These homemade lemon bars have a buttery graham cracker crust and a tangy filling made with just egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and zest. Topped with homemade whipped cream or powdered sugar they're a super refreshing summer treat!
There's two main methods for making lemon bars; a lemon curd filling or a sweetened condensed milk filling. These lemon bars are made with sweetened condensed milk because it's much quicker and easier to make! However, if you prefer a lemon curd filling, you can substitute the filling/method from my lemon meringue pie!
You might also like these lemon sugar cookie bars or these lemon curd cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
You only need 6 ingredients to make these lemon bars with graham cracker crust!
Graham Cracker Crust - For the simple graham cracker crust, you just need graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter!
Sweetened Condensed Milk - The sweetened condensed milk helps sweeten and thicken the filling. You can find it in the baking aisle at your local grocery store. [Make sure you're not using evaporated milk on accident.]
Lemon Juice & Zest - I highly recommend using fresh lemons for the best flavor! But you can always substitute with a little bottled lemon juice if necessary. For even better lemon flavor, I like using Meyer lemons when they're in season!
Egg Yolks - The egg yolks help the filling set when baked. You can use the leftover egg whites to make macarons or meringues!
Yellow Food Coloring - This is optional, but you can add 1-2 drops of yellow food coloring to make the lemon bars a brighter yellow color.
Topping - You can top the lemon bars with either powdered sugar or homemade whipped cream!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Lemon Bars with Sweetened Condensed Milk
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Add the graham crackers to the food processor and pulse until you have small, even crumbs.
In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter and mix with a fork until all the crumbs are fully coated with butter.
Press the mixture evenly along the bottom of an 8x8 inch square pan and pack tightly by pressing down with the back of a measuring cup (you can also use a 9x9 inch pan, the bars will just be a little thinner).
Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 325°F and then let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before filling.
While the crust is cooling, make the filling! In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and lemon zest.
Then add in the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and pinch of salt and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
Pour the filling into the slightly cooled crust and bake at 325°F for 15-18 minutes or until the center is set but still jiggles slightly.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack at room temperature until cool, then transfer to the fridge and let chill for a minimum of 3 hours but ideally overnight.
I like to top these tangy lemon bars with my favorite homemade whipped cream! You can pipe a dollop in the center of each bar, or just smooth an even layer of whipped cream on top! Then just garnish with more lemon zest! If you prefer a classic powdered sugar topping instead, wait until immediately before serving to dust with powdered sugar so it doesn't melt into the top of the bars.
Recipe FAQ's
These lemon bars will keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, if you want to dust with powdered sugar, do it directly before eating because it will melt in the fridge.
Lemon bars will be runny if the filling hasn't fully set. Make sure you let it chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours before slicing into it, but overnight is best!
To get clean slices of these lemon bars, run a super sharp knife under hot water until the blade is warm, then wipe it dry. Then cut a single slice and repeat. It's a bit tedious to clean the knife before every cut, but you get perfect slices every time!
To make a larger batch of these lemon bars, simply double the recipe and use a 9x13 inch pan instead.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Lemon Filling
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup lemon juice, (more to taste)
- pinch kosher salt
Top With
- powdered sugar
- homemade whipped cream
- lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Add the graham crackers to the food processor and pulse until you have small, even crumbs.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter and mix with a fork until all the crumbs are fully coated with butter.
- Press the mixture evenly along the bottom of an 8x8 inch square pan and pack tightly by pressing down with the back of a measuring cup (you can also use a 9x9 inch pan, the bars will just be a little thinner).
- Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 325°F and then let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before filling.
- While the crust is cooling, make the filling! In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and lemon zest. Then add in the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and pinch of salt and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
- Pour the filling into the slightly cooled crust and bake at 325°F for 15-18 minutes or until the center is set but still jiggles slightly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack at room temperature until cool, then transfer to the fridge and let chill for a minimum of 3 hours but ideally overnight.
- I like to top these tangy lemon bars with my favorite homemade whipped cream! You can pipe a dollop in the center of each bar, or just smooth an even layer of whipped cream on top! Then just garnish with more lemon zest! If you prefer a classic powdered sugar topping instead, wait until immediately before serving to dust with powdered sugar so it doesn't melt into the top of the bars.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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