Easy Healthy Lemon Bars with delicious shortbread almond flour crust and a zesty light lemon filling! These lemon squares are also naturally sweetened for a perfect spring treat!
We also love these healthy lemon cookies and healthy lemon poppy seed bread!
Table of Contents
Unlike traditional lemon bars filled with more butter, refined sugars, and white flour, these healthy lemon bars use unrefined maple syrup, almond flour, and lower quantities of sugar and butter.
If you love lemon desserts, check out this healthy lemon zucchini bread, healthy lemon poppy seed muffins, and lemon zucchini muffins as well.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: All you need is 7 ingredients and that is including vanilla extract.
- Healthier: This healthy lemon bars recipe is naturally sweetened and gluten free.
- Decadent taste: Even with all ingredient swaps, these lemon squares taste creamy, sweet, and like most decadent lemon dessert!
- Year round crowd pleaser: Healthy dessert that’s a wonderful addition to any potluck, game day, BBQ, Mother’s day or Easter. Just keep in mind they taste best when chilled, so plan ahead.
Ingredients for Healthy Lemon Bars
Here is a breakdown what you will need:
- Almond flour: You can use store-bought almond flour or here is quick and easy almond flour recipe. You may also be able to use almond meal.
- Cornstarch: This will help absorb extra moisture in the dough. Arrowroot powder or tapioca starch would also work.
- Butter: Acts as a binder. You can use melted coconut oil instead for dairy free lemon bars.
- Eggs: You need large eggs. No need them to be at room temperature.
- Lemons: You’ll need lemon juice and zest. I love to use fresh, juicy Meyer lemons and not bottled juice! Regular lemons work as well and you will need 4-5 lemons. Buy an extra one in case they turn out less juicy.
- Maple syrup: It is healthier and refined sugar free. Feel free to swap it out with another liquid sweetener like agave or honey (will have a stronger flavor).
- Vanilla extract: I use pure vanilla extract for the best results.
- I also use Misto cooking spray.
How to Make Healthy Lemon Bars
This bar recipe couldn’t be easier to make. Alternatively, you could make 12 or 16 lemon squares, depending on how big you want them. Or bite-sized little lemon slices, just chop each square into four smaller pieces for 32 pieces.
Here is what you have to do:
- Prep the pan and make the crust: Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang. Stir well all crust ingredients and press into a pan. Then bake it for 15 minutes.
- Make the lemon filling: Meanwhile, as the crust cooks, whisk lemon filling ingredients until there are no cornstarch lumps and egg strands left.
- Bake the bars: Carefully pour the filling in one corner of the pan while crust is warm, and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the lemon bar filling is firm with a slight jiggle in the middle.
- Chill and slice: Let the bars cool for 30 minutes at room temperature and then about an hour in the refrigerator until firm. Then cut the square into 9 equal pieces, optionally dust with icing sugar, and serve!
Baking Tip
Don’t over bake them! When overcooked, the tops can crack a bit and lemon custard can curdle, so be careful not bake longer than suggested or check on them if you know your ovens runs at lower temperature. All ovens vary and I tested this recipe in 2 ovens and baking time varied from 15 to 20 minutes.
Tips for Best Results
- To avoid crust mixing with the filling: Make sure to check the crust for cracks after baking. Then pour filling immediately while the crust is hot and do so slowly in the corner of the pan.
- Don’t use glass baking dish: In order to prevent your crust from burning, I recommend to avoid using a glass baking dish. Use ceramic or metal baking square dish.
- To cut easier and less messy: If you have difficulty cutting through these lemon bars, it’s a good idea to wipe the knife down between each cut.
- To prevent white specks in the filling: Next time make sure to whisk the eggs better. White specks are cooked egg whites.
How to Store
Store: You can store these healthy lemon bars in a cool, dry place for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make ahead: You can also make them the day before, refrigerate and slice before serving. If you want to dust them with powdered sugar, then only do so right before serving. Otherwise, the sugar will melt into the bars.
Freeze: Place them on a baking tray, not touching, and freeze until solid. Then transfer to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months and just pop one onto the counter to thaw.
FAQs
I do not recommend to use a different flour. I developed this recipe to use almond flour and any other flour will act quite differently.
