My thick, gooey Lemon Bars with a shortbread crust and vibrant lemon flavor are the perfect dessert, with just the right amount of sweetness. This is my go-to recipe for bake sales or sharing sweets with friends, because they keep well, transport well, and everyone loves homemade lemon bars.
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Helpful Reader Reviews
“Best lemon bars ever! Lemon filling is tart and perfect. Follow this recipe and you can’t go wrong.“ – Barb ★★★★★
“This is the only lemon bar recipe that I have found that never fails me! Thank you.“ – Pat ★★★★★
Lemon Bars Video
Watch how easy it is to make my classic lemon bar recipe, and especially don’t miss my easy tip for making the crust easier to mold. You’ll make this dessert on repeat!
Classic Lemon Bar Recipe
Take one bite, and then you will fall in love with these classic lemon bars. The lemon custard filling is similar to our Lemon Curd Recipe, brimming with satisfying, tangy lemon flavor and perfectly balanced in sweetness.
I learned how to make Lemon Bars years ago from one of Ina Garten’s early cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Parties. All these years later, I still make lemon bars very close to her original recipe, except I’ve made tiny tweaks and added vanilla to the crust. I’ve also developed an easier way to mold the crust.
Lemon Bar Ingredients
The ingredients for homemade lemon bars are simple: pantry staples and plenty of fresh lemons.
- Butter – unsalted and softened to room temperature, gives the crust that buttery, shortbread flavor.
- Sugar – granulated sugar sweetens the crust and balances the tanginess of the lemon juice. If using Meyer lemons (naturally sweeter), reduce the sugar by 1 cup. You’ll also need confectioners’ sugar to dust the top.
- Pantry Staples – All-purpose flour, vanilla extract, and salt
- Eggs – room temperature helps the lemon custard to set
- Lemons – zest your lemons first, then juice them. Do not use bottled lemon juice or concentrate. You’ll want lemons at room temperature. If you like variety, you can substitute the lemon with grapefruit, orange juice, or lime juice to change up the flavor of your bars, but use less sugar when using sweeter citrus.
How to Make Lemon Bars
My lemon bar recipe is easy to make with these simple steps. Serve once chilled.
- Prep – Preheat to 350°F and line a 9×13 casserole dish with parchment paper for easy lift and removal.
- Make the Crust – Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, then add vanilla extract, flour, and salt, and mix until crumbly. Press into the pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool slightly on a rack.
- Lemon Filling – In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar, and then whisk in lemon juice and zest. Add flour and whisk until completely blended.
- Bake – pour filling over the warm crust and bake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes until the center is set and no longer wobbly. Cool on the counter for 1 hour and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Serve – Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar to serve.
How to Know When Lemon Bars are Done
The center of the lemon bars should be fully set before being removed from the oven. If you give the pan a jolt, it should NOT wobble in the center.
Pro Tip for Slicing Lemon Bars
The best way to cut lemon bars is just like with a Cheesecake, for clean and pretty slices, wipe the knife blade clean with a damp paper towel between slices.
Troubleshooting Lemon Bars
If your lemon bars don’t set or don’t turn out quite right, here are a few common reasons and easy fixes:
- Lemon bars didn’t set – They likely needed more bake time. The center should look set and not jiggle when you gently shake the pan. If it still wobbles, bake a few more minutes. Also, adding extra lemon juice can make the filling runny.
- Cutting Lemon Bars too soon – they continue to firm up as they cool. Once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing.
- Using the wrong pan size – A smaller pan makes the filling too thick to set properly. A 9×13 pan works best for this recipe.
- Filling wasn’t whisked smooth – Be sure the flour is fully whisked into the filling so it thickens evenly while baking.
- Cold Ingredients – Use room temp eggs and lemon juice, which incorporate easier into the custard.
- Crust underbaked – The crust should be lightly golden before adding the filling. If it’s too pale, it can turn soft after baking.
- Bubbles or browned spots on top – Totally normal! These come from the air in the eggs while whisking, and you can hide them with powdered sugar.
When life gives you lemons, make these lemon bars! These bar cookies will become your go-to for potlucks, picnics, parties, and holidays like Easter or Christmas.
I love cookie bar recipes like my Pecan Pie Bars, Baklava, and Strawberry Pretzel Salad, because they are easy to make and even easier to serve. These lemon bars are no exception.
Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Crust:
- 1/2 lb unsalted butter, (16 Tbsp) room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Lemon Filling:
- 7 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar, *
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest, from 4 to 5 lemons
- 1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (from 5 large or 8 medium lemons)**
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Confectioners sugar, to dust
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 13×9 baking pan with parchment paper (it should go most of the way up the sides so filling doesn’t spill over.
- Crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 cups flour, and 1/4 tsp salt. Continue mixing until the mixture is crumbly and no dry flour remains. Spread the dough evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Press it with your fingertips to flatten and even out the dough. Bake crust at 350˚F for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.
- Lemon Filling: While the crust is baking, zest then squeeze the lemons and prepare your filling. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until blended. Add Lemon juice and lemon zest and whisk to combine. Add 1 cup of flour and whisk until smooth and very well blended, and no traces of flour remain.
- Bake: Pour filling over the warm crust and bake in the center of a preheated oven at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes or until the filling is set. As soon as the filling is no longer wobbly in the center, remove from the oven so you don’t overbake.
