Easy Keto Lemon Bars made with 6 simple ingredients! These sugar-free lemon bars include a buttery grain-free almond flour crust with a zesty lemon layer that will knock your socks off!

Stack of keto lemon bars with slice of lemon on top

After making and loving my Low-Carb Lemon Cheesecake Bars last year, I knew I wanted to make a more traditional sugar-free lemon bar recipe.

So here we are with this magnificent blast of citrus essence!

The bright lemon flavor in this keto lemon bars recipe is just unstoppably amazing.

The almond flour shortbread crust for these lemon bars is remarkably similar to the crust I use in my Low-Carb Blueberry Crumb Bars and my Keto Strawberry Crumb Bars

All we need is a few simple ingredients to make these low carb lemon bars.

The crust ingredients include almond flour, coconut oil (or butter), sugar-free sweetener, and a touch of kosher salt.

The filling is also a simple combination of eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar-free sweetener, and a little almond flour.

Let’s discuss the ingredients in detail!

Cut lemon bars at an angle

Keto Lemon Bars Ingredients:

Almond Flour: Almond flour makes up the rich buttery shortbread crust, which turns out with a nice flaky texture. I use Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour, but any brand of almond flour or almond meal should work in this low carb dessert recipe.

The one caveat here is that some brands of almond flour absorb more liquid than others, so you may need to adjust the almond flour up or the oil/butter up depending on the consistency of dough you’re left with. You want the dough to have a similar thick consistency as cookie dough.

While coconut flour is a great grain-free flour for keto treats, it requires much more liquid and eggs than almond flour, as it absorbs more liquid. In this sense, the amount of coconut flour and the amount of butter one would need to use would be different, and coconut flour cannot be used in this recipe as a 1 to 1 replacement for the almond flour.

Coconut Oil or Butter: For the fat portion of the crust mixture, you can either use melted coconut oil or melted unsalted butter. 

Sugar-Free Granulated Sugar: The sweetness in these keto lemon bars comes from sugar-free granulated sweetener. Both the crust and the lemon filling use sugar-free sweetener to make them taste nice and sweet while keeping the bars low-carb.

My top three favorite sugar-free granulated sweeteners are Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener, Swerve, and Truvia. Any keto sweeteners (or low carb sweetener) that can be used as a 1:1 replacement for regular sugar will work here!

If you don’t follow a low-carb ketogenic diet, you can swap out the sugar-free sweetener for regular granulated cane sugar or maple sugar for a paleo option.

Eggs: While there are no eggs in the crust, we need a total of five large eggs to make the lemon filling layer. The egg yolk creates a custardy, soft lemon layer that maintains a stable consistency after baked and chilled.

Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest: The star of the show here! Lemon juice and lemon zest bring that bright zingy citrus flavor to the bars. I prefer juicing fresh lemons to use fresh lemon juice rather than using pre-squeezed lemon juice from a bottle, because I think it brings the best, freshest flavor.

Be sure you don’t skip the lemon zest, as it is the lemon zest that brings that complete abundant lemon flavor.

Sea Salt: A pinch of salt is added to both the crust and the filling to help bring out all of the flavors. Sea salt allows all of the flavors to shine, and makes any baked good taste sweeter without the need for more sweetener.

If you have it on hand, you can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract  to the lemon custard mixture to add some warm flavor, but doing so isn’t necessary.

Let’s bake some keto lemon desserts!

Stack of lemon bars with lemon bars off to the side

How to Make Keto Lemon Bars:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper.

Prepare the crust recipe by mixing all of the ingredients (melted butter, almond flour, sugar-free sweetener and sea salt), together in a large mixing bowl until a thick dough forms.

Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined pan, then use your hands to press it firmly into an even layer.

Use a fork to poke several holes in the dough, which will allow the crust to bake evenly.

Bake the crust on the center rack of the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden-brown.

While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon bar filling. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir in the sugar-free sweetener and almond flour until combined. Note: you can also perform this step using a food processor if you prefer.

Once the crust is out of the oven, pour the lemon filling mixture over the crust. 

Bake the lemon bars for 15 to 18 minutes, until the filling appears set up but is still soft.

Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool on the counter completely before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating for 2 hours.

Once the bars have chilled in the refrigerator, tug on the parchment paper to transfer to a cutting board. Slice into bars, and enjoy!

Store any leftover keto lemon bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Hand holding a low carb lemon bar with lemon bars in the background

Nutritional Information:

If you cut these bars into 16 squares, each bar contains 176 calories, 6 grams of total carbs, and 3 grams of dietary fiber for a total of 3 net carbs per bar.

