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
OHHHH MYYYYY GEERRRDDD!!!!!!!! I haven’t made lemon bars in years and was searching for a recipe – these are hands down the BEST lemon bars! I thought the 3 cups of sugar was going to be way too much but it was truly AMAZING! Tart and the crust even better! Everyone at work was drooling! Thank you this is most definatley a keeper!!!!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Coleen! I’m smiling big reading your excellent review!
I tried many of Natasha’s recipes and usually liked the result. This one has great potential as my family loves lemons, but these lemon bars are extremely (really really!!!) sweet. I am scared of getting diabetes after this treat. Sugar needs to be cut at least in half, which will require other adjustments to get bars that can bake through.
You clearly used Meyers lemons, which she explicitly says not to do. If you use regular (tart) lemons like it calls for and you cut the sugar in half, the bars will not be edible. The bitterness would be overwhelming.
I have chickens that are laying small eggs so how many eggs should I use for this lemon bar recipe?
Thank You,
I love all you recipes
Hi Linda, 7 large eggs, room temperature. You may click Jump to recipe to go to the recipe card.
Your recipes look like the ones my Mom and my Gramma’s used! And the church ladies! thank you! for using lots of butter, ‘real’ real lemons, and
making steps a little easier!
You’re welcome, Sandi! Thank you for the feedback.
These lemon bars were amazing! I made them for the first time for a family get together and everyone loved them! Thanks for the recipe and for the video which helped a ton!
You’re welcome, Laura! I’m so glad they were a hit.
Hello,
Made these tonight. Finally bought a stand mixer and was so excited to use one of your recipes. Overall they came out great. They weren’t however as golden brown out of the oven, but I didn’t want to overcook as there was no jiggle. I let them cool to room temp, placed in fridge for 30 min. Kids were too eager to taste so gave them a sample. All approved. My pan might have been on the thicker side and different dimensions. I’ll try again as I have plenty lemons and perfect for thanksgiving dessert.
Thank you so much for your blog.
That’s wonderful, Otilia! I’m so glad they were enjoyed. Thank you.
I make these and get nothing but rave reviews. Simply the best.
That’s wonderful, Trisha! So glad to hear that. They seriously are the best!
I’ve made these amazing lemon bars today. They are absolutely the best I have ever had. Natasha, thank you! They were the tastiest and not hard to make. After cutting them as squares, I froze them for Christmas.
That’s great! I’m so glad you loved them.
Thank you for another winner, Natasha! These are scrumptious!
You’re welcome, Roxi. We’re glad you like this!
I’m making them for the second time (they were delicious the first time) but the crust did not end up being crumbly either time (current crust is in the oven). What am I doing wrong? I’m following your recipe to a T. I would imagine it would easier to spread more evenly if I were able to distribute it a little easier if crumbled. Thanks.
I will make sure not to change any of the proportions of ingredients for the right blend of wet to dry ingredients that form the dough.
Hi Natasha,
Could I halve or reduce the sugar by 1/4 in the lemon filling? 600gm just seems way too much. I am making these for a work baking competition
Hello Kim, I haven’t tried it that way. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
Hi – I did use scant half the sugar and it was fine – I don’t like the filling too sweet; with the powdered sugar dusting it is plenty sweet and so delicious!
I’ve made these twice now. The first time I rated them 4 stars, but after a tweak or two, they are outa the park home runs!
So the first tweak was to add the zest to the sugar and pulse it well in a food processor. The result is a wonderful pale yellow sugar that smells and tastes outstanding. I do believe that it made a difference in the final outcome.
Additionally, I didn’t bake quite as long the second time around. The first time thorough I baked 34 minutes, and while very, very good, the “gooey” part turned out just a bit overcooked in my opinion, based on the both how it looked and tasted. It was a muted yellow and tasted just a tiny bitter. The second time I cooked about 31 minutes, until there was just a bit of a “jiggle” left in the center. It firmed up just fine after cooling, and the filling was bright yellow and very lemony!
Hi Bill, I’m happy to know that it was a huge success after trying again. Thanks for sharing that with us, that is helpful!
Hi Bill – I also like to use some zest in the crust – it helps carries the lemon flavor through. I rarely have more than 2 lemons on hand and I zest and juice everything out of those two lemons I can get then I add a bit of water to the strainer after I’ve strained out the seeds and pulp just to get all the juice. If I still don’t have enough juice I add some bottled lemon juice or lime juice and the result is amazing! The citrus flavor is lovely with the dominate lemon flavor but then the finishing taste of the mixed citrus is wonderful.
Excellent dessert! My husband said this was the best dessert I’ve ever made and I bake a lot. Next time I’ll make sure I have help with the clean up, there were a lot of dirty bowls etc. 🙂 Thank you for the yummy recipe!
You’re so welcome! I’m glad ti was enjoyed. 🙂
Dear Natasha, I’ve been staring T your recipe for Lemon Bars. I’m gonna give them a try. Church Picnic coming up so wish me luck!! Looking forward to more recipes from you.
Thank You!’
Mariana
I hope it becomes your new favorite!
I have made lemon bars for years using the same recipe but these bars are amazing!
Love it! Thanks a lot for your wonderful comment and feedback, Judy.
These lemon bars are delightful 🍋 They turned out perfect! I will definitely be making these again.
So glad to hear that, Amber! 🙂
OMG Natasha! Thank you! I have been searching for the ultimate recipe for lemon bars forever and after trying yours, I can honestly say the hunt is finally over! The gooey center and beautiful crust makes this a homerun. Oh and the dusting of powdered sugar too. Every other recipe I tried before always came out either with rubbery centers, rock hard crusts or just tasted bland. Not anymore, this recipe is a keeper. Will be checking out more of your recipes in the future.
Hi Sandra! That’s great. So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for the review and I hope you find many more recipes to enjoy on my blog.
Hi Natasha.
I would love to make these but as many of your other recipes you use a “stand mixer”. I don’t have one and will not be purchasing one ant any time soon. Can I use a hand held mixer?
Love the recipe.
Hi Diana. You could use a handheld mixer for this. It may take a little longer to cream but it should be just fine. 🙂
I made 5 batches of these for a friend’s celebration of life gathering. I followed the recipe exactly as written. I made these two days before the event, cooled them, chilled them and cut them in bars and stored them in the fridge. HUGE HIT. Had a few dozen left over so put them in the freezer and weeks later I am still enjoying them. CRAZY GOOD. Thank you.
That’s great! I’m so glad they were a hit.
First if all thank you Natasha for sharing the recipe. I’ve made these many times, and wanted to share what I learned. So if you have a convection oven, then don’t use the fan for these lemon bars. When I first made these I used my normal setting which is with the fan turned on, but it made the top brown WAY to quickly but the inside was WAY to wobbly so I would end up burning them, they still tasted good but didn’t look good at all. So I tried without the fan and they turned out perfect, looked exactly the same as yours in the picture and the bake time was the same as yours.
Hi Nat, thank you for sharing that with us. We use regular bake mode over here, so if using a convection oven, you may need to make some adjustments! I’m so glad you found a way to make this work!
Can I use foil to line with instead of parchment for lemon bars?
Parchment paper is best.