You only need 7 ingredients to make these lemon bars. The lemon curd filling is extra thick and creamy and sits on an irresistible butter shortbread crust. Always bake lemon bars at a lower temperature to avoid over-baking. They’re simply the best lemon bars and are perfect for picnics, bake sales, spring brunches, baby showers, and bridal showers.
Today I’m teaching you how to make lemon bars. I love this lemon dessert recipe so much that I published it in my 1st cookbook, Sally’s Baking Addiction. These are the best lemon bars and I don’t use that statement lightly. After 1 taste, I’m confident you’ll agree. Everyone needs this recipe.
The process is pretty simple and I’m walking you through each step in the video tutorial below. Pick up some fresh citrus and let’s get baking. Spring is in the air!
Video Tutorial: Lemon Bars
These are classic lemon bars featuring a soft butter shortbread crust and a tangy sweet lemon curd filling that’s baked to the perfect consistency. The lemon layer is thick and substantial, not thin or flimsy like most other lemon bar recipes.
Only 7 Ingredients in these Lemon Bars
- Butter: Melted butter is the base of the shortbread crust.
- Sugar: Sugar sweetens the crust and lemon curd filling layers. Not only this, it works with the eggs to set up the lemon filling. If reduced, the filling will be too wet.
- Flour: Flour is also used in both layers. Like sugar, it gives structure to the lemon filling. These days, I add slightly more flour to the shortbread crust compared to my cookbook version. You can get away with 2 cups, but an extra 2 Tablespoons really helps solidify the foundation of the lemon bars.
- Vanilla Extract: I use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract in the shortbread crust. Not many lemon bar recipes call for vanilla extract and I promise you it’s my best kept secret.
- Salt: Without salt, the crust would be too sweet.
- Eggs: Eggs are most of the structure. Without them, you have lemon soup!
- Lemon Juice: I highly recommend using lemon juice squeezed from fresh lemons. You can also use another citrus like blood orange, grapefruit, or lime juice.
How to Make Lemon Bars in 5 Steps
- Prepare the crust: Mix all of the shortbread crust ingredients together, then press firmly into a 9×13 inch baking pan. Interested in a smaller batch? See my recipe note.
- Pre-bake: Pre-baking the crust guarantees it will hold up under the lemon layer.
- Prepare the filling: Whisk all of the filling ingredients together. No cooking on the stove!
- Bake: Pour the filling on the warm pre-baked crust, then bake for around 20 minutes or until the center is just about set. I slightly increased the baking temperature from my cookbook version. Either temperatures work, but 325°F is preferred.
- Cool: I usually cool the lemon bars for about 1 hour at room temperature, then stick the whole pan in the refrigerator for 1-2 more hours until relatively chilled. They’re wonderful cold and with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top!
Prepared in only 2 bowls and a baking pan, clean up is a breeze. These lemon bars win 1st place every time because they’re the perfect balance of tangy and sweet. In fact, I made them for my friend’s baby shower last weekend and they were the first dessert to disappear. And that’s saying a lot considering the competition: homemade chewy fudgy frosted brownies and adorable mini animal cracker cookies. 🙂
2 Guaranteed Tricks to Make the Best Lemon Bars
- Use a glass pan. Ceramic is fine, but glass is best. Do not use metal. I always detect a slight metallic flavor in the lemon bars when baked in metal pans.
- Use fresh juice. Store-bought bottles are convenient, but you miss out on a lot of flavor. You will definitely taste the difference! I have a super old citrus juicer, but I recently purchased this juicer for my mom and she loves it. Highly recommended.
White Air Bubbles on Top of Baked Lemon Bars
Do you notice air bubbles, perhaps even a white layer of air bubbles, on top of your baked lemon bars? That’s completely normal. It’s the air from the eggs rising to the surface. Some batches have it, some don’t. Regardless, the lemon bars taste the same and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar covers it right up!
Blood orange bars! See my recipe note about substituting flavors.
Want to kick it up a notch? Here are my lemon meringue pie and lemon cheesecake recipes.
Craving lots of texture with your bars? You’ll love my oatmeal lemon crumble bars.
