The Originators of Quick & Easy Cooking!
Lime Margarita Bars

- MAKES
- 20
- COOK TIME
- 35 Min
Traditional margaritas are made in glasses with salted rims. These cooling Lime Margarita Bars are made with salted pretzels, so you get that salty taste in every bite. (And you don't sip these, so you don't need straws!)
What You'll Need
- 1 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzels
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, melted
- 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 4 teaspoons grated lime peel
What to Do
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
-
In a medium bowl, combine pretzels, sugar, and butter. Press firmly into bottom of prepared baking dish.
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Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until crust is firm; remove from oven and cool slightly, leaving oven on.
-
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour into cooled crust.
-
Bake 25 to 30 additional minutes, or until center is firm. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars and serve, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Note
-
These freeze well, but be sure to place them in a tightly covered container. When ready to serve, just remove as many as needed and thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- If you're a fan of fruity-flavored desserts like we are, you'll love our Citrus Bars!
lnieft 9959996
Feb 09, 2015
Does this really serve 20? How small are the bars?
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wendygoerl 2394329
Feb 09, 2015
Since it says "9x13" pan . . . 9/4=2.5 13/5=2.6 Elementary school math. And a very common size.
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pmills7 0631677
Apr 26, 2014
Couldn't you use graham cracker crumbs for the crust? I think I will try it since I don't like pretzels.
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rhondar2014 8860494
Jan 31, 2014
I've made these margarita bars many times. Everyone always loves them. Easy to make and sweet, a little tart and a little salty. Any left over crust crumbs from the taking dish I sprinkled on top of the filling right before serving. It looked pretty and tasted AWESOME!
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mlewis1290 2544501
Jul 21, 2013
Really delicious! Very sweet. I will make again.
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Test Kitchen Team
Apr 05, 2012
Since some of you had issues with the crust for this recipe, we took it back to the Test Kitchen and decided to make some minor adjustments. The recipe above has the revised ingredient amounts. Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. Enjoy!
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smcclelland54 8495757
Mar 03, 2012
mmmm... just made them and they turned out perfect. I used a smaller pan...11x7. I even added about a 1/4th cup of tequila. What's a margarita without tequila? They are still cooling, but I had to take a spoonful out of the corner and they are delish!
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Member 4030165
Mar 02, 2012
Mr. Food, shame on you!!! This was the worst waste of ingredients. As another reviewer stated, the pretzel crust NEVER set up so you end up with a topping and a plate full of crumbs. I've made several pretzel crusts and never had one as horrible as this one. Don't make it if you're expecting a firm crust. I was very disappointed as I had made it for a gathering at my home and was forced to make a different dessert.
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Christmas Dogs
Feb 29, 2012
I made these the other day and my crust did not turn out as other reviewers have indicated. If I made these again I would use less pretzles as the crust did not set up. Half of the crust was just crumbs left in the bottom of the pan. Needless to say I was disappointed in this recipe. The crumbs remaining on the 'squares' was chewy. Not sure I would make this again.
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ibtilton 7316970
Feb 28, 2012
I made this adding extra butter and in a smaller baking dish. Adjusting time for thickness in baking off the crust, making sure it was very firm and also extra time for the filling to set. filling. It turned out very nice with no problems. My guests LOVED it, which made me very happy!! I made the bars about half size as shown, it is very rich, much like cheese cake. I would make this again for a dish to bring on pot lucks.
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bethmctn
Feb 27, 2012
I made this yesterday and I agree that the crust needed more butter. I also only used one can of the sweetened condensed milk and added package of cream cheese. I would suggest to blend the cream cheese first. It was very good and I liked the salty crust with the filling.
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rannie 0700784
Feb 25, 2012
Very disappointed in this recipe. The pretzels never set up so the crust was crumbles and the pretzels ended up being tough; the cooking spray caused the filling to brown around the edges making it tough also. Definitely think there needs to be more butter in the crust and maybe cut down on the cooking time. I did like the taste of the salty and sweet combination, so may try it one more time and make some changes to the recipe.
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kmplatt83 9973896
Feb 20, 2012
Made these yesterday --- came out perfectly. So creamy and delicious!
