Thick and gooey Lemon Bars with shortbread crust and vibrant lemon flavor are the perfect dessert. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is to bake homemade lemon bars.
We love dessert bar recipes from Pecan Pie Bars to Baklava and Strawberry Pretzel Salad, because they are easy to make and crowd-pleasing desserts. These lemon bars are no exception.
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Fresh lemons make everything better from Lemon Blueberry Cake to Homemade Lemonade. If you are a fan of lemon, this recipe for Lemon Bars is a must-try!
Lemon Bar Video
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Classic Lemon Bar Recipe
Take one bite and you will fall in love with these lemon bars. The lemon custard filling is similar to our Lemon Curd Recipe and is brimming with satisfying tangy lemon flavor, and it’s balanced in sweetness.
I learned how to make Lemon Bars years ago from one of Ina Garten’s early cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Parties (I literally have all 12 of her cookbooks because I admire her very much and her recipes are sound). This is very close to the original recipe except we add vanilla to the crust and you’ll love the tip for making the crust even easier to mold.
Ingredients for Lemon Bars
- Eggs – Add richness and help the custard thicken. We use large eggs.
- Granulated sugar – it may seem like a lot of sugar, but it’s needed to combat the tanginess of the lemon juice. You can adjust it depending on the type of lemons used (see next section).
- Lemons – you’ll need the lemon zest and juice so be sure to zest the lemon before juicing it.
- All-purpose flour– helps to thicken up the lemon custard filling.
- Confectioners sugar – to dust the top for serving.
- For the Shortbread Crust – this easy cookie crust is made with butter, sugar, vanilla extract, flour, and salt. It creates a buttery crust that is crisp on the edges and tender to the bite.
What are the best lemons for Lemon Bars?
I always use regular lemons because they have tons of tang and lemon flavor. Since lemons are the star ingredient, you should avoid using bottled lemon juice or concentrate. Also, use no more than 1 cup of lemon juice or the custard won’t set properly. If your lemons are refrigerated, bring them to room temperature first. P.S. Here’s my favorite citrus squeezer.
Can I use Meyer Lemons? Meyer lemons aren’t quite as tart as regular lemons so you’ll want to reduce the sugar in the filling to about 2 cups.
How to Make Lemon Bars
- Crust – Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, then add vanilla extract, flour, and salt and mix until crumbly. Press the mixture into a parchment-lined 9×13 casserole dish. Bake at 350˚F for 18-20 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack.
- Lemon Filling – In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Whisk in lemon juice and zest. Add flour and whisk until completely blended.
- Add filling and 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.
- Chill– cool at room temperature on a wire rack for at least 1 hour then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Serve – Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar to serve.
Pro Slicing Tip: Just like with a Cheesecake, for clean and pretty slices, wipe the knife blade clean with a damp paper towel between slices.
Common Questions
The center of the lemon bars should be fully set. If you give the pan a jolt, it should not wobble in the center.
Lemon bars can be kept at room temperature for a few hours but should be refrigerated after that. Refrigerate up to a week or freeze for 3-4 months (see make-ahead instructions below).
The air bubbles that rise to the surface while baking is normal. These are bubbles from whisking the eggs. Since the bubbles rise above the surface, they tend to brown which causes the brown spots. They are easy to cover up with powdered sugar.
You can substitute with grapefruit, orange juice, or lime to change up the flavor of your bars, but use less sugar when using sweeter citrus.
A glass or ceramic 9×13 pan works great for lemon bars. Note that a glass pan will bake faster and darker than a metal pan so check for doneness a little earlier.
Make-Ahead Lemon Squares
Lemon bars keep really well in the refrigerator and in the freezer, making them one of my favorite make-ahead desserts.
- Refrigerating: If baking the bars ahead, cool to room temperature 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. The lemon custard doesn’t fully solidify in the freezer so there’s no need to thaw. They’re so good right out of the freezer.
When life gives you lemons, put them in lemon bars! This recipe will become your go-to for potlucks, parties, and holidays like Easter or Christmas. It’s a keeper of a recipe.
More Recipes with Lemon
If you end up with a bumper crop of lemons or just a big bag from the grocery store, we have you covered. Check out our post on all the genius Ways to use Lemons, from zesting to juicing and freezing then try some of our favorite lemony recipes.
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Lemon Curd
- Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze
- Lemonade Recipe
- Winter Fruit Salad
- Lemon Posset (3-ingredient dessert)
Classic Lemon Bars Recipe
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 13x9x2” 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
Natasha, I’m from Idaho living in Arizona. Please show us how to make Idaho finger steaks. Nobody knows what they are here! Thanks, Michael Wiscombe ps love your shows!
Thanks for your suggestion, Michael. I’ll try to add that to our list, thanks to you all for the support!
Hi Natasha,
My dough mixture was thin and wet in some spots, not dry and crumbly throughout like yours. Also, my bars had cracks in them. Any idea what I can improve upon next time? All in all, they tasted great. Thanks!
