These low-carb lemon bars are the perfect balance between sweet and lemony and they will leave you reaching for more! With a coconut flour crust and creamy filling, they are the perfect teatime treat.
If you love lemony, tangy desserts then this recipe is for you. Not only is this one of the best tasting keto desserts you can make but it’s so easy to prepare too.
The creamy lemon filling and buttery shortcrust melt in your mouth and will leave you wondering how on earth something that tastes so rich and indulgent could possibly be low-carb!
How to make keto lemon bars
Step 1: Measure out all the ingredients and preheat your oven to 325 ° F (160 ° C).
Step 2: Grease a 9”x 9” (23cm x 23cm) baking pan and line it with a strip of parchment paper (you don’t need to use the parchment strip if your pan has a removable base.)
Step 2: Combine the coconut flour, ground stevia, and salt in the bowl of a food processor by pulsing once or twice.
Step 3: Add the unsalted butter and pulse to combine, until it reaches a sandy consistency.
Step 4: Add the egg and vanilla extract to the food processor. Pulse to combine until the dough is well mixed and forms pea-sized pieces. There should be no dry areas in the dough.
Step 5: Press the shortbread dough firmly into the prepared pan using the back of a glass or your hands.
Step 6: Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the outer edges of the crust have just begun to brown. It should not be fully cooked at this stage as it will cook further once the filling has been added. Remove and leave the oven on.
Step 7: Mix together all the ingredients for the filling until completely smooth and pour over the baked crust.
Step 8: Bake for 30 – 35 min. The lemon bars are done cooking once the filling stops moving if shaken slightly. Remove from the oven and allow the lemon bars to cool completely for at least an hour. Cut and serve when desired.
Tips for making the perfect lemon bars
Before you start preparing the shortcrust base of the lemon bars, remove the cream cheese from the refrigerator and let it sit out for at least 30 minutes before using it the filling. This makes sure that the cream cheese is easy to beat and won’t leave any lumps in your filling.
One of the keys to getting perfect lemon bars is to make sure they cool completely before you decide to gobble them up. Let them cool enough that they are completely firm before eating.
Storing the bars
Once the lemon bars have completely cooled, wrap them gently in plastic wrap so that they don’t dry out. They can be stored like this in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
More healthy low-carb snack recipes
Great tasting keto treats are a great way to keep your blood sugar levels stable and satisfy your sweet tooth! Here are some of my favorite low-carb snacks to keep me going:
You can also check out my roundup of 10 diabetic cookie recipes for more snacking inspiration.
When you’ve tried this recipe for keto lemon bars, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Easy Keto Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust:
- ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- ⅓ cup granulated stevia (ground fine in blender)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (cold, cubed)
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the filling:
- 1 cup granulated stevia (1:1 sugar replacement, finely ground in blender)
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- ¼ cup cream
- 3 eggs
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- zest of one lemon
Instructions
For the shortbread crust:
- Preheat your oven to 325 ° F (160 ° C).
- Grease a 9”x 9” (23cm x 23cm) baking pan and line it with a strip of parchment paper. You don’t need to use the parchment strip if your pan has a removable base.
- Combine the coconut flour, ground stevia, and salt in the bowl of a food processor by pulsing once or twice.
- Add the unsalted butter and pulse to combine until it reaches a sandy, well-mixed consistency.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract to the bowl of the food processor and pulse to combine until the dough is well mixed comes together in small balls.
- Add the dough to the prepared pan and press down firmly using your fingers or back of a glass.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the outer edges of the crust have just begun to brown. It will not be completely cooked at this point as it will bake further once the filling has been added. Remove and leave the oven on.
For the filling:
- Mix together all the ingredients for the filling until completely smooth and pour over the baked crust. If the mixture has some lumps of butter or cream cheese, microwave for 1 – 2 minutes until you can mix until completely smooth.
- Bake for 30 – 35 min. The lemon bars are done cooking if you shake the pan and the middle of the lemon bars shake slightly. Remove from the oven and allow the lemon bars to cool completely for at least an hour. Cut and serve when desired.
Delicious, but the maltodextrine in the sugar replacement in this recipe has a high glycemic load. I would try to find a sugar substitute without it. My glucose soared through the night.
Oh, no. It’s interesting how differently we react. I always bake with Stevia in the raw since it has absolutely no impact on my blood sugars. You might want to use Stevia extract or Monkfruit instead