Plenty of lemon recipes to love on my site including these lemon crinkle cookies and lemon thumbprint cookies! Regardless of what you choose, lemon-y desserts are always a great choice when looking for springtime or Easter dessert recipes.
PrintLemon Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 50 minutes
- Yield: 24 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need 7 ingredients to make these lemon bars. The lemon curd filling is extra thick and creamy and sits on an irresistible butter shortbread crust. Always bake lemon bars at a lower temperature to avoid over-baking. See recipe notes for important tips. They’re simply the best lemon bars and are perfect for picnics, bake sales, spring brunches, baby showers, and bridal showers.
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Lemon Filling
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (46g) all-purpose flour
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- optional: confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch glass baking pan (do not use metal) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.
- Make the crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be thick. Press firmly into prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the warm crust (not all the way through the crust). A new step I swear by, this helps the filling stick and holds the crust in place. Set aside until step 4.
- Make the filling: Sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, then the lemon juice until completely combined.
- Pour filling over warm crust. Bake the bars for 22-26 minutes or until the center is relatively set and no longer jiggles. (Give the pan a light tap with an oven mitt to test.) Remove bars from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. I usually cool them for about 2 hours at room temperature, then stick in the refrigerator for 1-2 more hours until pretty chilled. I recommend serving chilled.
- Once cool, lift the parchment paper out of the pan using the overhang on the sides. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares before serving. For neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut. Cover and store leftover lemon bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezing Instructions: Lemon bars can be frozen for up to 3-4 months. Cut the cooled bars (without confectioners’ sugar topping) into squares, then place onto a baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour. Individually wrap each bar in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place into a large bag or freezer container to freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Glass Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula | Silicone Whisk | Juicer | Fine Mesh Sieve
- Halve the Recipe: Halve each of the ingredients to yield around 12 squares in a 9-inch square baking pan. Same oven temperature. Bake the crust for 16-18 minutes and the bars for 20 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles.
- Sifting: More often than not, the flour doesn’t fully incorporate into the lemon filling unless it’s sifted with the sugar. As directed in the recipe, sift the two together before adding the eggs and lemon juice. I don’t always do this (and didn’t even do it in the video above!) but it’s preferred to avoid any flour lumps. If you have a sifter, it’s worth using. If you forget, it’s not a huge deal. Here is my favorite sifter. You use it again to dust the lemon bars with confectioners’ sugar.
- Lemon Juice: For exceptional taste, I highly recommend fresh lemon juice. Here is a wonderful inexpensive juicer if you don’t have one. Or use another fresh-squeezed citrus like grapefruit, blood orange, lime, or regular orange. You can slightly reduce the sugar if using a sweeter citrus. I recommend no less than 1 and 2/3 cup granulated sugar in the filling as it’s needed for structure.
- Room Temperature: Bringing the eggs and lemon juice to room temperature helps them mix easier into the flour and sugar. However, I never notice a taste or texture difference when using cold. Room temperature or cold, use whichever!
I used coconut oil in the base to make these dairy free (and also used gluten free flour instead of regular. They were delicious!! I think I added a little extra flour, 1-2T, because the coconut oil made the base mixture seem very wet.
(To make them gluten free I added: 2/3 cup brown rice, 2/3 cup + 2T white rice, 1/3 tapioca starch, 1/3 potato starch plus extra rice flour plus a teaspoon of xanthan gum.)
These are so delicious! They have become the Gold Standard for Lemon Bars with my friend and her BF. Nothing else quite compares! They are uh-mazing!!
Out of this world GREAT.
I’ve been making lemon bars for years. This is the first recipe where I’ve managed to get a crisp, tasty crust – the vanilla and melted butter made all the difference and the filling was thick and delicious. This is definitely the only recipe I will use from now on.
Do I grease the glass pan before I put the parchment paper down ? Thanks Nancy
No need to grease it before lining with parchment.
Perfect! First time making lemon bars and I had 3 friends ask for the recipe♥️ Thanks so much!
I followed the recipe to a T and I ended up with a new FAVORITE dessert that I would happily bring anywhere! The directions were very clear and the tips very helpful. I’m glad I did the half recipe options b/c I keep going back for more. BTW – these are fabulous write out of the freezer too!
