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
This recipe definitely filled our lemon craving!!
So happy to hear you loved it.
This is absolutely amazing and frankly easy! It is time consuming but we’ll worth the happy goblins that devour it. The large batch is shared with my neighbors. I wish I could upload a photo.
Lemon is my favorite so i have tried many many recipes, but this one is the BEST!!! Thank you Natasha!!
Aw, thank you! So glad you loved it.
Delicious lemon bars. Easy to make. Everyone loves them. I’ll definitely make them again.
These were so easy to make and turned out perfect. I used cup for cup gluten free flour for my daughter and no one can tell the difference! Definitely making these again.
These turned out amazing! My kids can’t get enough.
That’s awesome! These are a hit with my kids too. Thanks for trying the recipe.
Amaaaazing!!!! Some lemon bar recipes I e tried just don’t turn out. THESE did! Perfect tart and gooey
That’s great to hear Grace! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Could you give quantities for making this in a 9 in pan, please? This larger one is so expensive to make .
Hi Marg! I don’t have those exact measurements for you but if you’re using a 9×9 or even an 8×8 pan, you could cut the recipe in half and it will fit. Keep an eye on it in the oven since baking time can be different.
This recipe was easier to make than I had expected. First time making lemon bars. I enjoy the videos as well to help visualize the whole process. Delicious!
I’m glad it was helpful, Tanya! Thank you for sharing your experience.
I made these using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour. They were delish! Served half for Easter, froze the other half, and served those for another event the following weekend. Everyone who tried a square raved about them. Everything I served disappeared for each event. And nobody noticed that they were gluten free.
That’s awesome, Lori! So glad they worked out well with GF flour too.
These lemon bars were definitely gooey! The texture made them a bit tricky to cut up but the hint to wet your knife between each slice is a “must do”. I had mixed reviews on the texture as some didn’t care for the gooeyness but overall I received positive feedback on flavor.
So EASY and TASTE So YUMMY. Followed the directions and NOTHING went wrong !!! I loved the video, which was very helpful. These were for a church gathering and they were all gone! I was giving out the recipe like they were raffle tickets. These are a MUST make.
HI Kathleen, I’m so happy you loved the lemon bars. Thank you for the wonderful review!
My husband and I tried your recipe. The taste is marvelous and nothing we’ve experienced thus far in the lemon bar realm. We love it and we’re doing our best to spread the word!
Aw, that’s amazing, Julia! So happy to hear that.
I tried to replicate your lemon bars and, what can I say, it worked like a charm! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s wonderful! So glad they turned out for you.
This recipe was way easier than my mom’s recipe that I grew up making. And even though they are easy, they are still super delicious! So lemony and so gooey. My five boys all agree that these are a hit. The only hard part came when we had to wait 3 hours to eat them after they came out of the oven!
Hi Sarah! Thanks for the wonderful feedback. I’m so glad to hear you and your boys all loved the recipe.
Delicious and incredibly lemony. Sooooo delightful and refreshing to celebrate the spring. The shortbread crust was so buttery and melt in your mouth scrumptious. Perfect recipe.
Always enjoy these Lemon Bars, nice and sweet and very easy to make. Also makes the house smell so good.
Great recipe; I’ll use it again. Only change is that the lemon curd portion is waaaayyyy too sweet. I’ll reduce the sugar next time. But otherwise it’s a hit! Thanks!
Delicious! Everyone loved these. A keeper recipe. Thanks Natasha!
I’m glad to hear that it was a huge hit!
I might have over baked these a little but they are still delicious and super lemony with just the right amount of sweetness! Perfect spring dessert 🍋