When I was a child, one of my mom’s go-to dessert recipes was lemon bars.
I’ve missed her lemon bars . Although I didn’t realize how much, I was working on freezing lemon juice, and the hankering came on strong. Time to add these to my collection of gluten-free recipes.
This gluten-free lemon bars recipe is exactly like hers – that is to say, it’s perfect!
From the lightly sweetened, buttery crust, to the gooey, lemony filling, to the powdered sugar on top. Ever part of this dessert is delightful.
I have to warn you though, when I make lemon bars, I make them scream “LEMON”! If you’re not a strong sour flavor kind of person, you might want to cut back on the lemon juice a little. Say… to half a cup instead of three quarters.
I’m fortunate to be married to a person who’s favorite flavor – well one of them anyway – is lemon. We even make lemon meringue pie for his birthday ever year instead of having cake! So the strong flavor suits us both. 🙂
Gluten-Free Lemon Bars Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ cup butter (softened)
For the Filling:
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2-3 teaspoons grated lemon peel (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350º.
- Combine crust ingredients and mix well.
- Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch baking pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the crust begins to turn a light brown.
- Remove pan from oven.
- Beat filling ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
- Pour over warm crust.
- Return to oven, and bake for and additional 15-20 minutes until filling is set, and slightly brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven, and cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.
- Use a butter knife to loosen lemon bars from the edges of the pan.
- Let cool completely.
- Cut bars, and remove from pan.
- Enjoy!
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When I was growing up I always requested Lemon Meringue Pie instead of cake for my birthday. I still love it!
Amazing. And so simple! Thank you for this fantabulous recipe.
What could I use in place of the butter? I though about coconut oil. Any suggestions appreciated!
I think coconut oil would work with the only drawback being that it may tend to stick to the pan a little. Palm shortening or may even lard could be a good choice as well.
I used coconut oil (2/3c) and used it to oil the pan as well. Turned out so good!! This recipe is so easy and delicious. Definitely going to be my new favorite!
Those look delicious! I’ll definitely be making those very soon.
You won’t regret it – They’re delicious!
I have Gluten free Brown Rice Flour Can that be used for the Gluten Free Lemon Bars???..I am new to this gluten free cooking…Is it the same measurements above..Thank you.
The crust may be dry and crumbly if you use all rice flour and no starch, but it will work to some degree. And yes, Same measurement as above. 🙂
Made this today and it’s delicious. I absolutely love lemon and this is definitely a hit!
Absolutely wonderful…will make again. Thank you.
Food coloring yellow won’t hurt if I want it more yellow right??? I am not a cook I only cook by recipes..Thank you Please advise =) Made it once and it was fabulous..just wanted it as yellow as yours =)
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Food coloring shouldn’t hurt and It should only take a few drops.
I think the reason mine are so yellow is the farm fresh eggs. Eggs from pastured hens = super yellow yolks. =)
These were absolutely amazing and so simple to make. Thank you. Perfect amount of tart and not overly sweet. I used fresh farm eggs as well and turned out nice yellow color.
Would these work with regular flour (as supposed to gluten free)? They look fantastic, would love to try them.
Yep! That would work just fine. 🙂
About how many lemons will it take to get 3/4 cup of juice? 🙂
It should take about three. 🙂
Perfect! Thank you, looking forward to making these tonight! 🙂
Do these freeze well?
I’m not sure. But if you try it, let me know how it goes!
I am very lucky to have a lemon tree in my backyard! I meet these using cup4cup and other pantry staples. Thank you for a delicious super easy recipe !
The crust didn’t stay together for me. Any suggestions?
Hi , thank you for posting this recipe, I was wondering if you add the whole egg or just the egg yolks ?
Regards
Janet
They’re whole eggs. 🙂
My whole family loves these lemon bars. I find myself making them about once a week. So easy and so good!