Hi Alyssa, I recommend reading through the recipe notes to ensure nothing was omitted or substituted in the process and with the ingredients.
Can I use a graham cracker crust instead
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!
First time making this recipe it was a success hubby loves it thank you 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Shivana!
Sorry, Natasha, but 3-1/2 cups of sugar is off the charts and overkill as far as I’m concerned!! Could you come up with a recipe for these lemon bars for diabetics? That much sugar is not good for anyone. Thank you for your consideration
hi! I also have concerns for the huge amount of sugar in this recipe. Usually when I find a recipe that in going to try, I add minimum 1/2 the amount of sweetener that the recipe recommends, and that usually turns out good enough. The only problem is, that with lemon bars, I think that the sugar is there to firm up the curd, so i’m not quite sure what would happen if you removed that much sugar from the filling. If, you’re still willing to try the recipe which less sugar, do tell what the results were.
Hi Natasha,
This is my 1st time making lemon bars! I’m not much of a baker so I’m anxious to see how they turned out once they’re done. My question is about the cooling time. Your recipe says to cool for 1 hr after taking it out of the oven then putting it in the fridge for 2 hrs. Can any of the cooling time be cut shorter? I’m in a time crunch and don’t have a full 3 hrs to let cool before serving. I’d like to sprinkle powdered sugar over it but I’m worried that it might still be too warm. Any thoughts on how I can cool it faster so I can put powdered sugar on it without it melting? Thanks 😊
Hi LisaMarie, I haven’t tried cutting that cooling time; it really needs to get the right consistency.
Hi
I tried lemon bars,it is look like cake sponge from inside and from up it like Caramel .
Plz guide
Want to share with you pics also… how?
Hi Bushra! You can upload your images to Social media – FB or IG and hashtag or tag #natashaskitchen for me to see your photos!
Hi Bushra, I would suggest watching the video to see where things started to look different. I’m not sure exactly what you mean or why that would happen?
Thank you so much for another wonderful recipe! I am happy to report I subbed gluten free flour (Cup4Cup brand) and dairy-free butter sticks with great success. Yumm!
You’re welcome, Val! I’m so glad to hear it worked with a gluten-free option!
Dear Natasha, you are so cute!!!!
I do like your video presentations, Definitely, I’ll make the lemon bar! Just viewing the video, my mouth starts watering.
Also, today I did make the banana bread, without the risen! Thank you so much!!
You’re welcome! I love it when my readers enjoy my recipes! Thank you for that wonderful feedback!
I love your posts and tutorials. I made these lemon bars for a special event this week, and they were a hit — the best lemon bars I have made or tasted. Thanks for quality recipes!
Aren’t they the best! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Glenda!
Just made these for fathers day and they were just delicious!!! Cant wait to make them again.
Aww that’s so great, Marina! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha I love all your recipes and I want to bake the lemon bars for father’s day, I wonder if I could substitute one cup of sugar for a can of sweetened condensed milk?
Thanks 🙂
Hi there, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment before Fathers day, please share with us how it turns out.
Thanks for your answer, I will let you know how it goes 😊
Hey Natasha!
I tried this recipe for my mother’s birthday and it turned out beautifully and my family loved it. Thank you….
Hello Emma, thanks for sharing that with us. I’m glad the cake was a success and it was a hit!
I don’t have a paddle attachment. Can I use the regular beaters or a whisk attachment?
Hi Roxanne, a handheld electric mixer should work for this recipe.
I just made this and loved it. I’ve been using an old recipe from an aunt and it was definitely not this great. It always ended up thin and not enough lemon filling on top
This one turned out really amazing! My daughter loved it!
This will be my go-to recipe now.
Thank you!!!
Love it, Jesse!I’m glad you found your new favorite.
Hi Natasha, I just made these, they came out fantastic. I added almond extract to the crust as I ran out of vanilla.
I was wondering if I could make a creamsicle bar, mixing orange and heavy cream? Do you think it would set?
Hi Anila, this can work with orange. See the section in our recipe titled: “Can I substitute a different citrus juice?” –
You can substitute with grapefruit, orange juice, or lime to change up the flavor of your bars, but use less sugar when using sweeter citrus.
Thank you
Made these for my husband’s birthday this week with our Meyer lemons, thanks for the adjustment for them. They came out sooo good. Everyone loved them, said they were the best❣️
Hello Diana, that is so great! I’m glad these lemon bars were a hit. Thanks for your great review and feedback.
Hi Natasha… Just tried these lemon bars . The center is cooked..but don’t understand why the right side hasn’t cooked properly ..
Hi Z, I recommend checking your oven for even cooking. If an ingredient or process was altered, that might also be the culprit.
Absolutely perfect Lemon Bars!
Love all your videos!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these lemon bars, Chuck! They’re so fresh and the perfect treat for these warm summer nights!
This went really great! I was nervous because I’ve never made anything like this before, but it was easy and came out really well. My family liked them a lot and I’ve already been asked to make more!
That’s so great, Mikey! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.