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kristychampion22 5655084
Feb 11, 2012
My crust floated to the top, so the final outcome looks NOTHING like the photo provided with this recipe. I made the dessert for a family lunch tomorrow, so haven't tasted it yet. The appearance may not affect the taste, but I'm certain the missing "crunchy crust" will affect the texture and I expect to be disappointed. I thought I had done something wrong, but other reviewers had crust problems too. Maybe I didn't crush pretzels fine enough. Maybe I didn't cool long enough before topping with the filling.
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chefweber 6761958
Feb 18, 2012
"press firmly" You might try to use a flat bottom drinking glass to press frimly to the bottom of the prepared pan. this always works for me. When I pour in the filling I am somewhat careful in doing it gently. By the way, for my friends I used Danish cooky crumbs instead th pretzels. It was a hit as well. The lime juice off sets the sweetness of thes types of crumbs
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clara67
Feb 18, 2012
This also happen to me the first time I tried them. When I tried them again instead of using a 9x 13 pan I used a 9x9 square 3 quart baking dish. I also used more butter than it called for. I used about 1/2 stick more because I felt the crust didn't get coated enough. When I made it again it looked exactly like the picture. Good luck
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broaro 2983023
Feb 07, 2012
haven't tried this one but have a pie one that uses graham cracker crust. one can of eagle brand milk juice from 3 lemons one egg, beat together and pour into crust add few crackers crumbs to top refrigerate till set. enjoy. easy and no cooking
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wernerflo67 9753079
Feb 07, 2012
I didn't have 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk so I used 1 can and a little more than a cup of sour cream; added about 1/3 cup of sugar to lime batter to compensate. The result had a very wonderful texture; I am not a big fan of limes but anyone who is should enjoy it!
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CYNTHIA
Feb 06, 2012
I had to throw away the entire batch that I made for Super Bowl. It was like a pretzel cake. Its almost like there wasn't enough liquid. I used the 1/2 cup of lime juice. I just now watched the video and I don't understand... I did the same thing.
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wernerflo67 9753079
Feb 08, 2012
I'm sorry you had to throw it away. There really was very little of the lime batter; maybe about 1/2" deep in a large 13"x9" pan. I would recommend you try again but maybe try cream cheese or sour cream instead of the second can of sweetened condensed milk and add additional sugar.
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emoul56 1994898
Feb 05, 2012
Very disappointed in these. I have a lot of good recipes from Mr. Food, unfortunately, this is not one of them.
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chefweber 6761958
Feb 18, 2012
Try again. New recipes do not always work for me the first time. However, if they sound good, I always give it a second round. This one worked for me the first time. For St. Patricks Day I will add 2 drops of green.
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lindarqs1989
Feb 05, 2012
The crust did not hold together. I did just as you did on your TV spot.
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chefweber 6761958
Feb 18, 2012
Try cookie crumbs or graham craker crumbs. the topping is simply one of the best.
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jrandjrinlubtx 1677886
Feb 03, 2012
Do you use regular salted pretzels???
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bandrsavach 1306985
Feb 04, 2012
Traditional margaritas are made in glasses with salted rims. These cooling Lime Margarita Bars are made with salted pretzels, so you get that salty taste in every bite.
- REPLY
- WAS THIS HELPFUL? YesNo
- REPORT ABUSE

larry2137 0871200
Feb 03, 2012
I don't like lime, but I love lemon. Can you substitute lemon for lime and still get the same results? By the way, love Mr. Food web site!
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Hsuttner 4490461
Feb 03, 2012
I am sooooo glad I signed up for mr food. I miss him from tv when we lived in Boston. !!!
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centenoelisa 9669802
Feb 03, 2012
I love this recipe, it's so easy.
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raven2006cherokee 2245116
Feb 03, 2012
going to make it for SUPER BOWL SUNDAY, so I will let you all know how they did. GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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marilynbasel 3662733
Feb 03, 2012
You can make these gluten-free by making the crust from gluten-free rice crackers or gluten-free pretzels, available now in many supermarkets. Marilyn Basel, Food Lover's Nation eCookbooks, also FoodzRx
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donjuan 0753109
Feb 03, 2012
i watch Mr. Food daily on Krcg.tv . I have celiac disease and wish sometime he would have some gluten-free recipies that don't require a dozen ingredients. Thanks
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rspry 4261860
Feb 03, 2012
They dont require dozens of ingredients
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