Unfortunately, no. I do not recommend to use any egg substitute as this lemon bars recipe relies on a custard like filling the eggs produce. You will end up with a completely different texture and flavor.
If you have little air bubbles at the top of your baked lemon bars, don’t panic. This is normal and is just air releasing and rising from the eggs. Also don’t whisk too much air into the filling.
More Healthy Dessert Recipes to Try
- Healthy key lime pie bars
- Healthy pecan pie bars
- Healthy strawberry cheesecake bars
- Healthy strawberry oatmeal bars
- Healthy carrot cake bars
- Blueberry oatmeal crumble bars
Healthy Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 3/4 cups almond flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For Lemon Filling:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 lemon zest of
- 1/2 cup lemon juice from 3 large lemons (I used Meyer lemons)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line square 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add almond flour, 1 tbsp cornstarch, melted butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir with spatula until well mixed, transfer to prepared baking dish and flatten with hands and spatula into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, maple syrup and cornstarch. Whisk very well until no white strands.
- Remove crust from the oven and very carefully pour filling on a side on top (abrupt pouring will lift the crust). Place back in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm but still a bit jiggly in the middle.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter for 30 minutes. Then transfer to the fridge to firm up for another hour.
- Cut into 9 squares, dust with icing sugar (if you wish) and serve chilled.
Video
Notes
- Store: In a cool dry place for a few days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Freeze: I like to freeze lemon bars on a baking tray (not touching) until solid and then transfer them to a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Whenever you want one, just pop it out onto the counter or within the fridge to thaw.
- Honey: You can use honey but lemon bars will have more overpowering taste of honey. It is personal preference.
- Cornstarch: It thickens the filling and absorbs the moisture in the dough. You can substitute with arrowroot powder.
HELP! The lemon bar filling soaked through the crust and dissolved into it. It’s still warm, so I cannot comment on the taste just yet. Any idea why the filling got dissolved into the crust? My crust was room temperature before I added the filling.
Hmm. My thoughts are you either didn’t press the crust well too the sides to form an even square and filling got under it when you poured. Or crust was under baked.
Some thoughts: Were you sure to bake the crust and pou the filling on while warm? I’ve sometimes missed a step in a recipe & been perplexed at the results.
Also, I’m wondering if your oven is running hot and maybe causing the oven to rise.
Hi Olena,
I’m going to make them today. Can I use medium grind corn meal ( Bob’s Red Mill brand) instead of the corn starch? It’s a bit coarser than the corn starch but would it work? Or should I grind the medium to a fine one?
Thanks
Sen
I think I would grind it into fine one in a blender or food processor. Then I think it should thicken the bars. Hopefully. 🙂
These healthy lemon bars turned out amazing!
So glad you enjoyed them!
The lemon bars were really really good but it tasted like there was something missing which probably was sugar. But for a healthy snack this is really good. You can freeze them after and they are soft enough right out of the freezer.
So glad you enjoyed your healthy snack!
Looks yummy. My sister made these and highly recommends.
I’ve got all the ingredients, oven preheated and pan prepped. But I’m not seeing how much for most of the ingredients.
Please advise. And Merry Christmas.
Hi Sandra, if you scroll to the recipe card at the bottom, each ingredient amount is listed there and step by step directions. Enjoy!
Delicious! Made them tonight. Will make them again.
Note to self: don’t use loose bottomed tin! (Lemon mixture leaks through base!!)
I’m so happy to read this! Thanks for your positive feedback!
Is there a way to use a powdered sweetener like Swerve instead of the maple syrup?
Hi Olena,
These look amazing! I’d love to make them for Mother’s Day but my Mom is allergic to almonds. Do have any replacement suggestions for the almond flour? Thanks for sharin!0
Be well, Jamie
I like the COOKING MODE, next on my list is to try the lemon bars
Awesome, happy to hear. I like it too!
OMGoodness! These lemon bars are AMAZING! They are decadent yet so easy to make and best of all they are healthy!!! It was a great dessert following your instant pot chili that I made for supper! Thank you again for another great recipe!
That is so amazing to hear! Glad you enjoyed my recipe!