No-Bake Lime Cheesecake Bars
There’s no oven required for these easy, creamy and zesty no-bake lime cheesecake bars with graham cracker crust!
Every now and then a new recipe comes out of my kitchen and completely rocks my world. Like these lime cheesecake bars! They instantly jumped right into my top 10, where I’m sure they will remain forever and ever.
If you love cheesecake and if you love key lime pie, then this recipe is just for you! It combines the best of both, with a graham cracker crust and light-as-air, citrusy filling. Plus, it’s all no-bake so these bars are as easy-peasy as homemade gets.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Light or dark brown sugar
- Butter
- Salt
- Full-fat cream cheese
- Heavy cream
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Fresh lime juice and zest
How to make no-bake lime cheesecake bars
There’s just 3 steps!
- Prepare crust. Combine graham cracker crumbs with brown sugar, salt, and melted butter. Press evenly into the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan and chill while you make the filling.
- Prepare filling. Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and lime zest. Beat heavy whipping cream till fluffy, then fold into the cream cheese mixture.
- Chill. Spread the cheesecake filling over the crust and chill for at least 4 hours.
Tips for this recipe
- Line the pan with parchment paper so you can lift the bars and transfer to a cutting board for easy slicing. (Though the bars aren’t extremely firm and I borrowed an extra set of hands to lift them out of the pan.)
- You can use store-bought graham cracker crumbs, or use a food processor to pulverize. A ziplock bag and a rolling pin will do the job too.
- For the smoothest filling (no lumps), let the cream cheese come to room temperature for 60-90 minutes before mixing.
- I like the natural color of the filling, but you can tint it with a bit of green food coloring for more color.
- These bars don’t need anything extra, but a simple garnish of whipped cream and lime slices make them look fancy.
- To make sure these cheesecake bars have enough time to set up for clean slices, I typically make these the day before I plan to serve them.
- The bars will keep for several days in the fridge right in the pan, and up to a week inside of an airtight container.
More cheesecake treats to love
- Mini Cheesecakes
- No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
- Cheesecake Stuffed Peaches with Graham Cracker Topping
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
- Brownie-Bottom Mini Cheesecakes
Shop tools for this recipe
This recipe was originally published April 2016.
No-Bake Lime Cheesecake Bars
These easy and delicious lime cheesecake bars don't require an oven!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (285 grams, about 12 whole crackers)
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ cup packed light or dark brown sugar (50 grams)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted (85 grams)
For the filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese , at room temperature (225 grams)
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (400 grams)
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (125 ml)
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (250 ml)
- Sweetened whipped cream , for topping
- Lime slices , for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs, salt, brown sugar and melted butter.
- Press into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth with a hand-held mixer (you can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment). Add the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and lime zest and mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into the cream cheese mixture in 2 additions, mixing until just combined. Spread evenly on top of the graham cracker crust.
- Chill in the fridge for 4 hours, or you can make it ahead and chill overnight.
- Top with sweetened whipped cream and lime slices. Slice and serve.
NOTES
- To make graham cracker crumbs, crush graham crackers in a large ziplock bag with a rolling pin, or pulse in a food processor.
- For clean slices, run a sharp knife under hot water and dry between each slice.
Nutrition
Sodium: 205mg, Calcium: 143mg, Vitamin C: 4mg, Vitamin A: 814IU, Sugar: 26g, Fiber: 1g, Potassium: 208mg, Cholesterol: 74mg, Calories: 369kcal, Trans Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Fat: 24g, Protein: 5g, Carbohydrates: 35g, Iron: 1mg
Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review below or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.
20 Comments on “No-Bake Lime Cheesecake Bars”
I don’t know key lime pie, but these little beauties sound wonderful!
Thank you for the recipe.
Lime is one of my all-time favorite flavors and these look just glorious!!
You gotta try them, they’re amazing! Thanks Sues! xoxo
Made these tonight. Easy. Quick even with the chilling required. At minimum chilling time and they will be better tomorrow but still happy to eat them tonight. Big hit all around.
Delicious and easy! I liked it even better frozen, where it has the texture of a semifreddo. Next time I may try it with Maria cookies or Nilla wafers as the graham flavor is strong. Will make again!!
Can you make these gluten free?
Probably if you can find gluten-free graham crackers. I have not baked these with a gluten free variation so I can’t say for sure.
does it affect the end product if the filling is runny?
The filling shouldn’t be runny, it should be thick like in the photos. Hmm, let me know if you need help figuring out what went wrong!
Can I substitute cool whip for whipped heavy cream ?
Probably but I haven’t tested it to know for sure.
How can I get nutrition info on these recipes?
Nutrition info is at the bottom of the recipe card! I noticed there was an error in the info, but it’s been fixed now.
Filling came out amazing but my crust was very crumbly when I went to cut them and it started to fall apart They we’re in the fridge for 12 hours before cutting and I used parchment paper I think I needed more melted butter to hold up the crumbs or even a quick 15 minutes in the oven to bake the crust. I would make these again but with extra butter to see how it does
Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk in Canada comes only in 10 oz cans (300ml). Do you think I need to open a second can for the recipe?
The role of the sweetened condensed milk is mostly for sweetening, so it’s really up to you. I haven’t tested this recipe with less, so I can’t say for sure what the results will be. 10oz will make for a thicker filling and will definitely be less sweet.
This is the best dessert ever ! I double the filling for a thicker serving of deliciousness. Very easy !
These bars are delicious! I made them for our DON for her birthday as she LOVES key lime flavored-anything. Everyone wants the recipe now 🙂
Can these be frozen?
A quick google search says that no-bake cheesecake freezes very well! 🙂 I haven’t tried it yet myself. Once it’s been set, wrap it well in plastic wrap and a layer of foil and freeze for up to a few months. Thaw in the fridge before serving. Hope this helps!