Lemon Squares (Gluten Free Lemon Bars) are the easiest lemon bar recipe, and they just so happen to be gluten free! This lemon squares recipe is one of our favorite easy gluten free desserts. Thick, creamy, tart, and utterly delicious. The Best Lemon Bars you’ll ever taste!
GLUTEN FREE Lemon Bars Recipe (Lemon Squares)
Lemon Squares are a classic recipe everyone should know how to make. These Gluten Free Lemon Bars are so EASY, anyone can feel like a pastry chef.
Lemon Squares are easier than you might think. Baking is still a bit intimidating for me, as I’ve talked about before. When I started this blog, I couldn’t cook ANYTHING, and I for sure couldn’t bake anything. Cooking seems to be so much easier to me.
Throw this in, leave this out…most recipes are easy to customize and hard to ruin. Baking is more precise. It seems like more of a skill. Along the blog’s journey, I’ve had some baking successes that I’m so proud of! These Gluten Free Lemon Bars are a favorite.
Before I attempted this easy lemon bars recipe, my mom helped me make her famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Crinkles, I made an amazing Raspberry Moscow Mule Bundt Cake, and I tackled and perfected Mini Nutella Cheesecakes (nevermind that those are no bake. shhh!).
Today’s recipe, GLUTEN FREE LEMON BARS, has quickly become one of my favorite gluten free dessert recipes on the site. They are SO creamy, dreamy, and EASY! You’ll crave them year round, but they’re especially perfect for Spring and Summer. Lemon Squares just can’t be beat in my opinion.
These Gluten Free Lemon Bars are a must-bake dessert! I love the flavor of these Lemon Squares AND they’re easy to make.
How do you make Gluten Free Lemon Bars?
Part of what makes these Gluten Free Lemon Bars oh so easy and perfect is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. You heard that right, ONE TO ONE. No more adding in special ingredients to make gluten free flours work with your favorite recipes. You can literally add this flour into any of your best bets just as you would all purpose flour and bake away.
Bob’s is amazing and making things way too simple for people like me. It’s what makes this recipe one of my favorite Easy Gluten Free Desserts. It’s as simple as swapping out the flour.
Thank you Bob’s Red Mill! Pat thanks you too, he’s the inspiration behind these lemon squares. He asked me to work on some gluten free goodies and this was my first attempt. Now that I know how easy they are, they won’t be my last.
Easy Gluten Free Desserts
If you’re looking for some more easy gluten free desserts or other recipes, try out some of my favorites:
- Gluten Free Spritz Cookies
- Gluten Free Buffalo Wings
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake Bars
- Gluten Free Holiday Sangria
- Gluten Free Brownies
- Gluten Free Churros Recipe
How to Make Lemon Bars (Step by Step Recipe)
- Heat Oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×9 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside. (I also like to line with foil and then spray…makes pulling them out of the pan much easier)
FOR THE CRUST
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Use a fork or knives to stir in the butter until a crumbly mixture results. Add water a bit at a time. Take mixture and press evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for approximately 25 minutes until slightly golden and set.
FOR THE FILLING
- In a mixing bowl, stir together all of the filling ingredients until smooth.
- Pour mixture over the still hot crust.
- Bake 22-26 minutes or until set in the middle. Let cool on the counter for a minimum of two hours. Cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar. If not immediately serving, store in the fridge.
Be sure to watch the video to see the step by step lemon bar recipe in action!
Tips for Making Lemon Squares
I sampled a few variations before settling on this Lemon Bar Recipe. I’m SO happy with the result. These gluten free Lemon Bars are the right amount of creamy, tart, and crust all together.
- If you want to make this dessert with regular flour (instead of gluten free) that’s no problem at all! Just use all purpose flour in place of the gluten free flours. Also, I hope you’ll check out all of our Gluten Free Recipes!
- Powdered sugar is gluten free as long as it uses cornstarch or tapioca starch as it’s base. so just be sure to double check ingredient list.
There are tons and tons of great lemon square recipes out there, but I hope you give this one a try. I think it’s amazing and we sure do love it. I know its a bold statement to say these are THE BEST LEMON SQUARES but I really do think this is the Best Lemon Bar Recipe out there! If I do say so myself (as my Mom would say).
These lemon bars are so perfect for Easter. Get more Easter Dessert Ideas right here!
FAQ for making Lemon Squares
Do you put Lemon Bars in the fridge?
