Gluten free lemon bars will be your new favorite treat! There is something about warm weather and impending backyard barbecues that make me want something light and lemony. I want something refreshing and summery that has the sweet tangy taste we all love.
Ok story time… when I was living in Philadelphia, I dreamt of the day that I’d have a lemon tree. I imagined I’d go out, pick lemons as I need. Squeeze it into my water. Squeeze it into some lemonade or a salad and bask in the tangy freshness of just-picked lemons.
Turns out, lemons are more seasonal than I expected…
It’s not the year-round casual lemon picking that I was envisioning. It’s more of a burst of lemon excess and then a dry spell of trying to keep my lemon tree alive. I love it, though.
If you want to browse recipes by flavor, check out my lemon recipes, blueberry recipes, strawberry recipes, and raspberry recipes!
Ingredients for the shortbread layer of these gluten free lemon bars:
- refined coconut oil, melted
- agave nectar (honey or maple syrup works too)
- vanilla extract
- blanched almond flour
- sea salt
Ingredients for the Lemon Custard Layer:
- agave nectar (honey or maple syrup works too)
- ghee (butter also works)
- eggs
- tapioca flour
- lemon juice
How to make gluten free lemon bars:
Make the crust. First make the crust. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil (butter or ghee works too), agave nectar, and vanilla. Once combined, add the almond flour and sea salt. Whisk until completely combined.
Bake the crust. Line a square 9×9 inch pan with parchment paper. Spread the crust out across the bottom in an even layer. Bake for 13 minutes.
Make the lemon layer. SUPER IMPORTANT!! The order that you add the ingredients will determine if the lemon filling looks good or looks terrible. So! Order is important!
In a medium bowl, whisk together the agave nectar, ghee, eggs and egg yolk. Once combined, add the tapioca flour and whisk until combined. Next, slowly drizzle the lemon juice into the bowl while you’re whisking. You want the mixture to be smooth and not separate.
Gently pour. Pour the mixture on top of the crust and bake for another 15 minutes.
After the 15 minutes, pull it out of the oven and allow it to sit in the pan to come to room temperature.
Chill. Once room temp, chill in the fridge for a few hours.
Serve. Slide a knife on any sides of the bars that are touching the pan. Pull the edges of the parchment paper up. and cut into bars. I sprinkled mine with some powdered sugar, but you can use regular powdered sugar if you wish!
More lemon recipes:
- Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Lemon Zucchini Burrata Pasta
- Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Bake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Recipe
Gluten Free Lemon Bars
Gluten Free Lemon Bars have a delicious shortbread later topped with a sweet and tangy lemon custard. Perfect for any brunch or potluck!
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- 1/2 cup refined coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup agave nectar (honey or maple syrup works too)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lemon Layer:
- 1/3 cup agave nectar (honey or maple syrup works too)
- 2 tablespoons ghee (butter also works), melted or room temp
- 3 eggs + 1 yolk
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
- 2 tablespoon favorite powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil (butter or ghee works too), agave nectar, and vanilla.
- Once combined, add the almond flour and salt.
- Fold together until completely combined.
- Line a square 9×9 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Spread the crust out across the bottom in an even layer.
- Bake for 13 minutes until golden brown.
- While the crust is baking, whisk together the lemon filling.
- SUPER IMPORTANT!! The order that you add the ingredients will determine if the lemon layer looks good or looks terrible.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the agave nectar, ghee, eggs and egg yolk.
- Once combined, add the tapioca flour and whisk until combined.
- Next, slowly drizzle the lemon juice into the bowl while you’re whisking.
- You want the mixture to be smooth and not separate.
- Gently and slowly pour the mixture on top of the crust. If you pour it too fast onto the crust it may break through the crust so do this step slowly and gently.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- After the 15 minutes, pull it out of the oven and it to sit in the pan to bring it to room temperature.
- Once room temp, chill in the fridge for a few hours.
- When you’re ready to serve, slide a knife on any sides of the bars that are touching the pan.
- Pull the edges of the parchment paper up. and cut into bars.
- I sprinkled mine with some powdered sugar, but you can use regular powdered sugar if you wish!
Nutrition Info:
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 149
- Sugar: 10.2g
- Sodium: 83mg
- Fat: 10.7g
- Saturated Fat: 7.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 11.3g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 1.7g
- Cholesterol: 4mg
Enjoy!! xo
Hmmm my filling soaked through too! I made sure the crust was well baked but I think maybe the filling needs to be thicker before it gets poured in? It was very thin. I wonder if using more egg yolks rather than full eggs would do the trick? More like a lemon curd? I also would like twice as much filling! The flavor is so so good though and I love the shortbread crust!
I think two things may help: if you wait for the shortbread to cool a bit, it will set and not give in to the lemon layer when you pour it. The other thing is to not pour the lemon topping all in one spot but rather slowly drizzle it around the edges and in the middle. A heavy pour could cause the bottom layer to potentially get a hole in it. Let me know if this helps! xo
I loved these! I had lemons that I needed to use but am trying to consume less sugar so I replaced the agave with Lakanto maple syrup and the powdered sugar with ground monkfruit sweetener-so yum! Both the crust and bars required a few additional baking minutes as the reviews suggested and they turned out great!
Yay!! One of my favorite lemon recipes. I’m so happy you loved them!! xo
Hands down a favorite of the family. Wait until you are about to serve the bars to add the powdered sugar.
Yay!! I’m so happy you love!! xo
FIVE STARS! Made this and instantly added it to my recipe book. Perfect consistency and the flavor is out of this world! Everyone I’ve made these for has absolutely loved them!
Ah I’m so happy you love it!! Lemon is soo delish 🤤
I was making the lemon layer and it was very liquidy, and I drizzled it on the crust and it just went off of it.. help!
Hi Chanelle! It will be pretty liquid-y. Make sure to pour it slowly. Another option is when you’re pressing the crust into the pan, make it incline a bit so it’s higher around the edges and doesn’t seep into the sides of the pans. Let me know how it goes!!