DELICIOUS!! I brought these to a Thanksgiving potluck and they were the favorite dessert!
These look amazing! Do you think I could substitute coconut flour for the regular flour for a gluten free option? Thanks 🙂
Hi Amy, I haven’t tested these with gluten free flour but if you would like to try it your best bet is to try an all purpose gluten free flour. To make these with coconut flour would require additional recipe testing.
This recipe is hands down the best I’ve made!! It’s absolutely yummy!!
Everything about this was wonderful EXCEPT your secret ingrediant of Vanilla in the crust. It detracts from the butteryness of the crust I also added zest to crust. Keeping recipe with no vanilla & add zest to crust.
Just made these lemon bars today and I have to say, they really exceeded all my expectations. I followed your recipe to a T (except I halved all the ingredients) and seriously they came out perfect, not overly sour or sweet but a perfect balance-just what I was looking for. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I love this Recipe!! I make them all the time and get tons of compliments!!
Holy smokes these are amazing! They are everything they claim to be and more. I used green farm eggs. The texture was perfect. Can’t wait to make these again!
I have a bunch of your lemon curd left from making a triple batch with the leftover yolks from your angel food cake… what I somehow be able to use the lemon curd in this recipe?
Hi Kate! No, I don’t recommend it. For best results, follow the filling recipe closely. I love lemon curd in my lemon berry trifle, though.
Do you think you could double the recipe and bake it in a half sheet sized pan?
Shouldn’t be a problem!
This recipe is easy and so good! I used brown sugar and salted butter because it’s what I had at home but it still came out yummy!
Sally, I wonder if you can substitute lemon juice for pomegranate juice. The beautiful color and sharpness of pomegranates would be delicious! I think you’d have to decrease the sugar, but would that have an effect on the structure of the curd?
Hi Nesha! Pomegranate juice would be wonderful here. Definitely reduce the sugar in the filling.
This is a great recipe. As a lemon bar virgin i was so pleased to have such great results. Perfect silky smooth lemony goodness. I made this using 1/2 whole wheat flour in the crust and zest of 2 lemons. Ill make it again!
These are the absolute best Lemon Bars ever! I have the key lime bars in the oven using this Lemon recipe with this shortbread crust and I’ll see how they turn out! Your family will love the Lemon bars! Thank you Sally for this wonderful recipe!
Easy, tasty and adaptable. Really enjoy this recipe!
These look the best!!! I was wondering if you know if these freeze well? I love all of your recipes btw 🙂
Just made these. I love shortbread cookies so this caught my attention when searching lemon bars recipe. They are very easy to put together, so easy And delicious. My boys really liked them. I will be making these again! Best shortbread crusted lemon bar recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi! How can I adapt this for a 7 by 11 inch pan, or a 7 by 7 inch pan?
Hi Vicky, I recommend halving it.
This is my third time making this recipe and I love it. My boyfriend’s favorite dessert is lemon bars and your version is the one he asks me to make Everytime now!
The filling on these lemon bars is incredible! I tend to prefer the crust to be a bit more crisp, while this is a more tender base. Still lovely, just not necessarily my preference. I may try softening the butter rather than melting next time.
Simple and delicious recipe! Keen to do a blood orange batch of these!
How long could these be left on display out of the fridge? I have a family event coming up and would love to make them again as they are simply devine!
I was wondering if you get all the pulp out of the juice or if you leave it in. I don’t know if the pulp would give it a weird texture or what but I feel like it’s a waste to throw the pulp out. I haven’t had lemon bars in years and I’ve only ever had them from a box or using lemon juice you can buy in a bottle. I am so excited to try this recipe!
Yes, when squeezing the lemons for the lemon juice, leave in the pulp. The pulp cooks out. 🙂 You don’t really taste the texture of it in the lemon bars.
Hi Sally, I only want half a batch. I am having a small family dinner & a 9 x 13 pan is just to much. Thank you for a quick reply!
Hi Joyce! I recommend a 9×9 inch baking pan for a half batch.