I recommend keeping them cool. You can keep them in the fridge or on the counter in an air tight container for 2-3 days, but the refrigeration will only enhance the flavor of the bars and keep them extra creamy.
How much is the juice of one lemon?
On average, each lemon has 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. Great info to know!
How long can you keep lemon squares?
I recommend no more than 2-3 days in an airtight container.
How long is a lemon good for?
A lemon can stay good and fresh for up to 1 week at room temperature and 2-3 weeks in the fridge. Cut lemons can stay good for 2-3 days in the fridge.
See the recipe card below or watch our video on how to make Lemon Squares. Enjoy!
Be sure to try some of our other lemon-flavored recipes:
- Sour Cream Lemon Pie
- Lemon Meringue Cookies
- Homemade Lemonade Recipe
- Lemon Sauce or Syrup
- Lemon Butter Salmon in Parchment
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Flour I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter cold, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons water
For the Filling
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon peel grated
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup Gluten Free Flour I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour
For Serving
- Powdered sugar *SEE NOTE
Instructions
- Heat Oven to 350F. Spray a 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside. (I also like to line with foil and then spray...makes pulling them out of the pan much easier)
For the Crust
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Use a fork or knives to stir in the butter until a crumbly mixture results. Add water a bit at a time. Take mixture and press evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for approximately 25 minutes until slightly golden and set.
For the Filling
- In a mixing bowl, stir together all of the filling ingredients until smooth.
- Pour mixture over the still hot crust.
- Bake 22-26 minutes or until set in the middle. Let cool on the counter for a minimum of two hours. Cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar. If not immediately serving, store in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
You absolutely can!
Thanks, Laura! I’m so happy that everyone loved them!
I tried this recipe for Easter and absolutely loved it, as did my family. Some of us are gluten free, but these were so tasty I will definitely make again (like this weekend!!). Finally, I feel successful in my GF dessert endeavors!! We will be looking forward to checking out your web site, for more delicious recipes!
I can’t find Bob Mill gluten free flour, would you recommend using almond flour for a good substitute?
You’re welcome!!
thanks for this valuable post
have to tried to replace the butter with a substitute? Thank you for the recipe…..I will post when I make it!
Thanks for sharing, Jenny!
I making this recipe for the 2nd time. They are so good and full of lemon flavor. I don’t use lemon zest so I add a little extra lemon juice to the recipe. You should make these now!!
Will these freeze well?
I love this cookie rookie blog. I love to see more content like that.
That makes me so happy!
My daughter is obsessed with these bars. Made them for her gluten free friend and we still make them gluten free for us ( even tho we aren’t gluten free) amazing!!!!!
Definitely!
I have Meyer Lemons and haven’t used them before for lemon bars or othe baking. Would you Meyer lemons work in this recipe? Thank you!
Thanks so much for writing in. I’ll test it! So glad you loved it though :)
I loved the crust for your lemon bars! Thank you so much for that recipe! And the lemon bars filling is flavored to die for, but the lemon bar recipe is mis-worded, I believe. The ingredients should be “mixed well” (using a mixer?) as opposed to just “stirring” them together as that just didn’t do the trick. It left unmixed egg whites on the top (quite ugly) and the mixture was not that smooth or creamy. Despite that, I gotta report my household ate the quickly and with satisfaction! I will making them again!!
I’m so happy you loved them!
These turned out delicious! I left all else the same but used 2/3 the amount of sugar just because I like things a little less sweet. 4/5 stars only because they were just a little tart for me even though I love lemons! (Maybe cutting the sugar, I should’ve cut the lemon a tiny bit.) So happy to have these all week!
I made these tonight and I baked them for even slightly longer than required because they didn’t seem done yet. And while cutting into them the middle seemed to be pretty good. I’m not sure what I did wrong here. They taste amazing but way softer than expecting then to be .
Thats so awesome that you learned so early!!
Printed.. Making these TODAY !! Only a 1/2 batch.. It’s just me…
That’s hilarious you couldn’t cook at 30.. I cook 95% of my meals..
In Jr/Sr high a few of us guys took cooking classes as our electives..
Just for the FREE FOOD… aka Hungry teenage boys !
