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
Wonderful recipe, Natasha Kravchuk! These lemon bars look absolutely irresistible with their buttery shortbread crust and bright, tangy lemon filling. I love how simple ingredients like fresh lemon juice, eggs, and sugar create such a perfectly balanced sweet-and-tart dessert. Your step-by-step instructions make it easy for home bakers to achieve that classic texture and flavor. This is a fantastic guide for anyone searching for a homemade lemon bars recipe with fresh lemon flavor and buttery crust.
Looking forward to trying these. Can you sub a gluten free flour for these?
Hi Lisa, while I haven’t made it with gluten free flour, one of our readers shared this comment “I made these but used gluten free flour. The short bread was a little too crumbly (joys of gf flour) but they were delicious!!!! No one could even tell it was gluten free and they kept coming back for more. I will definitely be making them again but will go a little lighter on the gf flour in the crust. Thanks!” I hope that helps.
These lemon bars are the very best I have ever eaten. Thanks for the recipe Natasha!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
Hi!
Is there any way to add frozen blueberries to the lemon bars? (I am cleaning out my freezer). Thank you!
Hi there! I have not tested that to advise. If you do an experiment, let us know how it goes!
I made the lemon bars today. I cooked the crust and it looked great. I made the curd, poured it on it the crust, it leveled out just as you said. I put it in the oven at 350 and baked it for 35 minutes, took it out, it jiggled, I put it backk in the oven. I cooked them for 7 more minutes, took them out, no jiggle, let them sit on rack for an hour, then put in the fridge. After 4 hours I took them out. Cut into them the curd wasn’t firm. We live in a community that is at approximately 5300 feet. Would the elevation affect the baking of the curd? Should I adjust the recipe. I put them back in the oven and baked them some more because I wasn’t sure the eggs were completely done. They still tasted really – though the outside edges were a bit chewy.😊. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, based on my research, high altitude can affect the way the filling sets- it sets slower. The long baking can make them chewy. To prevent this, I would lower the temperature by 25 degrees and bake them longer so that the eggs set slowly and evenly. You could try adding an extra tablespoon of flour in the filling to help. Be sure to let them cool all the way before refrigerating.
I did not see a link to how to bring butter to room temperature in 5 minutes anywhere in the recipe. Can you please share?
Here’s the YouTube shorts for the cooking hack on How to Soften Butter.
Love the lemon bars, made them twice, every one loves them , just one question, mine have a crusty look on top when baked ,I would like to see the top look like lemon not the crusty look , they are still great, look more like a lemon pie top is what I was hoping for . Am I doing something different or is it the flour coming to the top and making it look crusty like. ?
Hi Liz! That crusty look is usually from air bubbles or slight overbaking. To help prevent this, Whisk gently — don’t beat too much air into the eggs. You can strain the filling before pouring to help get a smoother texture. Try taping the pan a few times to release bubbles.
Dust with powdered sugar only after they’re fully cool — warm bars can make it look crusty.
This recipe is wrong. It calls for a half a cup of butter that’s one stick that is 8 tablespoons but your recipe says that it calls for a half a cup of butter 16 tablespoons also, you’re using way too many eggs for a recipe that’s so small please correct this recipe or remove it before someone makes a mistake. That’s going to be very costly.
Hi Rita, you mis-read the recipe card. It calls for 1/2 pound of butter and not 1/2 cup. You will need 2 sticks or 16 Tbsp to make 1/2 lb of butter. I hope you love the lemon bars!
Best lemon bars ever! Lemon filling is tart and perfect Follow this recipe and you can’t go wrong
I have made these a lot this past few years. My family loves it. Instead of half a cup of sugar in the crust I put a half a cup of powdered sugar in the crust. Delicious 🤤
always a hit when i make them
I don’t have a metal pan only glass. what should the oven temperature be for using glass and how many minutes to bake?
Hi Cindy! I don’t have the exact timing on that. Glass holds heat longer and it bakes slower but the edges will brown faster. You may need to decrease the temperature by 25 degrees and bake it longer. Keep an eye on it.
OMG Natasha! These are DEE-Licious! I am a Lemon Lover and this bar hits the spot! The top of my lemon filling turned very golden brown before it stopped jiggling in the centre but it made NO difference to the taste OR the appearance. Next time I will try Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sugar substitute. Have you had any experience using this product with this recipe?
Hi Donna! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. I have not tested a sugar alternative, but please let us know how it works out if you test it.
can I use a plant based butter substitute for this recipe for someone who is dairy free
Hi Linda! I’ve never tested this with plant based butter but generally it can be used as a substitute. Depending on the brand/type, it could have less fat than butter which can affect the texture- it may spread out more or be softer. Refrigerate it prior to baking to help it keep its shape better, and if the dough seems too greasy, you can try adding 1-2 tablespoons of flour to help.
I want to add in huckleberries, would you suggest I make them into a syrupy consistency or add the whole berry?
Hi Jessica! I have not tested that so I can’t say for sure but if I did attempt to add them, I would toss the berries through a teaspoon of flour and add them to the filling prior to baking. Let us know how this turns out if you try it.
I like to make a quick huckleberry compote and serve them on top! Perfection!
This is the second time I’ve made your lemon bars and they’re as good as the first time! Yummy 😋
Made these twice and everyone who has tried them has loved them.
That’s great to hear, Jon!
Made your lemon bars… soooo good! Really proud of myself? Thank you!
That’s wonderful, Michele! I’m glad you loved the recipe!
This is the only lemon bar recipe that I have found that never fails me! Thank you
I’ve made your recipe many times and everyone loves it -and asks me for the recipe. I have made a few different recipes of lemon bars, but yours is the best. Thank you.
My family love this recipe! I have made it several times and they never get tired of it.
Thank you for all of your recipes that you share with us.
I’m so glad to hear that, Jewel!