If you love limes, these super-duper gluten free lime bars are going to be your new favorite cookie bar. They are tangy and sweet and have the perfect crust to give these bars a delicious sweet-tart flavor. Perfect for the whole family!
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I am feeling a little guilty making sweet treats this week. Mr. Fearless Dining is out of town, and I have nobody to share these with...except the kids :-). He really hates missing out on dessert, so I will have to hide a few so he can try them when he gets back in town.
We have a giant lemon tree in our backyard. Because of this overproducing a tree, it is rare that I have limes on hand. I mean, why buy limes when I have dozens of lemons ready to pick almost year-round?
These are by far one of my kids' favorite desserts! If you love citrus in your desserts, check out these amazing Gluten Free Lemon Dessert recipes too!
Why These Lime Bars Are Great:
- They are a great excuse to use limes in a dessert!
- The blend of sour lime and sweet flavors tastes so good together.
- Not only are these gluten free lime bars delicious, but they are so easy to make!
- You can freeze these bars easily to have them when needed!
You can also try these gluten free lemon cupcakes with lime juice for another fun lime recipe!
This is a great gluten-free flour blend for making cookies, muffins, and biscuits. For best results, be sure to let the batter sit for 15-20 minutes before baking. Do not use this blend for yeast recipes.
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten Free Flour Blend - I tested this recipe with Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Blend. Other blends should work, but make sure they have a binder like xanthan or guar gum.
- Almond Flour - I used almond flour to add protein to this recipe. See the Substitutions section below to see how to make this recipe nut-free.
- Sugar
- Shredded Coconut - Use unsweetened coconut.
- Baking Powder - I recommend aluminum-free.
- Limes - You can also use key limes to make these Gluten Free Key Lime Bars.
- Eggs - Size large.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter. See the substitutions section for dairy-free instructions.
- Condensed Milk - Use coconut condensed milk if you are dairy-free.
Hands down this non-stick spray is amazing. It is totally inexpensive and it will save your gluten free cakes and muffins from sticking!
Tips For Sucess:
- Make these bars in an 8x8 pan or a tart pan if you want to get fancy!
- Use fresh regular or key limes. Bottled lime juice will work in a pinch, but fresh lime juice yields better flavor.
- Use a good spray so these bars don't stick to the pan.
Substitutions:
- If you can not eat coconut or nuts, use the crust recipe from these Gluten Free Cranberry Bars. This easy gluten-free crust recipe will make these gluten free lime bars nut-free and/or coconut-free.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use plant-based butter and coconut condensed milk.
- If you can't find limes in your local grocery store, it is okay to use lemons. One of my readers used oranges in this recipe to make orange bars!
You may also love these Gluten Free Lemon Oat Bars.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: Add the gluten free flour, almond flour, shredded coconut, and brown sugar to a large
Step 2: Pour the crust mixture into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Spread the mixture all around the bottom, the use your hand to press it flat in the pan. Come up a little along the sides with the crust.
Step 3: In a medium-sized
Step 4: Pour the lime mixture over the crust.
Step 5: Bake the bars at 350º F for 30 minutes until the top is firm. Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
Step 6: Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap. Put into the refrigerator for one hour to chill.
🔑 Sandi says: I like to let the bars get to room temperature first so the bars don't "split" when cooled too quickly.
Storage:
Store these bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep fresh for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze them in a zipper bag. To do this, you will want to flash-freeze the bars before putting them into the bag. Lay the bars out on a baking sheet and freeze the bars for 1 ½ hours. This will slightly freeze them so that they don't stick together.
Recipe FAQ:
If you bake the lime bars for 30 minutes, they should be baked. The toothpick test doesn't work well on this recipe because the lime mixture doesn't get firm the way a cake does.
The crust is made out of flour, almond flour, and shredded coconut. It is almost like a shortbread crust.
I highly recommend storing these lime bars in the refrigerator. They are moist and can spoil quickly if left out.
Here are more delicious citrus recipes: these Paleo No-Bake Key Lime Pies and this easy Gluten Free Orange Almond Flour Cake recipe.
More Gluten Free Cookie Bars:
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Bars - These moist bars are full of peanut butter and M&Ms.
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Bars - These may be the perfect fall treat.
- Gluten Free Strawberry Cream Cheese Bars - If you love fresh strawberries, these are really good!
- Gluten Free Magic Bars - These magic bars are loaded with chocolate, coconut, nuts, and sweet flavors.
📖 Recipe
Easy Gluten Free Lime Bars
Ingredients
For Crust:
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend (*Note, my flour blend has xanthan gum included. If yours doesn't, add 1 teaspoon.)
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ teaspoon baking powder aluminu,-free
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
For Lime Batter:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- 3 large eggs or 4 small
- ¼ cup condensed milk see note
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a bowl, add dry ingredients for the crust and mix.
- Add melted butter and mix well into a soft dough.
- Press crust into a greased 8x8 pan.
- In a medium bowl, add batter ingredients and whisk to blend.
- Pour on top of the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes until done in the middle. The actual baking time may vary depending on the size of your baking pan.
- Remove the bars from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. When they have cooled, place plastic wrap over the bars and refrigerate them for 1-2 hours to chill.
- * Optional: Garnish with more lime peel and powdered sugar
Notes
- You can make this recipe dairy-free by using vegan butter or coconut oil instead of butter and coconut condensed milk.
- You can substitute lemon if you do not have limes. Fresh juice is better than bottled.
- Use almond flour and not almond meal.
- To make these nut-free and/or coconut-free, use the crust recipe from my Gluten Free Cranberry Bars recipe.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Freeze by flash-freezing the bars, then placing them into a freezer bag.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Note this recipe was updated with more recipe details from an older Feb 2016 post.
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Lysa Holmstrom
These are delicious! Have you tried making this without almond flour, just GF flour?
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you enjoyed them Lysa! I haven't tried it, but what you are describing sounds similar to my gluten free lemon tart recipe: https://www.fearlessdining.com/easy-gluten-free-lemon-tart/
Erica
Any recommendations for omitting coconut? My husband is allergic.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Erica, use the shortbread crust from my cranberry bars recipe. https://www.fearlessdining.com/easy-gluten-free-cranberry-shortbread-bars/
Camilla
What the size of the sitck of butter please? In Australia it comes as 250g bar. Is that the right size?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Camilla, 1 stick equals 1/2 cup of butter.
Kristen
My attempt was a disaster-it basically bubbled up and over the top of the dish and created alot of smoke and yuck. Any clue why?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kristen, I haven't heard of this happening, so let's break it down. What gluten free flour blend did you use, did you substitute any ingredients, and what size pan did you use? What position was the rack in the oven? I typically try to bake with the rack in the middle of the oven.
Carolyn Busch
I lined a 9 by 9 inch square metal pan with foil, since my 8 by 8 inch glass pan is not perfectly flat on the bottom. Used plenty of PAM. Also, did not have unsweetened coconut, so I used shredded Baker's brand sweetened and dropped out 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar from the crust. Added 1 T. of gluten free flour to the lime batter for a bit more body in the filling. Very good recipe with a macaron type bottom crust. Cut after chilling for best presentation.
Sandi Gaertner
Wow Carolyn, I love what you did with this. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Have a great holiday!
*GLITTER~GODDESS*
Could I substitute coconut yogurt for condensed milk? If YOU have any other suggestions ,I'd GREAT~LY APPRECIATE it 😀 I look forward to hearing from YOU <3 HUGS!!!!!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi there. I have to be honest, I really don't know. I say experiment and come back and let us know how it turned out.