Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust

5 from 1 vote

Put a spin on a classic treat by making these lemon bars with graham cracker crust. A simple dessert packed with tangy lemon flavors in every square.

Recipe: $4.25 | Per Serving: $0.18 | Servings: 24

sliced lemon bars with powdered sugar and fresh lemon slices and green leaves around it.

I blame my oldest child for my addiction to lemon-flavored recipes because my love of lemon started with pregnancy cravings and hasn't left yet (10+ years later). Of course, she loves lemon just as much as me, so we're both victims here. Haha.

These lemon squares with graham cracker crust are such an incredible treat, and we haven't been able to stop eating them. Seriously, I made them twice in a week, and we ate almost all of them by ourselves. If you love lemons like we do, then you're going to love these tasty bars too!

Make sure to check out my 2 Ingredient Lemon Bars, The BEST Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Lemon Mug Cake, and Raspberry Lemon Bundt Cake too. There are plenty of lemons to go around.

Jump to:

🍯 Why This Recipe Works
🥘 Ingredients
🧾 Substitutions
📖 Variations
🔪 Instructions for Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust
🍴 Recipe Tips
👩🏻‍🍳 Storage
💭 Recipe FAQs
❤️ More Delicious Bar Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🍯 Why This Recipe Works

Simple ingredients. We don't need much to make this recipe. In fact, we use about 6 or 7 ingredients from start to finish, and they're as simple as eggs, flour, lemons, and sugar.
Quick to assemble. Because we aren't making a shortbread crust, we can have the graham cracker crust prepared in just moments, thanks to your food processor. Even mixing by hand is quick. And in the time it takes for the crust to bake, the filling can be almost finished too.
There's plenty to share! Each batch makes about 24 squares, giving you plenty to share with friends and family. But of course, this recipe tastes so good you may not WANT to share. In that case, make double the amount.

🥘 Ingredients

Ingredient Notes:

Graham crackers- You'll need some graham crackers for the crust recipe. The crust was inspired by our Apple Pie with Graham Cracker Crust. You can use a sleeve of graham crackers that you crush yourself, or buy them as crumbs from your grocery store's baking aisle.

Lemon zest- Adding lemon zest into the crust is optional but highly recommended because it adds such a wonderful freshness to every piece.

Lemon juice- Add in freshly squeezed lemon juice or lemon juice concentrate. I find that the lemon flavor is stronger in the concentrate and it's cheaper too.

Powdered sugar- This is a delicious garnish to be added at serving time. Powdered sugar really makes these squares look as irresistible as they taste.

For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.

🧾 Substitutions

Lemon juice. You can swap out the lemon juice with lemon juice concentrate if desired. This means you can just pour juice from a container rather than squeeze it out of several lemons yourself.

📖 Variations

Gluten free. Use gluten free flour and graham crackers for a delicious recipe that's GF friendly!

🔪 Instructions for Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Step 2: Cut a piece of parchment paper into a sling and place it into a 9x13 baking dish. You want it to come up over the two long sides as this will help you to remove the bars later.

Add graham crackers to processor, process to crumbs. Add lemon zest, melted butter, sugar. Process until combined.

Step 3: Add your graham crackers to a food processor (Image 1).

Step 4: Process until fine crumbs (Image 2).

Step 5: Add in the lemon zest, melted butter, and sugar (Image 3).

Step 6: Process again until combined (Image 4).

Step 7: Pour the graham cracker mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Pour graham cracker mixture into dish, press into crust. Cook flour, lemon juice, sugar until smooth. Whisk eggs.

Step 8: Press out into a crust. Bake in the oven at 325F for 5 minutes (Image 5).

.Step 9: In a medium-sized pot on the stove, over medium heat, add the flour, lemon juice, and sugar (Image 6).

Step 10: Cook and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture looks smooth (Image 7).

Step 11: Crack your eggs and place them into a large mixing bowl.

Step 12: Whisk until the eggs are broken (Image 8).

Temper eggs with lemon mixture. Cook in pot until thickened. Spread over crust. Bake.

Step 13: Temper the eggs by adding the hot lemon juice mixture to the eggs, a little at a time. Whisk well after each addition (Image 9).

Step 14: Continue until all of the lemon mixture has joined the eggs in the bowl.

Step 15: Pour the contents of the bowl into the pot (Image 10).

Step 16: Continue to cook while frequently whisking until the mixture begins to thicken (Image 11). Remove from heat.

Step 17: Place your baked graham cracker crust in front of you. If you turned the oven off, preheat it to 325 degrees F.

Step 18: Pour the lemon filling on top and carefully spread it out into a nice even layer. You don't want to disturb the crust (Image 12).

Step 19: Bake in the oven at 325F for 25 minutes.

Step 20: Remove from oven and let cool for 1-2 hours at room temperature before placing in the fridge for another 1-2 hours (or longer).

Step 21: Slice into serving-sized squares. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy.

🍴 Recipe Tips

No food processor? No problem. Place graham crackers in a sealed plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until crumbs form. This tip is also useful for our No Bake Graham Cracker Crust recipe.
Getting perfectly cut edges. For clean-cut bars, wipe the knife blade with a clean towel after each slice. This applies to other bar recipes like Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies and Hershey's Best Brownies.

👩🏻‍🍳 Storage

Storing Lemon Bars- Keep lemon bars covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week. For optimal taste, consume within 3 to 4 days to maintain crust texture.

Freezing Lemon Bars- To freeze, place lemon bars (uncut or cut) on a baking sheet until solid (about one hour). Wrap bars in foil or plastic wrap, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge for several hours before serving. Add powdered sugar just before serving.

💭 Recipe FAQs

Do I have to cook the filling before baking?

In the recipe, yes. While shortbread lemon bar recipes usually have you bake the crust and then add a raw filling before baking together, this recipe is different in that the graham cracker crust will not bake properly unless the filling is cooked first. (If the filling is left uncooked, the crust will rise to the top of the pan and create a mess.)

Why are my lemon bars foamy?

If your lemon bars look frothy when baked this is simply because the eggs released some air while baking. This is normal, and while not every batch does this, some do.

Why did my lemon bars curdle?

If you overcook the lemon filling, you may notice a grainy texture or consistency. This is because the lemon curd was overcooked. Make sure to just cook the filling until it has thickened and then to bake until the filling is set in the middle.

Should lemon bars be refrigerated after baking?

Should lemon bars be kept in the fridge? Yes, it's a good idea. Just cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge. When stored like this, your lemon bars should stay fresh for approximately 1 week.

Why did my lemon bars turn brown?

If your lemon bars turn brown then you have overcooked them. The browning is a reaction from the high heat and overcooking the bars will cause this to happen. Keep a close eye as they bake to avoid this situation.

4 powdered sugar dusted squares of lemon bars on a plate.

❤️ More Delicious Bar Recipes

If you tried these lemon bars with graham cracker crust, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!