- Chill: Cool in the pan at room temperature for at least 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Serve: Pull the parchment paper up slightly to loosen from the pan, then transfer to a cutting board and cut into 18-20 squares, then dust the tops with powdered sugar.
Notes
**Carefully measure the lemon juice so the filling sets up properly. Storage and Make-Ahead:
- Refrigerating: Cool to room temperature within 2 hours of baking, and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
- To Freeze: Once lemon bars are fully chilled in the refrigerator, cover the baking dish with a couple of layers of plastic wrap and freeze for 3-4 months. You can also transfer leftover pieces to a freezer-safe zip bag for easier storage. When ready to eat, dust with powdered sugar, since they’re good right out of the freezer.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Recipes with Lemon
Check out our post on all the genius Ways to Use Lemons, and then try some of my favorite lemony recipes:
- Lemonade Recipe
- Blueberry Bread
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze
- Winter Fruit Salad
- Lemon Chicken Recipe
- Lemon Posset
- Lemon Vinaigrette
Sorry for the typo’s I guess I got a little too excited! lol
These lemon are bars are best! 😋 I’m making my second batch this week! Yes! Eggs are crazy expensive, but it’s so worth it…
I am so bummed…i do mot have enough parchment paper and it’s 2 degrees…don’t want to go outside. I have enough to go up 2 sides. Will this not work? I have made this recipe many times and it’s the best!
They were too sweet in my opinion. I will try again with less sugar.
These came out great! The only thing is they are too sweet! Can I use less sugar?
Hi Pam, we don’t like overly sweet dessert either and believe we found the perfect balance here. If nothing was adjusted it shouldn’t be too sweet, but you may try it with less sugar to advise.
Thank you. I did use the exact amount of each ingredient. Can I possibly cut sugar in half?
Hi Pam! You can definitely experiment with less. Just keep in mind, sugar plays an important role in the texture and balancing the flavor. I think a safe reduction would be up to 25% of what the recipe calls for. Let us know how it turns out.
Followed the recipe to a T and I’m an experienced baker. I’d say the ratios are off with the flour. It was way too powdery when it got to the end. Also, do not use a mixer for the filling at all. It’s way too easy to over whip the eggs/sugar. I won’t be trying this recipe again because I found it to be lack lustre. The cookie turned out meh and the filling was tasted too much like flour.
Hi Nat, it sounds like maybe too much flour was used. Check out my recipe on how to measure ingredients for baking which will make all the difference in baking projects. I also suggest watching the video tutorial to see what the texture should look like.
I know you say only use fresh lemons, and it’ll probably hurt knowing I used lemon from the container but I’ve really been wanting these and I figured why not and I just say it’s super delicious! That just goes to show how good this recipe is. Next time I’m for sure gonna try with fresh lemons because I just know it’ll be even better! The center is different like recipe says but still delicious
I can’t bring other dishes to gatherings because someone always insists I bring these.
Fresh lemons a must! We are blessed with a tree.
I always double the vanilla, and use all the lemon rind which ends up about double too.
Hi Tim! I’m happy to hear they’ve been a hit!
I’m making the lemon Bars for my family. I was wondering if using store bought lemon juice would change the result? Also I have your cookbook and I love it!
I’m so happy you love my cookbook, Catalina! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. Since lemons are the star ingredient, you should avoid using bottled lemon juice or concentrate.
Thank you so much!! These lemon bars are so delicious. I’ve been searching for the perfect lemon bars, you made it happen.
Do you have a variation for lemon-cranberry bars?
Hi Carole! I’m sorry, I do not.
I was disappointed. Unless I did something wrong, these taste like too much flour in the filling. Maybe it’s the eggs. I have had sweeter more lemony tasting lemon bars before. I’m looking for my Mom’s recipe that I liked.
Hi Colette! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you measure your flour correctly? My thought is that possibly there was too much. I haven’t had these taste floury. Be sure to spoon your flour into your measuring up and level it off, don’t pack it down or scoop it out of the container with your measuring cup. I hope you’ll try again.
I never thought I’d enjoy a lemony dessert. Love it! Thank you, Natasha for giving us tested and true recipes that rock!
Natasha, the lemon bars are amazing and such a hit! I have your cookbook and I have received so many compliments from your recipes. Thank you!!!
When slicing can you use a cookie cutter?
Hi Andrea, I have not tested this with a cookie cutter to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Is it necessary to use parchment paper or does a non stick pan also work?
I recommend using parchment paper to make it easier to remove bars and prevent sticking.
can you do a recipe for a peach cobbler?
Hi Diane! I have a recipe for Peach crisp .
Can i make the lemons squares refrigerate them and then freeze them
Hi Toni, I address this question along with some tips under the ‘How long do lemon bars last?’ question of the common questions section of the blog.
The best lemon bars!! I’ve made them a bunch of times now and everyone loves them everytime. Thank you!
You are so very welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I used your recipe to make lemon bars for my cousin’s son’s engagement party three years ago. The bars were a big hit. I even made so gluten free lemon bars. Thank you so much for all the recipes that you share.
Hi Natasha!!
I just want to say I have been making your lemon bars for over a year now and everyone that tries them LOVES them. I recently tried cutting the recipe in half and baking in an 8×8 pan, same temp but only slightly less time. I just kept watch. They turned out fantastic as ever! Thanks so much for one of my favorite recipes and desserts to date.
That’s wonderful to hear, Katie! Thank you for sharing.