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!
Extremely sweet. Like too sweet. Might be better if you cut the sugar in half.
This recipe did not turn out for me. I made no changes, which is an effort for me. I used the glass baking dish, baked it at 325 for 20 minutes. It was soft and raw. I put it back in and watched it carefully. It browned a bit around the edges, but even after 45 minutes it didnt seem very crust like. I poked holes in it, topped it with the lemon filling and baked it for 25 minutes. The filling was good after it cooled, but even after chilling for two hours, the crust seemed soggy and not crisp. I was so sad…used up all my eggs, butter and lemons.
Very similar to the way I was taught. I often go online for recipes because my brain can’t be bothered to remember proportions very well. I did make a few changes to this though. Instead of 6 whole eggs, I used 3 whole and 3 yolks. I also added lemon zest and a tablespoon of butter and tempered the curd (whisking vigorously) then let cool before adding to the shortbread. The result is a very silky curd, and the color is a creamy yellow rather than the bright yellow.
This is a great base recipe and is very robust to making changes.
This was a great recipe! Very easy to follow, quick to make, and delightful results. Fresh lemon juice is an absolute must, though.
This was my first time making lemon bars and this recipe couldn’t have been any easier. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfect. Absolutely delicious. It took 4.5 lemons to get 1 cup of lemon juice.
I have been baking for 60+years, and have tried MANY recipes for lemon bars. While some are very good, none compare to your recipe! Thank you for such a clear and detailed recipe, that is truly outstanding. It’s my new “ go to”. I did mix lemon and lime juice, simply because I didn’t have 4 lemons. I’ll probably continue with that , because the lime gave it a little sharpness, that was like a little surprise at the finish. Just delicious!
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes, now whenever I have a baking project I look for and trust recipes from your websites first, as they seem to have the most consistent high-quality end results. Your hard work and dedication is appreciated!!!!
This is the BEST lemon bar recipe!!! I have a few different recipes I have used for years, but always frustrated with the way they turned out. So I decided to research and compare some others. After much baking and comparing, this is definitely a winner! Very helpful, detailed instructions of baking techniques. I am throwing out all of my other lemon bar recipes and only keeping this one!
I made these first using clementines and they turned out great. Added zest to both the base and filling. I just made them again with lemons and you must have some very large lemons, because I used 5 and was 1/4 cup short. I ended up compensating with 1 tsp citric acid and some lemon oil. I thought 5 was me being safe and getting extra. I even microwaved them to try to get every drop out. So hopefully other people can learn from me and be prepared (or juice ahead of time because I did it while the base baked).
Sally, Do these HAVE to be store in the fridge to be safe to eat? Wondering if I can take them on a plane and be at room temp for several hours?
Hi Bee, they will be fine at room temperature for a few hours while serving. Enjoy!
Delicious and so easy
I have made this recipe at least 10 times, and it has come out perfectly every single time. It is a huge hit whenever I take it to parties. The only tweak that I make is that I use vanilla bean paste instead of regular vanilla in the crust. Otherwise, I follow Sally’s directions to a T and they always come out beautifully.
Are there modifications for making this with already made lemon curd (also Sally’s recipe)? I found this recipe linked on the lemon curd recipe page, but don’t see any mentions of what (if any) modifications to make? Possibly, should I add a little flour to the curd? Thanks!
Hi Denise, we don’t recommend it. Lemon curd is too thin and won’t bake up properly. Best to follow the recipe as written for best results!
Hi, I dont have a glass pan. what else can i use? also to make this dairy free can i use margarine instead of butter?
Hi Chaya! You just want to avoid metal pans here – a ceramic pan would work as well. We haven’t tested these bars with margarine. Melted coconut oil (same amount) would be the best option for replacing the butter in the crust. Taste will be slightly different. Let us know if you give it a try!
Can’t believe I am reading ppl claiming this recipe did not work for them or they did not like it? This recipe is amazing, I love lemon bars and I love Sally’s lemon bars!!!!! My only question is, Sally, have you ever cut this recipe in half and baked in a square glass pan? I’m making some treats as a thank you gift and don’t need a 9×13 full size. Thanks so much, you are the BEST!!!!!!!!!
Hi Katelyn, absolutely, see recipe Notes for halving instructions. We’re so glad you love these lemon bars!
Amazing!! This is definitely going to be a regular recipe for me, thank you so much! Do you think I can substitute with pineapple juice or watermelon juice? Or does it have to be citrus?
Hi Marleen, we’re so glad you enjoyed the lemon bars! We haven’t tested a version with pineapple juice or watermelon juice, and it would require some recipe testing before we could give you a confident answer. It would likely take some tweaking, since those are typically a bit sweeter than citrus. If you decide to do any experimenting, please do let us know how it goes!
Can you provide nutrition info for this recipe? Thanks
Hi Jen, we don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I thought these were too sticky and too tart. i baked them for longer than called for and they weren’t jiggly when I took out of oven. I wanted to love this recipe, but was disappointed. Will not make these again.
