These are the Best Lemon Bars you'll ever taste, and they're so easy to make. The shortbread is buttery and the lemon filling is a thick, luscious lemon curd. You'll only need 7 ingredients to make the sweet-tart lemon filling that's sure to please a crowd!

These are classic bars with shortbread crust. I put zest in the crust to enhance the lemon flavor of the bars. That keeps the zest out of the filling, so it can be silky smooth and custardy without bits of zest.
These bars have a nice strong zing of lemon from loads of fresh juice.
Bar cookies are a great option for picnics, birthday parties, dinner parties, and almost any other occasion. They make a lot, are easy to transport, and come in lots of fun flavors like Coconut Key Lime Bars, Pistachio and Cherry Cookie Bars, and Sugar Cookie Bars.
I have always loved lemon bars, but when attempting to make my version of such a classic dessert, the recipe has to be spot on because everyone knows what they should taste like.
If you're like me, you're looking for a crisp, buttery shortbread crust and a creamy lemon curd filling. And, let's not forget about that liberal dusting of powdered sugar on top!
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Why this Lemon Bars recipe is the best
I tested this recipe dozens of times to ensure it's super easy to follow and produces perfect, traditional lemon bars every single time. Simply put, these are the best lemon bars you'll ever taste and there's so much to love about them.
- EASY to make: You'll only need 30 minutes, one 9-by-9 inch pan, and 7 ingredients. That's right only 7 ingredients!
- Lots of lemon flavor: The trick to getting amazing lemon flavor is using real lemons for the zest and juice. The flavor of these bars is bright and refreshing.
- Perfect texture: My absolute favorite thing about these bars is their texture. The crust is baked before adding the filling to make sure it's firm! It pairs beautifully with the silky, smooth, and custardy lemon filling.
Ingredients
To make the best lemon bars, be sure to use the best ingredients! Here are a few ingredient tips to keep in mind.
- Butter: Use softened butter to make it easier to blend the ingredients for the crust together.
- Confectioners' sugar: Also known as powdered sugar. You'll use some in the crust and some as a topping for the finished bars. To keep your bars looking extra pretty, try using non-melting confectioners' sugar for the topping
- Salt
- Lemons: You'll need about 5 large lemons for this recipe. Wash and zest them first so that you have one teaspoon of lemon zest for the crust. Then juice them until you have enough lemon juice for the filling.
- All-purpose flour: Feel free to swap your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour if desired. Flour will be used for the base of the zested shortbread crust and to help thicken the filling.
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs: It's important to use large eggs (not medium or extra large) when making the filling so that the custard-like filling sets up correctly.
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-step instructions for lemon squares
Making classic lemon bars has never been easier. Follow along with these step-by-step directions and photos to make sure your lemon bars are the BEST!
Make the shortbread crust
- Prepare to bake: Heat oven to 350ºF, and line a 9-by-9-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Start crust: Pulse together ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor (or medium mixing bowl) until just combined. Then add ½ cup cubed and softened butter, mixing until smooth.
- Finish crust: Add 1 cup flour and blend until just incorporated and crumbly. Press the mixture evenly into the parchment-lined baking pan.
- Bake crust: Bake until cooked through and just starting to brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Prepare pan: Line a 9-by-9 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Start crust: Quickly pulse together the confectioners' sugar, salt, and lemon zest.
- Add butter: Pulse in the cubed butter, mixing till smooth.
- Add flour: Then add the flour to form a crumbly mixture.
- Fill pan: Place crust mixture into the pan and distribute it evenly.
- Smooth: Place a piece of parchment paper over the crust and press it with the back of a measuring cup.
- Place in oven: Once crust is smooth, compact, and even, place it in the hot oven.
- Bake: Bake until slightly golden, about 15 to 18 minutes.
Tara's crust tips
Parchment paper handles: Allow two sides of the parchment paper to hang over the edges of the pan. I clip them down with small metal binder clips. Once the bars are finished, the overhang can be used as handles to easily remove the bars from the pan.
Even crust layer: To get the smoothest, most even crust, place a piece of parchment over the crust mixture and use the backside of a measuring cup to press it into a firm, even layer.
Make the lemon filling
- Start lemon filling: While the crust bakes, make the filling in a large bowl whisking together 2 cups sugar and ⅓ cup flour. Then gently whisk in 6 large eggs until smooth.
- Finish lemon filling: Add lemon juice and gently stir until completely incorporated. Let filling sit until crust is done.
- Pour filling over hot crust: As soon as the crust is done, give the filling a quick stir and then pour it over the hot crust.
- Bake: Return pan to oven and bake until filling is just barely set (20 to 22 minutes).
- Cool: Remove bars from oven and cool at room temperature for two hours. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 more hours or up to overnight.
- Serve: When ready to serve, cut in the pan or use the parchment overhang to lift the cookies out of the pan to a cutting board. Cut into 9 large or 16 small squares and dust generously with confectioners’ sugar.
- Start lemon filling: Whisk together sugar and flour.
- Add eggs: Pour in eggs.
- Whisk gently: Mix gently to prevent adding excess air until smooth.
- Add lemon juice: Stir in the lemon juice. Let filling sit.
- Cover hot crust with filling: As soon as the crust is done, give the filling a quick stir, and pour it over the hot crust. Return pan to the oven.
- Bake: Cook the bars until they are just barely set, 20 to 22 minutes. The center will still look a little jiggly.