Yes, sugar may be a toxin to the body, but it’s ok .. in Moderation…. What’s Horrifying are the people that live on soda … daily…. Even more-so, diet sodas…. and other foods with Equal and/or Splenda, etc.. That’s like multiplying the toxicity level x 1,000,000
I’m SO happy to hear that! HFD to all the dads in your life :)
Made this for Father’s Day! They came out AMAZING! Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
The only problem is I found out I can’t just have one! Lol
Hmm…ours wasn’t super dry like that. Did it taste okay once baked? Seems like something might have gone wrong, I’m sorry!
These tasted Amazing! Quick question though, my crust was very dry while putting it in the pan… is it supposed to be like that or did I do something wrong? I couldn’t poke the crust before baking it.
I made these today and they came out perfect! I made them both gluten free and dairy free. Hands down the best lemon bar I’ve made! It was like eating lemon ???? meringue pie but in bar form! So delicious and easy to make. I will definitely be making these again.
Very helpful advice in this particular post! It’s the little changes that make the largest changes. Thanks for sharing!
This totally made my day to hear! THank you so much for letting me know :)
This is my first ever review, but I had to tell you how delicious these bars were!! I made them this past Easter, my daughter wanted a lemon bar and since I have celiac thought I would try a new Gluten Free recipe. It was so easy and so yummy. The whole family loved these bars!! Will absolutely make again.
Absolutely!!
Can i use the crust for a base for another Fruit bars
My pleasure anytime.
WOW! Great tips, thank you!!!
Just a few little tips about lemons: 1: if you put a lemon in the microwave for a few seconds, you will get more juice out of it. 2: If you have juice left over put it in ice cube trays and freeze it for later use. 3: ALL of the lemon can be used, even the pith, for flavouring. You can freeze an entire lemon and grate it over any dish for extra flavour. yes, even the stem is edible and good.
YAY! Best comment ever. Thank you Sue!
I made the lemon bars for my GF daughter-in-law. They were really good–They were great! She loved them and so did others, myself included. I used krusteaz
GF AP flour .I will use this recipe again and probably many times moving forward. (“moving forward,” seems to be the latest favorite overused phrase in media, politics, and elsewhere! haha) Thank you for sharing
I live in Florida and have a 3 year old lemon tree. This is the first year the squirrels have not eaten all my lemons. I used this recipe to use my first crop. Turned out delicious.
with this recipe, it seems very easy to make THESES juicy lemon bars.
This is the best compliment EVER!!!!!! Thank you for stopping by and letting me know :) :)
My wife has spent years working in bakeries, and said these were the best lemon bars she’s ever had.
Glad to hear it! Merry Christmas <3
Love the simple ingreDients and easy to make.
Best compliment ever! Thank you!!
These are so good! They taste like sunshine! Great recipe!
Yes, the article I was looking for. Your article gives me another approach on the subject. I hope to read more articles from you.
Easy & delicious! Thanks!
As you prepare each ingredient mark down the calories, then divide the total number of bars and you have your calorie count per bar.
When making the crust I used my hands to make it come together and brake down the butter after using a knife.
I also used cup for cup flour instead of the bob red mills cup for cup
Also no spray
Really Really good
Thank you very much for the information you shared, it’s all I’ve been looking for
Made these tonight and they came out PERFECT!!! My son has celiacs disease so I’m always looking for new treats, and lemon bars happen to be my favorite. Win for both of us! Thank you for the recipe! ????
These look delicious, but nothing with that much sugar could be called “healthy.” If you think they’re better for you just because they use gluten-free flour, that’s absolutely not true. There is no health reason to eliminate gluten from your diet UNLESS you have celiac disease or are otherwise sensitive to it. (I have celiac and will be turning to this recipe the next time my sweet tooth calls me.
Sweets aren’t healthy for anybody, but of course we all need a treat once in a while.
I’ve been looking for gluten free recipes to try, this looks great! Excited to give it a try.
I havent been able to find this flour in Australia, could I substitute regular plain flour?
Looks so delicious!
I’ve been thinking about trying to create a gluten free lemon bar. Looks like I might not have to. These look delicious!
Wow! This looks so yummy! I really want to eat it imediately!
Hey Becky,
This looks gorgeously yummy, can’t wait to try it out, haven’t tried lemon dessert so far, will be interesting, very excited to try this in my kitchen.
Thanks Becky for interesting recipe.
GLUTEN FREE LEMON BARS- Healthy and also tastes good. Post some more recipes of lemon.
Sounds great but no use making if I do not have the calories and other nutritional info. Am I missing this?!