Healthy Lemon Bars

These healthy lemon bars have a rich and buttery shortbread crust made with almond flour, and a luscious lemon filling sweetened with maple syrup. They’re delicious, thick, and perfectly tangy. A gorgeous addition to spring and summer holidays and events!

While fruit adorned healthy desserts are a summer favorite, my favorite dessert is lemon bars! Sometimes also called lemon squares, this popular dessert bar shines because it has a buttery shortbread crust and a tangy and sweet lemon curd. To me, it reminds me of my dairy free key lime pie, except better.

Classic lemon bar recipes are made with a handful of basic ingredients like eggs, lemon juice, and white sugar. Because of this, lemon bars are so easy to make with healthier ingredients!

After a lot of experimenting, I can confidently say this is the best healthy lemon bar recipe! The cookie crust is soft and thick and made with almond flour. The lemon curd is tangy, firm, and creamy (no cracks or dryness here!), and there’s clear separation between the crust and the lemon curd. The only sweetener used is maple syrup!

And bonus! These lemon bars are delicious and gorgeous. The golden yellow is a beautiful pop of color on the summer BBQ table. Luckily there are plenty of spring events and summer holidays… a lot of opportunities to eat them!

Healthier Ingredients

I love figuring out ways to make healthy swaps in desserts without sacrificing texture or flavor. While these lemon bars are made with healthier ingredients, they taste exactly like classic lemon bars—luscious, thick, and tangy! This recipe is:

• Made with whole ingredients: The filling is just whole eggs, fresh lemon juice, and maple syrup!
• Gluten free: The shortbread crust is made with my signature trifecta of flours—almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca flour. It’s sweetened with maple syrup and the ghee gives it a buttery texture. This is a paleo lemon bar recipe, too!
• Dairy free: Ghee is grass-fed butter with all the dairy solids removed. If you want to eliminate the ghee, just swap it out for coconut oil. A great dose of healthy fats!
• Naturally sweetened: Maple syrup is the only sweetener used for both the crust and the filling. It pairs perfectly with lemon and makes the bars sweet without the use of refined sugars.

Ingredient Notes

There are just a few simple ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe. Here are my notes to help you at the grocery store:

• Almond flour – I recommend using blanched almond flour. This makes the crust soft and moist.
• Tapioca flour – Tapioca is a starch that derives from the cassava root. You’ll find it in the baking section (often near almond flour). It’s also sometimes labeled tapioca starch.
• Maple syrup – Use a dark maple syrup for the best flavor.
• Sea salt – I recommend using an unprocessed sea salt as it’s rich in minerals.
• Ghee – Ghee is butter with all the milk solids removed.

• Eggs – Make sure to use large eggs for the filling. To help them mix and incorporate better, lay them out about an hour ahead of time to bring them to room temperature.
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice – here’s a simple way to squeeze a lemon without a juicer!
• Lemon zest – I recommend grabbing an organic lemon, then washing it and letting it dry. Zest your lemon first, then squeeze it for juice.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions

If you find yourself short, here’s a few swaps you can make:

• Almond flour: You can use another nut flour, like cashew flour.
• Tapioca flour: Use arrowroot flour or a gluten free 1:1 baking flour.
• Maple Syrup: This can be swapped for honey. Note: lemon bars will be much sweeter with honey.
• Ghee: Use unsalted butter or coconut oil.

How to Make Healthy Lemon Bars

I love how easy it is to make these bars! Here’s how to make them in five easy steps:

1. Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, and sea salt. Add the maple syrup, ghee, and vanilla to the bowl, and fold everything together until a dough forms. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes.
2. Make the filling: Add the eggs, lemon juice, maple syrup, and lemon zest to a large bowl and whisk well by hand. Don’t use a mixer for this, as whisking by hand is the best way to fully incorporate the eggs. Whisk quickly until you don’t see any egg white remaining. Add the tapioca flour and whisk until there are no clumps. Once the crust has finished baking, remove it from the oven. Immediately add the filling. Do not allow the crust to cool. 
3. Bake: Lower the temperature to 325°F and return the bars to the oven to bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the filling is set. A little jiggle in the center is just right!
4. Chill: Allow the bars to cool completely, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator for 3-4 hours to let the bars set. Before serving, cut into twelve squares and sprinkle the bars with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Buttery Shortbread Crust

What sets this recipe apart from the rest is the thick and buttery shortbread crust. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my fair share of thin and crumbly crusts in the past. You know, the kind that can’t sufficiently hold whatever filling it’s adorned with? Not this crust!

Even though these lemon bars are made with healthier ingredients, the shortbread crust is thick, soft, and rich. It’s the perfect cookie base to the luscious lemon curd filling. This is because the crust is made with a combination of almond flour and tapioca flour. Almond flour only crusts tend to be a little soft and crumbly.

When you cut and serve, you’ll see a clear separation between crust and bar, and you can easy grab one and take a bite out of it without it falling apart. So yum!

Paleo Lemon Bars

These lemon bars are totally paleo! The main component of the bars is a thick lemon curd made out of lemon juice and eggs. I typically use organic lemons and pasture-raised eggs. To make these lemon bars paleo, the shortbread crust is actually a rendition of my almond flour sugar cookies. It’s completely grain free, and the only sweetener that is used is maple syrup.

To keep this strict paleo, forgo the powdered sugar topping. If you need the bars to be completely dairy free, swap out the ghee for coconut oil.

Recipe FAQs

Baking Tips

• You can use either one or two pieces of parchment paper to line the baking dish. I’ve tried both and the bars release easily with just one sheet lined across the bottom of the pan and up the two sides.
• It’s best to use a ceramic or standard baking pan. A glass baking dish can cause the crust to burn.
• Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the filling. You won’t get the same color or flavor with bottled lemon juice.
• Zest your lemon before you slice and juice it.
• The key to a smooth and luscious lemon curd is whisking the filling ingredients by hand. You need to whisk the ingredients very quickly to properly incorporate the egg whites. If you don’t whisk it by hand, you’ll have white chunks on top and in the filling.
• If you use organic powdered sugar as a garnish, sift it overtop. Do this just before serving.
• Chill for at least 3 hours before serving to let the lemon filling set.

Storage

STORE: To store lemon bars, place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 7 days. To stack the the bars, place a piece of parchment paper in between the layers to prevent sticking.

FREEZE: These bars freeze well and taste great when thawed! To freeze, let them cool completely, then wrap either the entire batch or individual bars tightly in food storage wrap or parchment paper. Place the wrapped bars in an airtight container or sealable storage bag. You can store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. To eat, just let the bars thaw overnight in the fridge.

More Healthy Desserts

• Paleo Blueberry Lemon Scones
• Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake
• Fudgy Paleo Brownies
• Fluffy Paleo Cinnamon Rolls
• Healthy Mug Cake