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In This Post
- Why You’ll Love These Keto Lemon Bars
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How To Make Keto Lemon Bars
- Tips For The Best Keto Lemon Bars
- Storage Instructions
- More Low Carb Lemon Dessert Recipes
- Tools To Make Sugar-Free Lemon Bars
- Keto Lemon BarsRecipe card
- Recipe Reviews
These low carb keto lemon bars are a must-have spring dessert! With a creamy, sweet, and tart lemon filling and buttery shortbread crust, nobody will believe these are sugar-free lemon bars, either. Just like with magic cookie bars, peanut butter bars, and keto lemon meringue pie, the layers of flavor take every bite over the top!
Why You’ll Love These Keto Lemon Bars
- Tangy, sweet flavor
- Buttery crust with luscious lemon filling
- Easy prep with simple filling and crust ingredients
- 3g net carbs per bar
- Naturally dairy free, gluten-free, and sugar-free
- The perfect keto dessert for lemon lovers!
For authentic crust and a super smooth filling, I turned to Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend (crystallized and powdered) for this recipe. Since it measures just like sugar but contains 0g net carbs, it’s easy to make a recipe like lemon bars keto friendly! It’s especially crucial for the filling, because unlike other sugar substitutes, Besti dissolves completely and doesn’t crystallize, which means a super smooth filling with no gritty texture.
I also use Wholesome Yum Almond Flour for the mouthwatering shortbread crust without the carb spike from refined flours.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for sugar-free lemon bars, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
For The Shortbread Crust:
- Wholesome Yum Almond Flour – With a super fine grind, this makes a buttery crust indistinguishable from a white flour version. You may be able to substitute coconut flour, but I haven’t tested it and you would need to add additional oil or eggs, since coconut flour is more drying. If you want to do this, it might help to use my coconut flour pie crust recipe as a starting point.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Other keto sweeteners should also work okay in the crust, but using this crystallized monk fruit sweetener keeps it from getting too dense or dry, since Besti locks in moisture. If you want to cut down on the number of different sweeteners you need, Besti Powdered should work fine in the crust as well.
- Sea Salt – Balances the sweetness.
- Coconut Oil – Measured solid, then gently melted. Melted butter will also work.
- Egg – Use a whole, large egg. A flax egg might work as an egg substitute, but I haven’t tried it.
- Vanilla Extract – Use the best quality extract you can (this one is awesome!).
For The Lemon Filling:
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – The sweetened used here is super important. Using anything granulated will yield a grainy result, anything liquid will prevent the filling from setting, and many brands of powdered sugar substitute will crystallize after cooling, resulting in a gritty texture as well. Powdered Besti is the only one I recommend here, though powdered allulose would also work — you’d need to use 33% more.
- Wholesome Yum Almond Flour – Helps thicken the filling.
- Eggs
- Lemon Juice – Fresh lemon juice makes a big difference here! Bottled juice will still work, but is less flavorful.
- Lemon Zest – Enhances the tart, lemony flavor. Don’t skip it!
How To Make Keto Lemon Bars
This section shows how to make lemon keto bars, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Make filling. In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond flour and Powdered Besti for filling. Whisk in eggs, lemon juice, and zest. Set aside.
- Make crust. Combine almond flour, Besti, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in oil, egg, and vanilla.
- Press. Press the shortbread dough into a square baking dish.
- Bake. Place crust in the oven until firm and golden.
- Add filling. After removing crust from the oven, immediately pour prepared filling over the top.
- Bake again. Bake until filling appears set, but is still soft.
- Chill. Cool the keto-friendly lemon bars completely on the counter, without moving or cutting. Then, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set completely before slicing.
Tips For The Best Keto Lemon Bars
Here’s how to ensure that these keto lemon bars with almond flour turn out perfectly every time:
- Prep the filling first. Adding the filling to the crust right away — and immediately baking — helps the lemon filling set a bit on the hot crust, so that it doesn’t seep below the crust.
- Don’t poke holes in the crust. This will cause the filling to run underneath it. While my almond flour pie crust (with similar ingredients) calls for poking holes to prevent bubbling, do NOT do that with sugar-free lemon bars.
- Use parchment paper. Another important way to prevent the filling from leaking out is to have parchment paper over all four sides of the pan.
- Bars may crack after cooling. Mine didn’t crack, but sometimes they can. After you cut the bars, the cracks aren’t that noticeable, but if you really want to avoid it, you can bake them in a water bath and watch them closely.
Storage Instructions
Be sure to make this low carb lemon bars recipe ahead of time, as they need time to properly set up before you cut into them. I usually make them the day or night before I serve them, so they have time to set. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days (if they last that long!).
Can You Freeze Lemon Bars?
Yes, you can freeze lemon bars. Cut them into squares and place on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, usually a few hours. Then, wrap them in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag or container.
Thawing Instructions:
Thaw frozen lemon bars in the fridge overnight before serving.
More Low Carb Lemon Dessert Recipes
Love keto desserts with a lemony twist? Try these next:
Keto Lemon Cake
Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread
Keto Lemon Pound Cake
Lemon Blueberry Popsicles
- Microplane Zester– I used to think I hated zesting, until I tried this brand. It works so much better than others and makes collecting citrus zest a joy.
- Baking Pan– I love these pans, and this one is the ideal size for this keto lemon bar recipe.
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Recipe Card
Keto Lemon Bars
With an almond shortbread crust and tangy sweet lemon curd filling, this low carb keto lemon bars recipe is perfect for spring. Just 7 ingredients needed for easy sugar-free lemon bars!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 28 minutes
Chilling Time: 2 hours
Total: 38 minutes
Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com
Servings: 16 (adjust to scale recipe)
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.
Shortbread crust:
Lemon filling:
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line 9×9 inch (23×23 cm) pan with parchment paper, hanging over the sides.
Make the filling first, because it must be ready to go immediately when the crust comes out of the oven. In a medium bowl, stir together almond flour and powdered sweetener.
Whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest, until smooth. Set aside.
To make the crust, combine the almond flour, sweetener and sea salt in a large bowl.
Stir in the melted coconut oil, then the egg and vanilla. The dough will be crumbly, but able to be pressed together.
Press the dough into the lined pan. Bake for about 13 to 16 minutes, until firm and golden.
Remove the crust from oven, and immediately pour the filling over the crust.
Return to the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until filling is set, but still soft.
Cool completely on the counter, without moving or cutting. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing.
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 bar, or 1/16 of entire recipe
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.
Calories166
Fat14g
Protein6g
Total Carbs5g
Net Carbs3g
Fiber2g
Sugar1g
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
Course:Dessert
Cuisine:American
Keywords:keto lemon bars, low carb lemon bars, sugar-free lemon bars
Calories: 166 kcal
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Keto Lemon Bars Recipe
