This easy lemon bars recipe has the perfect combination of tart and sweet. Made with a vanilla crust and a smooth, crack-free lemon curd filling, these are easily the best lemon bars ever!
These lemon bars are a classic dessert that combines a buttery vanilla crust with a thickened, creamy layer of homemade lemon curd. The crust has just the right sweetness to offset the tart lemon filling, and these bars are seriously easy to make. Since lemons are available at my grocery store year-round, I make these lemon bars for potlucks, parties, and even holidays, from Easter to Thanksgiving! They’re always warmly received, and I can’t wait for you to sink your teeth into one.
Everything to Love About These Easy Homemade Lemon Bars
- Just enough lemon flavor. Many lemon squares recipes call for lemon zest. However, the filling for these bars is so luscious and rich that I skipped it, and they still turn out bright, juicy, and deliciously lemony, balanced by the sweetness of the cookie crust.
- Perfect lemon-to-crust ratio. These lemon bars have a buttery, tender shortbread crust topped with a thick layer of lemon curd filling. They complement each other without overpowering one another. You don’t feel like you’re biting into only crust, and the bars are also not so thin that they’re flimsy.
- Super easy to make. Lemon squares are way easier than baking a lemon meringue pie or lemon cheesecake. I’ve made these bars many times, and the filling has never cracked! With only 7 pantry ingredients between the filling and crust, they’re a great make-ahead dessert that you can whip up in under an hour.
Lemon Bars Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make the best lemon bars you’ve ever tasted. See the recipe card below the post for the exact ingredient amounts.
For the Shortbread Crust
- All-Purpose Flour – After testing and retesting this recipe, my main word of advice: Don’t substitute or change the amount of flour! Weigh the flour using a kitchen scale or the spoon-and-level method. As written, your crust will have the perfect consistency.
- Powdered Sugar – I like to use powdered sugar in the crust for a soft, ultra-tender texture.
- Vanilla – Vanilla extract adds depth of flavor to the crust and complements the lemon filling. You can also use an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- Unsalted Butter – If you use salted butter, consider reducing or omitting the added salt in the recipe.
For the Lemon Filling
- Granulated Sugar – Aside from sweetening the filling, sugar also adds moisture so the bars won’t crack while they bake.
- All-Purpose Flour – To thicken the filling.
- Large Eggs – Bind the ingredients and ensure the filling sets. Use large eggs, not medium or extra-large.
- Fresh Lemon Juice – Emphasis on fresh-squeezed lemon juice, not bottled. You’ll taste the difference! If you prefer a stronger lemon flavor in your bars, reserve some of the zest before juicing the lemon.
How to Make Lemon Bars
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Meanwhile, line a 9×13 baking pan with enough parchment paper to cover the entire bottom and sides, with some overhang. This makes it easy to lift the bars from the pan after they’ve chilled in the fridge.
Combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Crumble and distribute the crust over the bottom of the pan. Press it evenly into the bottom.
Bake the crust at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Whisk the sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and salt, and whisk together to combine. Don’t overmix.
Pour the filling over the crust. Bake at 350ºF for 22-27 minutes, until the edges are set and the center jiggles ever so slightly. Don’t over bake, or the bars may crack when they cool.
Remove the bars from the oven and cool for 15-20 minutes on the counter, then refrigerate until cold and firm.
Remove bars from the pan and dust with powdered sugar, then cut into squares and serve!
Tips for the Best Lemon Bars
- Don’t reduce the sugar. I know it may be tempting for those who are trying to cut back on sugar, but sugar not only adds sweetness (which helps reduce how tart the filling could be), but it also adds moisture. That moisture helps to keep these bars from cracking.
- Use fresh lemon juice. Definitely opt for fresh lemon juice rather than bottled. The flavor is very different, and fresh lemon juice makes these bars SO much better. Trust me, it’s worth the squeeze!
- Bubbles are OK. If you notice air bubbles or even a white layer of bubbles on top of your baked bars, it’s perfectly fine and very common. It’s just the air from the filling rising while the bars bake!
- Don’t over mix the lemon filling. To avoid too many air bubbles, be sure not to over mix your filling or whisk it too vigorously. Large air bubbles can rise to the top during baking and cause a lumpy top and cracks.
Cutting and Serving Lemon Bars
To remove the lemon bars, run a thin, sharp knife along the edges, then use the parchment paper liner to lift the dessert right out and transfer it to a cutting board.
If your bars have chilled for long enough, you should be able to cut into them with no problem. For clean squares, run your knife under hot water before each cut. Serve these bars dusted with powdered sugar or topped with homemade whipped cream (or try mascarpone whipped cream).
How to Store
- Keep refrigerated. These lemon bars are an amazing make-ahead dessert. They’ll last for nearly a week if stored properly. Once cooled, keep them in a covered container in the refrigerator. They’ll last for up to 6 days.
- Freeze. To freeze these lemon bars, allow them to cool completely. Then, store them in a freezer-safe container or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw the bars in the fridge before serving.