If you follow a keto diet, these bars should fit your daily macros as long as you aren’t doing a zero carb diet. They are a great option for satisfying a sweet tooth without excess sugar.

And that’s it! Everything you need to know about making these amazing low-carb lemon bars for a healthier sugar-free treat!

More Keto Dessert Recipes:

Enjoy these buttery zesty low-carb lemon bars recipe!

Stack of keto lemon bars with slice of lemon on top

Keto Lemon Bars

4.45 from 29 votes
6-Ingredient Keto Lemon Bars with an almond flour shortbread crust and a custard lemon layer. These bright, tangy perfectly sweet sugar-free bars are loaded with flavor!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 16 Bars

Ingredients

Lemon Bar Crust:

Lemon Filling:

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper.
  • Prepare the crust recipe by mixing all of the ingredients (melted butter, almond flour, sugar-free sweetener and sea salt), together in a large mixing bowl until a thick dough forms.
  • Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined pan, then use your hands to press it firmly into an even layer. Use a fork to poke several holes in the dough, which will allow the crust to bake evenly. Bake the crust on the center rack of the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden-brown.
  • While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon bar filling. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest.
    Wet ingredients for lemon filling in a mixing bowl
  • Stir in the sugar-free sweetener and almond flour until combined. Note: you can also perform this step using a food processor if you prefer.
  • Once the crust is out of the oven, pour the lemon filling mixture over the crust. Bake the lemon bars for 15 to 18 minutes, until the filling appears set up but is still soft.
    Lemon bars fresh out of the oven
  • Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool on the counter completely before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating for 2 hours. Once the bars have chilled in the refrigerator, tug on the parchment paper to transfer to a cutting board. Slice into bars, and enjoy!

Notes

*Depending on the brand of almond flour you use, you may need to add an additional 1/2 cup to 1 cup of almond flour to the crust mixture if it seems overly oily or wet. The consistency of the crust should be slightly crumbly and not overly oily.
Use maple sugar instead of sugar-free sweetener to make the bars paleo. You can also use regular granulated sugar.
Store any leftover keto lemon bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Bar (of 16) · Calories: 176kcal · Carbohydrates: 6g · Protein: 8g · Fat: 13g · Fiber: 3g · Sugar: 2g
Author: Julia
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: almond flour shortbread crust, dairy free keto lemon bars, keto lemon bars, low carb lemon bars, low carb lemon bars recipe, sugar free lemon bars, sugar free lemon curd
Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @the.roasted.root on social media!
Collage for keto lemon bars

Julia Mueller
Meet the Author

Julia Mueller

Julia Mueller is a recipe developer, cookbook author, and founder of The Roasted Root. She has authored three bestselling cookbooks, – Paleo Power Powers, Delicious Probiotic Drinks, and The Quintessential Kale Cookbook. Her recipes have been featured in several national publications such as BuzzFeed, Self, Tasty, Country Living, Brit.co, etc.

Read More About Julia

Need Help With Dinner?

View More Dinner Ideas
4.45 from 29 votes (29 ratings without comment)

Join The Discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Questions and Reviews

  1. Hi Julia, not why use zero sugar sweetener if u want the lemon bars to be keto or other bakery. I m confused with different sweeteners I m am a diabetic. the need for understanding is imperative thanks Julia

    1. Hi Judy,

      Sugar-free granulated sweetener is the same thing as zero sugar sweetener 🙂

      If you follow the recipe as it is written in the recipe card at the end of the article, the bars are keto 🙂 I mention other sweeteners within the post because not all of my followers follow a low-carb/keto diet.

  2. Just thought I would send you an update as I made these lemon bars over the weekend. They were zingy in the best way! They really satisfied my lemon cravings and remind me that spring is on the way!! I have made this crust recipe many times and it never disappoints! Thank you for another AMAZING recipe!!

    1. My pleasure, Cindy! Thank you for the sweet note! It’s super encouraging to know you enjoy my recipes, and I really appreciate the feedback…makes a huge difference! xoxo

    1. Hi Cindy! They do! They also thaw fairly quickly, so you can take one (or several) out of the freezer, stick them on a plate and they should be thawed within 1-2 hours. This is how I store the bars, myself!

    1. Hi Lori! Add another 1/2 cup to 1 cup of almond flour. Varying brands of almond flours have varying absorbencies, so it sounds like the brand you use isn’t as absorbent as mine. 🙂