I’ve made this before and it’s ALWAYS a hit. Perfectly lemony with a fabulous tang and not too sweet!
I’m going to be making a couple of batches of these bars for an outdoor boat party in Texas in August (~110 degrees F), and I’d like to make them in advance and freeze them per the freezing instructions here. This will make it nice as everything will be in individual servings for people with minimal mess/hassle. The boat party is approximately 2 hours from home, and it would be another 2 hours or so before they were actually eaten. I’m trying to figure out the best way to transport the bars and have them at a good temperature at the time they’re eaten. Should I thaw them overnight and bring them in a cooler? Can I keep them frozen and let them thaw in an insulated bag with no ice? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Hi Kristina, I’m afraid we can’t predict how long it will take these to thaw in a cooler in Texas in summer! If I had to guess, I’d suggest keeping them frozen until you leave home, and transport them in a cooler/insulated bag with just a couple ice packs… then once you’re on the boat take them out and determine whether they should be kept out to thaw quickly (if still very frozen) or left in the cooler (if partially/totally thawed). Best of luck!
I ended up following your advice and they came out perfect. They were a huge hit at the party! Thank you!
Sally, I trusted you. Now, before I get into my critique, a little a bout me. I consider myself to be a pretty decent home cook cook and baker, not a professional by any means, but when I make a batch of sweets for something I always leave with an empty tray.
I tried this recipe because my mom and I are huge lemonheads. I generally try to follow all the directions set out by the author. When preparing the filling, I thought it was odd that there was no note about separating the egg whites from the yolks? I’m not sure if it’s an unspoken rule in general when working with curds. Even if a seasoned baked may consider it redundant, I do think it’s important to note. Otherwise, I do think the recipe is a good base.
Hi Jacquelyn, you do not need to separate the eggs in this recipe. Is that something you did?
Help! The center isn’t setting in your lemon bar recipe!!!!!!!
Hi Sue! Did you make any changes to the recipe and use the correct pan size? The bars may just need longer to bake.
These were a delicious hit at my son’s fiancée’s bridal shower! The easiest way to cut them was with a pizza cutter. A hot knife worked too.
The *best* lemon bars! I have a question however, I’ve made these bars a few times and they’ve always been perfect. Unfortunately this time something happened, I ended up with a top layer that was hard and very almost egg like, and sort of shrunken, and then a jam like layer underneath that refuses to set. The only thing I can think that happened was that I mixed the filling ingredients and then it sat for a bit before I poured it on without re stirring it. Would that be why? My sister works in a bakery and says they routinely have the filling sitting without re stirring and this doesn’t happen for them, but it’s the only thing that I did “differently”. Any input?
Hi Jasmine! What you’re describing sounds normal, and the expected consistency of the finished bars. You have a set top, with the curd-like center, and the crust. Giving the filling another whisk before pouring it on the crust could help, though.
Way too much sugar it’s disgusting I’m sorry. Maybe I’m just not used to it, but i can’t eat that.
Love this recipe….but going yo try incorporating a few blueberries into the lemon filling to see how it turns out. Details to follow!
I had doubts about melting the butter for the crust but it turned out amazing! Took it to a wedding rehearsal dinner party and had so many compliments about the crust and the tartness of the filling. I did add zest from one lemon and cooked the crust one day ahead so it take a bit longer once the lemon filling was poured on top and cooked the next day. This is a keeper!
I made these exactly following the recipe and I honestly wouldn’t change one thing. They are the absolute perfect lemon bar. Thick, tangy, the crust is the perfect texture with the exact right amount sweetness. The bite with the soft creamy. Tang of the lemon layer and then the little chew of the shortbread. Absolutely perfect. I had no issues with the layers separating. I did have the white bubble layer on top but the dusting of confectioners sugar took care of it. They cut like a dream. I did bake have to bake each part about 1:30-2:00 minutes longer than the prescribed bake times, but it was pretty spot in. 10/10 will be my forever lemon bar recipe. Bakery plus quality.
Easy to follow recipe. Great lemon flavor…I added two Tbsp of lemon zest to filling also. Crust, however, was greasy on the bottom. Not sure why?? I used a glass baking pan as well as parchment paper to line it.
Super easy to follow recipe with clear instructions and they were an absolute hit! I did use GF flour and reduced the amount of sugar in the lemon filling out of preference. I’ll definitely try it with different citrus fruits too. Thanks for a great recipe.
I was looking for the flavor substitution notes but couldn’t find them? I was curious about adding herbs like rosemary to the shortbread crust, and how to incorporate an alcohol like bourbon to the lemon curd. Love these bars but wanted to give a little cocktail twist for a party!
Hi Rob! The flavor substitution note talks about using other citrus juices. We haven’t tested adding herbs or bourbon but it sounds fantastic – let us know what you try!