More Favorite Lemon Desserts
Easy Lemon Bars Recipe
save this recipe
Enter your email & we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get new recipes from us every week!
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (276g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (115g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter (melted)
Filling
- 2 ½ cups (518g) granulated sugar*
- ½ cup (65g) all-purpose flour
- 7 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) fresh lemon juice ((4-5 lemons))
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9×13 glass or ceramic pan with baking spray, then line it with parchment paper that sticks up above the long sides of the pan, so that you can remove the bars later for easy cutting. Set pan aside.
- To make the crust, combine the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add the melted butter and vanilla extract and stir to combine completely.
- Crumble and distribute over the bottom of the pan and press evenly into the bottom so that it’s even.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are just getting lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
- To make the filling, combine the sugar and flour. Add the eggs, lemon juice and salt and whisk together to combine. Don’t over mix.
- Pour the filling on top of the hot crust and bake for 22-27 minutes or until the center is set, but still jiggles slightly when you gently jiggle the pan. You could also test by temperature. The bars should be done when the center reaches 165°F to 170°F. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter until room temperature, then refrigerate until cold and firm.
- Remove bars from pan and dust with powdered sugar, then cut into squares. Bars are best when stored well covered, and they’ll last for 5-6 days.
Notes
- Don’t reduce the sugar – It not only adds sweetness (which helps reduce how tart the filling could be), but it also adds moisture. That moisture helps keep these bars from cracking.
- Baking pan – A glass or ceramic pan is recommended because sometimes metallic pans can impart a metallic taste on lemon bars. That said, if you want to use a metal pan, be sure to line it fully with parchment paper and it should be ok.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
It was so good! I followed the recipe exactly, except I added a little bit of lemon zest to the filling. After the baking was done, I tasted a piece and decided not to sprinkle the bars with the sugar powder – that’s how great they turned out! From now on this is my #1 go to dessert. Thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear that!
Any idea if this could be made with gluten free flour?
Can you freeze these?
These are the most perfect, delicious lemon bars that I have ever had!
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Made these a few days ago & they were delicious! First time to make any lemon bars. I didn’t have parchment paper so used lots of Pam & they didn’t stick. The guests raved about how good they were, very lemony. The only thing I noticed was they were messy when you picked them up to eat. Don’t know if they were supposed to be that sticky & soft. They stayed together but were very soft. I baked them for 22 minutes in clear pan on convection setting. Do you think I should try regular setting & bake just a few minutes longer next time? Thanks
My husband and in laws adored them. Perfect amount of tartness from the lemon. Got lots of compliments about the crust as well! 10/10 and will certainly make again!
Mine taste good but after cooling in the fridge for 18 hours the perimeter was set well but as l got closer to cutting the center the filling was very soft almost runny ? Please help
This is a delicious recipe, but my lemon bars turned out a bit too moist and gooey. What can I do next time? I live in a high altitude area if that matters. Thanks!
Thank You for the best no fail lemon bar recipe! I have tried many but this is the best. I added the zest of one lemon to the filling as was suggested by one of the reviewers.
Hi Lindsay, I made this yesterday and the bars are delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I have a question. The lemon filling layer isn’t solid. The top half of the filling seems more solid and unified and it pulled away from the bar when I picked up a bar this morning, leaving part of the lemon filling on the shortbread base. I’m wondering if I didn’t bake it long enough or if this is normal. Thanks for your time and help.
Hmm, strange. I think it’s best to pick up the bars from the base/crust since the topping is a little softer.
Lindsay that reply doesn’t address the issue I raised. Let me ask a different way. The lemon portion of the bars in your images look like the same consistency throughout the lemon filling layer. Mine were not consistent, with the top portion of the filling more firm and the lower portion less firm. Did my batch of bars not bake enough or is the consistency I described normal? Thanks again.
The way to tell that the bars are set perfectly in the oven is when you tap the side and it bounces like jello they’re, usually the layer that hits the top on the crust and filling are slightly soft but when you pull out each bar they should stay together and not run on the plate. Make sense? If not I can help in other ways, I am a pastry chef by trade so if you have any other questions please let me know. Good luck!
The taste us amazing, but the filling did NOT SET even tho I know I followed the recipe exactly and left it on longer a but. I wish I knew why.
These are delicious! The lemon part is very tart, but the crust is so buttery that it balances it nicely! 👌
Easy and awesome recipe with a professional delicious end result lemon square. Follow the helpful hits. I did and it appears they are wort it.
So glad you enjoyed them!
This recipe was off the charts easy and produced top shelf lemon bars. Couldn’t cool them fast enough. Thank you
Made exactly EXCEPT, added a tbsp of zest from my lemons. Because never waste good lemon zest! Delicious!
Good recipe. Just make sure to strain the Lemmon juice! My first batch had some pulp
I am wondering what type of pan should be used since it is not specified other than size (metal vs glass/ceramic) and should the oven just be set to regular temp or on convect?
I used a glass 9×13 and it definitely was not set in 18 minutes. I had it in for over 30 minutes to get them to be set.
I used a glass pan. My oven is a convection oven, but it was on the regular bake setting.