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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
The way my mouth watered before taking my first bite. I didn’t even wait to add the powdered sugar. These were insanely good!! A lot easier to make than I thought! Seriously loved this one!!
I’m so glad you have the recipe a try. It can seem intimidating, but they are so simple to make.
Yum! I have made lemon bars in the past, but these are extra special! They were a hit with the whole family and I will absolutely make them again.
I’m so glad they were extra special for you. Thank you for trying the recipe.
These lemon bars are the best! The flavours are perfectly balanced. They are rich yet refreshing at the same time.
These lemon bars are tangy but sweet. The bake time for the custard did take me closer to an hour so account for the extra needed time
Hi Marina! Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you use the recommended size for the pan? If the custard is thicker, it will take longer to set. Every oven bakes differently so you may need to adjust accordingly but it shouldn’t take twice as long. Also- sure to fully preheat your oven, or don’t turn it off after the crust bakes so that it’s at the desired temperature prior to baking the bars.
I made these with my daughter and they turned out soo delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Wow! The perfect balance of sweet and tart! My family loved them!
I believe that I overcooked the crust, as it was hard to cut through the bars ..( lol) and although my lemons were not Meyers, the bars were too sweet for me although my husband liked them. I will reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup next time. As there are only two of us, can this recipe be halved or quartered successfully( I acknowledge the 7 eggs issue but I could weigh the eggs, for a general weight and then take 1/2 of the 1 egg mix. Anyone try this? The recipe makes very pretty squares.
Hi Alana! Thank you for the feedback. Yes, you can cut the recipe in half, just use an 8×8 or something equivalent. Keep an eye on it in the oven.
This lemon bar recipe is so easy to make and is the perfect blend of tart and sweet. I made them to bring to book club and between the ladies taking some home to continue to enjoy, the whole 9 x 13 dish was almost gone! Any time I want to make lemon bars, this will definitely be my go to!
It turned out great! I made it for a Bible study and everybody loved it! Thank you for another delightful recipe!
Absolutely delicious! The fresh lemon and delightful crust make this an excellent spring/summer dessert.
My granddaughter, Addy, and I loved how easy and delicious this recipe is!
This is my favorite recipe, it’s super easy and fun to make. They turn out perfect every time.
A favorite recipe for sure 😋 My whole family loves them. I need to make a double recipe next time.
So glad to hear they were enjoyed, Becky! Thanks for trying the recipe.
Better than lemon meringue pie and Far Far easier. I have learned that if I have an ingredient, I can count on Natasha for delicious ways to use it.
I really like the lemon flavor and the tartness of the bars.
My wife loves anything with lemon flavor so this was quite the treat for her (I made it sugar free with a sugar substitute because we are pre-diabetic and they turned out great).
I did try the recipe with a gluten free flour but it was too dense for my liking, using all purpose flour makes for a much better crust.
Thank you for sharing your gluten free experience with this, Jim! I’m glad to hear you still liked it with the all purpose flour!
This was my first time making lemon bars and it definitely won’t be the last. These lemon bars are absolutely easy to make and are so delicious!
I’m so glad you loved them, Jessica!
Very yummy and just the right amount of sweetness.
I have a question, if I use lime, do I need to reduce the sugar?
Thanks for sharing wonderful recipes.
Hi Alexandra! You can use less sugar when using sweeter citrus, but limes are very tart.
Delicious and easy to make. They are rich so a little goes a long way.
Just the right amount of sweetness, these were a hit at our party. Will definitely be making these for all party’s/ get together’s. Following your video tutorials makes it so easy to make this recipe without any problems. Keep them coming
That makes me so happy! Nothing beats hearing that everyone at the table loved it, Veronika.
I love lemon bars, but never attempted to make any. These turned out excellent as my first try I love her video and kind of walk shoots through everything. The boys in the house could not wait for two hours. I had to sit in the refrigerator if they did and they loved them I will definitely make again.
I’m so glad you didn’t shy away from making them, Rose Ann! These really are the best and I’m so glad you loved them too!