Healthy Lemon Bars

Lemon bars cut in squares and served on a white rectangular platter.

4.39 from 158 votes

Healthy lemon bars have a shortbread crust and a silky smooth slightly sweet, slightly tart creamy lemon filling on top.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1 10

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup white whole wheat flour
⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted (or sub coconut oil)
⅓ cup maple syrup

For the lemon filling:

3 large eggs
½ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
⅓ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice, from 2-3 lemons
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
½ teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt

For the topping:

¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil and spray will nonstick spray.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, butter and maple syrup. Stir until well combined.
Scoop the dough into the lined pan and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edge of the pan. (It will be a thin layer to just cover the bottom of the pan.)
Bake the crust at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all of the lemon filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until smooth, making sure to break up all of the yogurt lumps.
Pour the filling into the baked, slightly cooled crust and smooth the top.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until set.
Let the lemon bars cool completely then lift the aluminum foil out and place on a flat surface. Use a sharp knife to cut the lemon bars into squares. Use a small mesh strainer to sprinkle the powdered sugar over the bars and enjoy!

Notes

Flour: I use white whole wheat flour to make these whole grain, but you could substitute regular all-purpose flour if you prefer. I believe gluten-free or coconut flour would also work, but I haven’t tested those.

Maple syrup: I have used honey instead of the maple syrup for these, but I prefer the flavor with the pure maple syrup.

Lemon flavor: I think these have the perfect amount of lemon flavor and sweetness. But if you want to increase the lemon flavor, feel freeze to zest one of your lemons before squeezing it and adding the zest to the batter.

Sweetness: You could also increase the maple syrup in the filling from ⅓ cup to ½ cup for some extra sweetness.

Serving: You can cut the lemon squares into 9 large squares from your 8x8 pan, or 12 square/rectangle pieces or 16 smaller squares. Or you can make the super cute tiny squares by cutting 9 large squares from your pan and then cut each large square into four mini squares.

Double: This recipe is made in an 8x8 pan. You could double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan if you need more.

Nutrition

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