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Home / Recipes / Dessert / Easy Lemon Bars

Easy Lemon Bars

3 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
| Leave a Comment |
5 from 5 votes
Jump to Recipe 02/18/21 | Updated: 02/18/21 | by Nora
Lemon Bars Pin

Try these quick to whip up bars if you want to serve an easy dessert – creamy, citrus-y and absolutely fabulous!

stack of lemon bars on more lemon bars

I wasn’t always a fan of lemon desserts, but with age I’ve really come around to them ? It might help that lemon squares taste like shortbread smothered in lemon curd… Which is not a bad thing at all!

This is one of my favorite desserts to whip up – it’s so easy, you’ll be convinced it won’t work. But don’t worry, this is not too good to be true, and the bars come out absolutely amazing with so little work in the kitchen.

These feature a super easy press-in crust, and the custardy lemon filling is something you whisk together in 5 minutes. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for lemon bars with text labels
Ingredients for Lemon Bars: Butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, flour, lemon juice, eggs, cornstarch and lemon zest.

Ingredient notes

  • Butter: You can use margarine in place of the butter for the base. The taste and texture will be a little different versus using butter.
  • Lemon juice: Bottled or fresh both work; fresh tends to curdle the eggs a little faster though, so do make sure to get the filling in the oven as soon as it’s mixed.
  • Lemon zest: Feel free to skip if you don’t have any on hand. The zest does add an extra lemony kick, but the bars are still plenty tart without it.
  • Other citrus: You can also use another citrus juice like orange or lime for a different flavor if you want.
  • Cornstarch: If you don’t have any cornstarch, use 2 more tablespoons of flour instead. The filling will change texture a little, but it’s still delicious.

How to make Lemon Bars

1. Start by creaming the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt for the base together.

photo collage to show how to cream butter and sugar for shortbread

2. Next, add the flour and mix in on low JUST until combined. You do not want a smooth dough, crumbly is perfect.

photo collage to show how to make shortbread cookie dough

3. Transfer your crumbly mixture to a lined 9×13 inch cake pan and press in using clean, very slightly damp fingers.

photo collage to show how to press shortbread cookie dough into cake pan

Now you’ll bake the crust for 15 minutes without the filling.

4. For the filling, mix sugar, eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest until fully combined.

photo collage to show how to prepare a lemon custard filing

Then add the flour and cornstarch and mix in until fully incorporated and smooth. You do not want any lumps here, otherwise your filling will not set correctly!

Pour this over the base and finish baking!

photo collage to show how to assemble lemon bars

Once the bars are baked, you must let them cool and chill before slicing! Otherwise, they will not be firm enough. I like to dust with icing sugar and decorate with some fresh lemon slices, but that’s entirely optional!

top down view on sliced lemon bars

Watch the recipe video

Recipe tips

  • Don’t over-mix the shortbread base once you’ve added the flour – only mix until the flour is combined. Otherwise, the base will turn out gummy instead of buttery and crumbly like a cookie.
  • Mix the lemon filling just before pouring it over the hot crust, otherwise the eggs could start curdling if it sits on the counter too long.
  • Do not overtake the bars, they should still have a bit of a jiggle when you take them out.
  • Cool the bars well before slicing them, otherwise they’re still too creamy and won’t come out as neat squares.
stack of lemon bars on white plate

Storage tips

The bars keep well covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. The base tends to soften in the fridge, but they’re still delicious to eat.

lemon bar on plate with bite taken out

More easy lemon desserts

  • frontal view of sliced lemon loaf cake
    Glazed Lemon Loaf Cake
  • slices of lemon blueberry bread on a wooden board
    Lemon Blueberry Bread
  • slice of lemon blueberry coffee cake on parchment paper
    Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

Printable Recipe Card
stack of lemon bars on a plate
Save Recipe Saved!

Easy Lemon Bars

Try these quick to whip up bars if you want to serve an easy dessert – creamy, citrus-y and absolutely fabulous!
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 5 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 15 minutes mins
Cook 40 minutes mins
Total 3 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
Servings 15 bars
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

Shortbread Crust

  • 1 cup softened butter
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

Lemon Filling

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 2 lemons finely grated zest ONLY
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Garnish

  • icing sugar, lemon slices optional

Instructions
 

  • Prep:
    Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper.
  • Crust:
    Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in flour, then press into the prepared pan. Bake around 15 minutes in the hot oven.
  • Filling:
    Whisk together sugar, eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in flour and cornstarch until smooth.
  • Finish bars:
    Pour the filling over the pre-baked crust. Bake around 20-25 minutes, until the bars are just set.
  • Cool:
    Let bars cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge after about 2 hours. Decorate with icing sugar and slice to serve.
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Notes

Baking tips

  • Don’t over-mix the shortbread base once you’ve added the flour – only mix until the flour is combined. Otherwise, the base will turn out gummy instead of buttery and crumbly like a cookie.
  • Mix the lemon filling just before pouring it over the hot crust, otherwise the eggs could start curdling if it sits on the counter too long.
  • Do not overtake the bars, they should still have a bit of a jiggle when you take them out.
  • Cool the bars well before slicing them, otherwise they’re still too creamy and won’t come out as neat squares.

Ingredient substitutions

  • Butter: You can use margarine in place of the butter for the base. The taste and texture will be a little different versus using butter.
  • Lemon juice: Bottled or fresh both work; fresh tends to curdle the eggs a little faster though, so do make sure to get the filling in the oven as soon as it’s mixed.
  • Lemon zest: Feel free to skip if you don’t have any on hand. The zest does add an extra lemony kick, but the bars are still plenty tart without it.
  • Other citrus: You can also use another citrus juice like orange or lime for a different flavor if you want.
  • Cornstarch: If you don’t have any cornstarch, use 2 more tablespoons of flour instead. The filling will change texture a little, but it’s still delicious.

Storage

The bars keep well covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. The base tends to soften in the fridge, but they’re still delicious to eat.
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Recipe first published in April 2020. Updated with new photos and better tips on 02/18/2021.

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

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Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

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