Tara's filling tips
Avoid overmixing the curd: Make sure to gently whisk together the curd filling. Overmixing, or whisking too briskly, can add extra air to the filling which will change its texture.
Don't overcook the bars: A just-set filling will look firm around the edges and still be slightly jiggly in the center. As the bars cool, the jiggly center will firm up to the perfect texture.
Get clean cut bars: The best way to cut clean squares is to use a very sharp kitchen knife. Warm it briefly under very hot water, wipe away the water and then make your first cut. Wipe the knife between each cut and reheat as needed to continue making clean cuts.
Variations
Thinking of making changes to the recipe. Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Other citrus - If you love citrus desserts, you could try replacing the lemon zest and juice in these bars for other sour citrus fruits like grapefruit, or limes.
- Gluten-free - Need to make them gluten-free? Feel free to replace the regular all-purpose flour with your favorite 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. These are my recommendations and favorite brands!
I use a 9 inch square pan with straight sides. This makes nice even edges. If your 9-by-9-inch pan has curves sides it won't be a problem!
Use a strip of parchment paper that fits neatly inside the pan to give your dessert some non-stick insurance!
A food processor comes in handy for mixing the crust. If you don't have one you can use a pastry blender and some arm muscles!
You'll love having a microplane to zest your lemons. The perfect fine zest is the result of running the lemon over the tiny blades!
An electric juicer makes getting almost a cup of lemon juice a breeze. If you don't have one, a hand juicer also works well.
Get some NON-MELTING confectioners' sugar so you can serve your lemon bars without the sugar dissolving quickly!
Storage and make-ahead
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Dust with more confectioners’ sugar before serving leftover bars if needed.
FAQs for this lemon bars recipe
Lemon bar filling is a curd which means it is made primarily from eggs. Curds are similar to custards because both are egg-based, but custards typically use a dairy product like milk to make them creamier and more mild in flavor. Curds, on the other hand, don't contain dairy and use fruit juice for a more concentrated flavor. In addition to eggs and lemon juice, the filling will be sweetened with granulated sugar and thickened with a little flour.
This is the result of simple science! Since lemons are very acidic, they will react to metal bowls or utensils, causing a metallic flavor to leak into the filling. To avoid this, make sure to use non-reactive bowls and utensils made from materials like glass, ceramic, plastic, and silicone.
This recipe for lemon bars keeps best in the refrigerator because it has a thick, curd filling. It can stay covered at room temperature for up to a day with no problem–it will just be a little soft when cutting.
Most lemon bars have enough sugar (a preservative) in the recipe to allow them to stay at room temperature with no issues.
There are a few reasons you may have browning on the top of your lemon bars. The amount of sugar in the filling makes it susceptible to caramelization, so if there is a lot of radiant heat on top, there will be some browning.
Your oven may also have hot spots that could cause browning on lemon bars.
This recipe is particularly stable and shouldn't have much (or any!) browning on top. If it does, your oven may be too hot, have hot spots, or the bars were overcooked.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ cup butter (softened and cubed)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Lemon Filling:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 large eggs
- ¾ cup lemon juice (from 5 large lemons)
- Confectioners’ sugar (for top)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-by-9-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing two sides to overhang the edges. Clip the overhang to the pan with metal binder clips if desired. This will allow you to lift out the lemon bars if you want.
- Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor (or in a medium bowl, with an electric mixer) pulse together the confectioners’ sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Then add the cubed, softened butter and cream mixture until smooth.
- Add the flour and blend until it’s just incorporated. Mixture will be crumbly. Press crust evenly into the parchment lined baking pan. Bake until cooked through and just starting to turn golden brown in parts on top, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour. Then gently mix in the eggs, without incorporating a lot of air into the mixture, until very smooth.
- Add lemon juice and gently stir until completely incorporated. Let sit while the crust bakes. Stir filling a little to remix, then pour over the hot crust. Return pan to oven and bake until filling is just set, 20 to 22 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool about two hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 more hours until ready to serve, or up to overnight.
- When ready to serve, cut in the pan or run a knife around the edges and use the parchment overhang to lift the cookies out of the pan to a cutting board. Cut into 9 large or 16 small squares and dust generously with confectioners’ sugar.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Dust with more confectioners’ sugar if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Nayna Kanabar
I absolutely love citrus flavours in desserts. These lemon bars not only look amazing but I am sure they are delicious in taste too. A lovely recipe share.
Beth
The only thing better than lemon bars is easy lemon bars. These tick all the boxes for me. I made them last night, and we loved it.
Ben
These are some of the best lemon bars I've ever made. The last recipe I tried was a stinker. It was almost too gooey. This strikes the perfect baland of structure and softness.
Rosey
A dessert with lemon always tickles my fancy. When it's the star of the show, like it is here... even better!
LisaLisa
I haven't had any lemon bars in years. These look so fresh and delicious; I may need to try this recipe myself. I bet the kids would love them as well.
SONIA SEIVWRIGHT
Mmm these look so good! I love how easy your recipe is to follow. Butter crust and tangy sweet lemon filling is the perfect combo—just right! I’ll have to make these for my family—seem like the perfect treat for any occasion. Thanks for sharing!
Kimberley Asante
These lemon bars look absolutely delicious! I love how simple the recipe is—perfect for a bright and tangy treat.
Melissa
I love lemon but I have never made lemon bars before, these sure look delicious! I need to make them soon since spring is just around the corner