-packed with tart lemon flavor. Not too lemony, because the sweet shortbread crust and powdered Swerve topping mellow everything out.
Putting the LEMON in lemon bars
If you want to make a keto lemon bar that actually tastes like lemon and acts like your grandma’s blue-ribbon recipe, you have to use a bunch of lemon juice and a lot of eggs.
Don’t worry! It won’t taste eggy because of allllll of that glorious lemon.
Another tip that people might scoff at is using Real Lemon bottled lemon juice from concentrate. I KNOW! Crazy. Lazy. But super amaze-y. The flavor is there, the convenience is wild, and no one will know.
Pick Your Keto Sweeteners
You can use any keto-friendly sweetener you want, but I mainly used Swerve Granulated and Swerve Confectioner because I don’t mind the bit of cooling you get with Erythritol. It also works best for making this filling set firm.
Other sweeteners like Monkfruit or Allulose will work too, just make sure you give it a taste before you bake. Because allulose doesn’t bake like Swerve, you may have issues with your filling melting into the crust. My advice is to stick to Erythritol but if you must use Allulose, you’ll definitely want to increase the volume to an additional 1/4 cup.
Best Baking Dish Size
You can bake these in a 9×9 square dish and they will be OKAY, but by baking them in an 8×8 dish, you are giving the filling a little help in the thickness department. That’s a good thing.
If you don’t have an 8×8 pan, take your 9×9 pan and ball up some aluminum foil into a 2-inch rectangle and use it as a spacer. Then, just line your pan with parchment and you’ve made a 6×9 pan, which also works!
See it in action in the Brownie recipe post
Fresh. Lemon. Squares. Or rectangles…either way, you’re gonna love these!
Pin these Mile High Keto Lemon Bars!
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Mile High Keto Lemon Bars!
You're gonna love these silky-smooth and wickedly tart keto lemon bars!
Ingredients
Filling
- 4 whole Large Eggs
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 3/4 cup Granulated Erythritol, like Swerve
- 1 cup Lemon Juice, I use bottled Real Lemon!
- 1 tbsp Lemon Zest
- 1/8th tsp Xanthan Gum
Shortbread Crust
- 1 1/4 cup Almond Flour
- 3 tbsp Granulated Erythritol, like Swerve
- 3 tbsp cold Butter
- 1/8th tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
- 1-2 tsp Ice Cold Water
- 8 inch Square Baking Dish, see notes for my hack!
Instructions
Make the Crust
- Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment and heat oven to 350°
- Whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, xanthan gum, and lemon zest. Cut in the butter and work the mixture until the dough forms. Add the cold water to help the mixture along.
- Press the dough into the pan as evenly as possible. If the crust starts to tear or get too thin, just piece it back together and smooth it as best you can! It will bake just fine.
- Bake for about 10 minutes but no longer than 13 minutes to keep the crust from burning during the second bake.
Lemon Filling
- While the crust bakes, whisk the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until smooth. Dust the xanthan gum over the mixture, a little at a time, and whisk to dissolve.
- Once the crust is done baking, give the filling one more good stir to mix any undissolved sugar. *I like to strain my filling through a fine-mesh sieve for an ULTRA silky center!
- Stir the lemon zest into the filling, then pour into the warm crust. Bake in your 350° oven for 20-25 minutes. Continue to bake if the center is still very wobbly, but be careful not to over-bake because the filling will begin to crack! (Like mine!)
- Cool for 2 hours, then dust bars with Powdered Sweetener. Slice and Serve, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- IF your crust and filling melt together or if the bars don't set, it's likely because of the sweetener! Swerve works best for these. Allulose or monk fruit are more temperamental.
Notes
Baking Dish Hack! If you want to have lemon bars with tall filling, a smaller baking dish is best! I use my 9x9 square pan and I ball up enough foil to take up 2 inches of space on the edge. Then, I put in my parchment and follow the recipe. You'll get the same results without having to buy a smaller pan! SEE PICS from my brownie pan hack
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 bars Serving Size 1 barAmount Per Serving Calories 125Total Fat 11gCarbohydrates 4gNet Carbohydrates 3gFiber 1g
I’m making these for my grandson who can’t eat or risk route all because of his heart condition. I used a blend of eyeloss and monk fruit and you’d have to get more of the Samantha gum. I also did a light egg wash on the crust so that it wouldn’t melt into the topping. Will let you know how they come out
Thanks Michelle! Can’t wait to hear how it turned out!
I have YET to taste a homemade (let alone keto) lemon bar recipe that made me pucker-gasm. So looking forward to trying this one. I’m game!
Thank you for sharing, by the way.
Hello! Do these freeze & thaw well?
I made these and then put the ingredients into Carb Manager and it came out 18g carbs with all other nutrition info correct. Did I do something wrong???
Hmm, I wonder if the carb manager app isn’t subtracting sugar alcohols? Try putting all of the ingredients in except for the sweetener. I bet that’s where it is miscalculating! 😁 J hope that helps and thanks for trying the recipe!!!
So my filling was too watery I think. I poured everything over my crust and it made my crust float. 😂😂 I just went with it so I will see how it comes out. Doesn’t need to be pretty. LOL!!
Oh no!!! As long as you prebaked the crust you might still be okay! Please come back and let me know how it turns out! This is one I definitely tested multiple times so I’ll be bummed if it doesn’t work for you ❤️
These were amazing! The crust was a little too moist. They look more crustlike in your pics, maybe I need more time in the oven. I used only allulose. The taste is fantastic, the stuffing can also be a little more solid. Will try this again soon. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Thanks Mayra! I think the crust and filling texture was probably due to the allulose. I love allulose but it does tend to lend more moisture and crisp less than something like Swerve with erythritol. BUT I am glad you liked it anyway!
I love Lemon everything! And I’m an adult obsessed with Vampire Diaries too…no shame here. 🙂
Yes!!! I knew I wasn’t alone! 🙂
Looks delicious! Totally making these!
Yay! I hope you enjoy them if you do!! 🙂
Oh my goodness! I tried these today…they are super yummy and high in protein, which I LOVE! Thanks for the great idea!
Emily!! I’m so happy you enjoyed them!!! You are the best 🙂
#1 – These look super yummy…cant wait to try them!
#2 – Vampire diaries is THE BEST! I have seen all of the seasons..you will not be disappointed! 🙂
Thanks Rylie!!! And, yeah…I’m almost up to the current season…it’s safe to say I’m addicted haha!! I am secretly in love with Damon. Gotta love a bad boy 😜
Um…He’s the only reason I watch the show!! ;p
Yes!!! lol
OMG these look delicious! I am a fanatic of lemon anything- the nutritionist in you will probably cringe at me but I once cracked open a can of lemon pie filling and ate the whole thing with a spoon lol.
Great post! Very cool you created that yourself- definitely going to try 🙂
Kay, I’m not perfect…I’ve eaten pie filling from the can more than once in my life 😉 Let me know if you try it. I’d love to hear what you think!!!