Our Key Lime Cheesecake Bars are a summer staple, complete with zesty lime, refreshing cool-whip, and a crunchy crust made up of vanilla wafers and savory butter. We’ve taken the best parts of the classic key lime pie and lightened them up while keeping the flavor, making these bars the perfect dessert for any summer meal.
The Best Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
Similar to key lime pie, but make it lighter. These key lime bars with cream cheese and cool whip are still creamy but don’t leave you feeling weighed down at the end of your meal. Using just a few simple ingredients, this is a summer dessert that’s sure to please the whole family.
What You Will Need
Crust:
- vanilla wafers – This simple ingredient has it all; crunch, mild sweetness, and warming vanilla flavors.
- butter – Just a bit to help the crust hold together.
Filling:
- cream cheese – Set this out ahead of time to ensure that it becomes softened. To speed up this process, you can cube the cream cheese and microwave it for about 10 seconds at a time, being sure to rotate and flip the chunks to make sure that they don’t get scorched.
- sweetened condensed milk – Creamy sweetness that you can taste in each bite.
- key lime juice and zest – We love this sweeter variety of limes, but you’re welcome to use regular limes if that’s more convenient.
- cool whip – Makes each bite light and refreshing.
Key Lime vs. Traditional Limes
They most typical lime varieties that you’re most likely to find at your grocery store are called Persian Limes and Key Limes. Persian limes are larger and have an oval shape, while key limes are rounder and smaller. As for flavor, Persian limes also tend to be more tart, while key limes are just a tad sweeter. Some grocery stores sell bottled key lime juice, but regular lime juice will work just fine in this recipe.
How To Make Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F in order to bake the crust. While the oven is preheating, place the vanilla wafters in a reusable back and roll a rolling pin over the bag to crush them up.
Make sure that the wafers are finely crushed and have a uniform texture. Then, in a separate small bowl, melt the butter.
To make the crust, pour the melted butter into the bowl with the crushed vanilla wafters and mix thoroughly. Next, put the crust mixture in a parchment lined baking dish and press down firmly with your hands. Then place the baking sheet into oven, on the middle rack, and let bake 15 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Recipe Tip:
Make sure that you use enough parchment paper to fold over the baking sheet sides for easy bar removal once they’ve been baked and cooled.
Now for the filling! In a large mixing bowl add the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk and whisk until it becomes smooth. It’s okay to have some small chunks of cream cheese after the mixing process.
Next, add in the key lime juice and zest and whisk to combine. Finally, gently add in the cool whip.
Use a large spatula to carefully fold in cool whip. Stirring too vigorously could cause the cool whip to loose some of it airiness and volume.
Gently place the filling on top of the crust and spread it evenly with a spatula.
Now just pop your assembled bars into the fridge for at least 2 hours or over night to allow them to firm up. After chilling, cut your bars into squares and serve!
What To Serve With Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
If presentation is your thing, be sure to top each bar with a little slice of key lime and zest to wow a crowd. And while these bars pair great with any summer meal, some of our favorites are bbq chicken tacos, grilled brats, or our delicious smoked pork shoulder.
Can You Freeze Key Lime Cheesecake Bars?
Yes! Just make sure that they are in a freezer safe and airtight container. If you only have a few bars left, we suggest wrapping them with plastic wrap and then storing them in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to a month. Bring them back to room temperature by setting them on a countertop for a few hours prior to serving.
Recipe FAQs
- Dairy-Free: You can use plant-based butter and sweetened condensed coconut milk in place of the sweetened condensed milk.
- Gluten-Free: You can substitute gluten-free graham crackers for the vanilla wafers.
- Storage: Cover the pan with foil and place in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a plastic bag and place in the freezer for up to a month.
Made these key lime pie cheese cake bars recipe and loved them?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram account for some behind-the-scenes action! Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!
Other Bar Recipes You Might Like
Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 24 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven + Refrigerator
- Cuisine: American
Description
Key Lime Cheesecake Bars – a delicious key lime cheesecake bar recipe that is a little lighter and fluffier than your classic version!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 4 cup vanilla wafers, crushed
- 1 cup butter, melted
Filling:
- 8oz cream cheese, softened
- 14oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup fresh key lime juice
- zest of 1 key lime
- 8oz cool whip
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a 9×13 pan by lining it with parchment, ensuring the parchment folds over the sides to allow for easily removal of the bars.
- Combine vanilla wafers and butter in a medium-sized bowl; use a fork to combine.
- Pour out wafer mixture into prepared pan. Spread out evenly and use your hands to press down firmly to create a crust. Place in oven, middle rack, and let bake 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Use a whisk to combine until smooth (it’s okay if there are still very small chunks of cream cheese).
- Add lime juice and lime zest. Whisk to combine.
- Add cool whip and use a large spatula to fold in the cool whip gently – you don’t want to stir or the cool whip will lose some of this volume.
- Pour out cool whip mixture on top of the crust. Spread out evenly.
- Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours – preferably overnight.
- Cut into squares and serve.
Notes
- Storage: cover pan with foil and place in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For freezing, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container and store in the freezer for up to a month.
- Dairy-Free: you can use plant-based butter and sweetened condensed coconut milk in place of the regular sweetened condensed milk.
- Gluten-Free: you can sub gluten-free graham crackers for the vanilla wafers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 179
- Sugar: 11.9 g
- Sodium: 61.1 mg
- Fat: 13.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.5 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 35.7 mg
Stefanie T says
Love this recipe sooo much!! I made it last summer for the first time. Made them again yesterday. It is soo delicious.. I used key lime juice because my store didn’t have any fresh key limes. Also used (2) Family Size Nilla wafers to get a thicker crust. This is a great summertime dessert that will be on repeat!! Thank you Erin.
Erin says
So glad you enjoyed this one, Stefanie!! One of my favorite recipes!