Hey, I tried those lemon bars today and I had a few issues with the crust. It ended up being really sticky and therefore quite difficult to press it evenly into the pan. I didn’t have much time, but next time I think I’ll just put it in the fridge for a bit and maybe use a smaller pan as well. That said I have to say this is the most amazing lemon bar recipe! Thank you so much for publishing it, I will never try a different one after tasting this one. It’s moist and so unbelievably tangy (and I looove tangy) I could barely stop eating. I love baking but I usually prefer eating savory things so I don’t tend to eat my own baking. This one is hands down my absolute favourite desert and it kicked the cranberry upside down cake from the no 1 spot without even trying.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I’m glad you like them. And YES! I LOVE a good tangy lemon bar!
As for the crust, I tend to prefer to make gluten-free baked goods a bit sticky, to make sure they’re not too dry when they’re baked. That said, you could try adding a little more flour to make it easier to handle. 🙂
I found that if I washed my hands when they got sticky I was able to spread it much easier
This is hands down the BEST gluten free dessert I have made!!!! Does NOT taste at all gluten free. I have a gluten allergy and love to cook for my family so I am always on the hunt for good recipes that they like too. As for the stickiness- my son had a great idea to press the crust down with a sheet of wax paper! Worked perfectly. And I made mine in an 8×8 pan with great results!
Great idea Virginia! Glad you liked it!
Have you tried spraying your hands with cooking spray before you Handel the dough into the pan? That might help.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I needed a quick and easy gluten free recipe and found this and it was amazing!
Instead of using 2 tablespoons of flour in the lemon mixture may I use cornstarch?
Yes, in fact, I should change the recipe, because that’s what I usually use now days. 🙂
These were absolutely amazing and so simple to make. Thank you. Perfect amount of tart and not overly sweet.
Could you add coconut flakes?
I imagine you could. Toasted coconut would make a nice topping. 🙂
How many do these make?? Looking forward to making them!!
I typically cut them into twelve bars – two cuts lengthwise, and three across the width of a 9×13 pan.
Do you still have the first recipe? it seemed to work better for me. Thanks!
Hi Christy, I’m not sure what you mean… the only other lemon bar recipe I have is Paleo Lemon Bars, which you can find here.
Hope that help! 🙂
Made these today, super easy and so yummy! My husband doesn’t like lemon anything and he even liked them!! Definitely a recipe I will save and use again! Thank you!
Hi,
Is there a way to cut down on the sugar without it affecting the final product?
Cheers!
I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but we do have a paleo lemon bar recipe you might like. 🙂
I used the stevia baking sugar, it cuts down the amount of sugar a lot as far as the powdered sugar goes, I don’t know of another substitute.
This recipe is AMAZING!! I’ve made it several times and everyone goes crazy over it?Being that I have a gluten allergy, peanut allergy, and chocolate allergy, I’m extremely limited to what desserts I can have and I’ve become a HUGE lemon fan??Thank you so much for this recipe, I will continue making it, people don’t even know it’s gf, I definitely recommend the Pillsbury gf flour, the flour needs the xanthm gum in it.
I’ve made your recipe and loved it, but for some reason I am unable to access now! Where did it go?
Hmmm, I wish I knew! From my end, it looks like it’s right where it’s supposed to be! 🙁
I plan on making these this evening to bring to Mother’s Day lunch tomorrow. How would you suggest storing them? Fridge? Covered on counter maybe? Or are these better same day fresh? If so, I may need to find a way to get up early and make them tomorrow!
Thank you!
I would store them in the fridge. The only problem would be that the powdered sugar on top would get kind of wet, so you may want to sprinkle more on before serving, or try waiting to add the sugar.
I have the recipe, but not the directions. Where are they? I wanted to make these today, but not sure if you will get this soon enough, so I will wait if need be.
Thanks!
Eloise
The instructions should be right there in the recipe card…
I am new to gluten free, am I able to use coconut flour?
Hi Sarah, Coconut flour is a completely different animal, and for the most part, you’ll need to find recipes formulated specifically for it’s use. For these lemon bars, you may be able to use this coconut flour pie crust in place of the one in this recipe.
Could I make these in 9″ cake rounds? My other pans are mia lol
Yes, though you may need to reduce the cooking time slightly.