These healthy and easy gluten free and paleo Lemon Bars are made with just 7 simple ingredients and don’t require a double broiler! Trust me, I am a much better cook than a baker, so if I can nail this recipe, so can you! Plus, the lemon bars turn out SO delicious that you’d have no idea that they are gluten free, dairy free, grain free and even paleo.
Lemon Bars
These lemon bars are so delicious while being shockingly easy to make. They are made with just a handful of real food ingredients and you don’t need a double broiler to perfect them!
What you’ll need:
- Raw Honey
- Vegan Butter or Ghee
- Almond Flour
- Tapioca Starch or Tapioca Flour
- Lemons
- Salt
- Eggs
DIETARY NOTES
This recipe is made with real ingredients and fits seamlessly into the following dietary needs when using the products/brands (or ones that are similar) listed in the recipe:
- gluten free
- grain free
- soy free
- refined sugar free
- dairy free (using vegan butter)
- vegetarian
- paleo (using compliant vegan butter or ghee)
Tips & Tricks
- Only use one piece of parchment paper when lining the baking pan with enough parchment on the sides to pull the lemon bars out of the pan once they are done cooling. Also ensure your baking pan is nonstick. Click here for the 8 inch baking pan I use and love for this recipe!
- When forming the shortbread into the baking pan, be sure to tightly press the dough so that it is not only flat and even, but so it is up against the edge of the pan.
- Be sure to whisk the lemon topping ingredients together extremely well by hand to ensure the egg is full incorporated.
- When pouring the lemon topping onto the shortbread, do not wait for it to cool. You will want to do this step immediately. This method removes the need for a double broiler!
- The lemon bars are ready to be removed from the oven when the middle of them moves just slightly. For me, the sweet spot is always 22 minutes of bake time.
- Allow the lemon bars to cool completely at room temperature before moving them to the fridge to finish.
A NOTE ON CALORIE COUNT, NUTRITIONAL INFO AND SERVING SIZES
Due to my past experiences, I do not include most of the above information within my recipes as it is unsafe for me to do so personally. While I try to share a rough estimate when it comes to the serving size, please note that it is very subjective as we all have different hunger levels both from person to person and even from meal to meal.
If any of the above information is important to you, I understand! We are all different and have various goals and needs. If you’d like, you are welcome to calculate the information needed based on the ingredients you use when making one of my recipes.
I hope you understand! This comes from a place of love and protection both for myself and others like me. If you ever have any questions, send me an Instagram message for the quickest response time! Thank you for being here!
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
Here are some delicious and healthy desserts to add to your spring and summer menu:
- Almond Flour Lemon Cake
- 4 Ingredient Chocolate Tart
- Berries & Homemade Whipped Cream Jars
- Strawberry Pop Tarts
- Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars
- Dairy Free Lemon Tart with Pretzel Crust
- Gluten Free Protein Crepes
FOLLOW ALONG
Be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok to see all of the behind the scenes of recipe creation as well as how to videos to watch them come to life! You can also head over to my Pinterest to save all of my recipes in one spot that you plan whip up in the future.
PS – If you make this recipe or any of my other recipes, I would be so grateful if you left a review so I can hear what you think! I also am happy to answer any questions you may have on here, but if you want a quicker response, be sure to shoot me a message on Instagram. Thank you so much and talk soon!
Lemon Bars
Equipment
- Zester
- 8 in Nonstick Baking Pan
- Whisk
Ingredients
Shortbread
- ¼ cup raw honey
- ¼ cup vegan butter or ghee, melted and brought to room temp (I use Miyoko's vegan butter)
- 1 ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch or tapioca flour
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp salt
Lemon Topping
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (remove seeds and/or pulp)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ cup raw honey or pure maple syrup
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour or tapioca starch
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line an 8×8 square baking pan with one piece of parchment paper. For best results, use a nonstick metal baking pan.
- Mix all of the crust ingredients together until a thick dough forms.
- Using your hands, press the dough into the baking pan and ensure to get the dough as flat and as even as possible. Also be sure to press the dough tight along the edges of the pan.
- Bake the shortbread layer for 15-20 minutes. It should be golden brown when it’s ready.
- When the shortbread has about 5 minutes of bake time remaining, whisk together the filling ingredients by hand. Be sure to whisk this really well so that the eggs are fully incorporated.
- Once crust is golden, remove the pan from the oven and turn the temperature down to 325℉.
- Then, give the lemon topping another good whisk and immediately yet slowly pour the filling onto the shortbread and place it back in the oven to bake. DO NOT wait for the shortbread to cool, this step should be done while the shortbread is hot.
- Bake the lemon bars for 20-25 minutes. The lemon bars are ready when the center of the lemon topping moves just slightly, but isn’t super wet. I have found my oven’s sweet spot for this step is 22 minutes exactly.
- Remove the lemon bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely at room temperature.
- Once they are cool, place them in the fridge to finish setting for 3-4 hours minimum.
- When you’re ready to serve, you can slice them to your desired size and add powdered sugar or whipped cream to the top if you’d like.
Notes
- Only use one piece of parchment paper when lining the baking pan with enough parchment on the sides to pull the lemon bars out of the pan once they are done cooling. Also ensure your baking pan is nonstick. Click here for the 8 inch baking pan I use and love for this recipe!
- When forming the shortbread into the baking pan, be sure to tightly press the dough so that it is not only flat and even, but so it is up against the edge of the pan.
- Be sure to whisk the lemon topping ingredients together extremely well by hand to ensure the egg is full incorporated.
- When pouring the lemon topping onto the shortbread, do not wait for it to cool. You will want to do this step immediately. This method removes the need for a double broiler!
- The lemon bars are ready to be removed from the oven when the middle of them moves just slightly. For me, the sweet spot is always 22 minutes of bake time.
- Allow the lemon bars to cool completely at room temperature before moving them to the fridge to finish.
By far the best lemon bars I’ve had! Delicious and loved by everyone! Made a repeat this weekend again – special request by my mom on Mother’s Day! Highly recommended!
Aneta, this means soooo much to me! My heart burst when I read that your mother requested this for Mother’s Day… that is soooo special! Thank you so much for bringing my recipes into your special moments. 🙂
I made these for my boyfriend’s birthday (his request) and oh my gosh… AMAZING! I was a little worried because I’ve never made lemon bars before and wanted to make sure the eggs didn’t separate or the filling didn’t flip with the crust. They were delicious! My boyfriend doesn’t have food intolerances or preferences but I wanted to make something I could eat and we could enjoy together. He said these were the best lemon bars he’s had and already wants me to make more! Definitely going to be my new go-to recipe, perfect for summer 🤍
Erin, this is so nice and means so much to me! I’m so thrilled that you found these easy to make and that both you and your boyfriend enjoyed them so much! I hope you enjoy them all summer long. 🙂 Thank you so so so much!!
These were so good! The flavors of both the custard and crust were excellent with good lemon flavor. Only 4 stars because I prefer the shortbread to be a little crispier, but mine was a bit soggy. I also doubled the recipe, so maybe that was my issue. Next time I will make sure the crust is thinner and bake it a bit longer.
Will definitely be making this again.
Hey, you can’t take off a star when you alter a recipe, haha! In all seriousness, glad you loved them!