Sweet and tangy lemon filling with a buttery, gluten-free shortbread crust. These easy and healthy lemon bars are paleo, gluten-free, and can be made keto-friendly as well.

Lemon desserts are the perfect spring flavor. These healthy lemon bars will quickly become a family favorite.

I was never a fan of lemon-flavored anything.

BUT, that has officially changed. So many of you requested this recipe on my Instagram so I decided to give it another chance and boy am I glad that I did!

You guys, these turned out SO DELICIOUS!

A stack of healthy lemon bars that are paleo and gluten free. These sweet and tangy lemon bars are served with powdered sugar.

They’re so refreshing and a nice change from all of the chocolate recipes that I’ve been making (nothing wrong with that… just sayin’!)

I guess you could call these my palate cleanser bars… kinda like how at fancy dinners you get lemon sorbet between courses, I’m just giving you lemon desserts in-between the chocolate ones!

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Why Do I Love These Healthy Lemon Bars?

A piece of gluten free lemon bar that has powdered sugar on top and a bite in the middle. The texture appears to be creamy and soft.

What’s not to love about a healthy, refreshing, gluten-free lemon dessert?

If you’ve been following me lately, you’ve probably noticed that a lot of my recent recipes are freezer-friendly and these beauties are no exception.

Being a new mama, I’m always looking for ways to make meal prep more efficient and to have some of my favorite recipes on hand so I can just grab them when my cravings hit.

Aside from being delicious AND healthy, these gluten-free lemon bars are also super easy to make and can be made keto-friendly too if that’s your thing.

A stack of healthy lemon bars with a paleo and gluten-free buttery crust. There is powdered sugar on top of the lemon bars to serve.

I was able to keep this recipe paleo and gluten-free by using almond, tapioca and coconut flours.

Additionally, these lemon bars are refined sugar free from the use of maple syrup and coconut sugar.

Lastly, if you are looking to make your lemon bars keto-friendly, use a keto-approved liquid sweetener in place of the maple syrup and your favorite low-carb granular sweetener in place of the coconut sugar.

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Ingredients in Gluten-Free Lemon Bars

A pan of healthy lemon bars that are paleo and gluten free. These sweet and tangy lemon bars are served with powdered sugar.

You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make these perfectly creamy healthy lemon bars with a gluten-free, buttery shortbread crust.

Shortbread crust:

  • Almond flour
  • Coconut sugar
  • Coconut oil or ghee
  • Egg
  • Baking soda

Lemon bar filling:

  • Eggs
  • Lemon zest
  • Fresh lemon juice
  • Maple syrup
  • Tapioca flour
  • Coconut flour

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How to Make Healthy Lemon Bars

Step by step instructions on how to make easy and healthy lemon bar recipe.

For this recipe you’re going to start by making the shortbread crust:

First, preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.

Next, in a food processor or high-speed blender, combine the coconut oil or ghee, egg, baking soda, and coconut sugar.

Blend for 20-30 seconds until thoroughly mixed.

Then, add in almond flour and blend until a dough forms. Allow dough to rest for about 5 minutes.

Note: You can also use a whisk or your hand to mix the shortbread dough.

Using your hands or a spatula, place dough in the parchment paper-lined 8×8 baking dish and cover the entire bottom of the pan with the dough evenly spread.

Bake at 350 F for 15 min.

Step by step instructions on how to make easy and healthy lemon bar recipe.

While the shortbread crust is baking, prepare the lemon filling:

First, combine eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, maple syrup, tapioca flour, and coconut flour in a bowl and mix well.

Once the shortbread crust is done, reduce oven temp to 325 F.

Pour lemon filling over shortbread crust and bake in a 325 F oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven, let cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Tip: don’t allow too much time for the crust to cool before adding the lemon filling or you may end up with upside-down lemon bars. By adding the lemon filling while the crust is still warm, the eggs begin to cook and form a seal that prevents the filling from leaking through the crust.

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How to Store Gluten-Free Lemon Bars

A stack of healthy lemon bars with a paleo and gluten-free buttery crust. There is powdered sugar on top of the lemon bars to serve.

Store any leftover lemon bars in the fridge for up to 2 days. In my opinion, they taste even better cold!

Keeping these lemon bars at room temperature overnight may result in a mushy crust so I don’t recommend leaving them out on the counter.

As I briefly mentioned before, we have ourselves another delicious freezer-friendly recipe here!

No need to defrost (but you can if you want to), you can eat these right out of the freezer. It’s almost like a lemon ice cream sandwich…but BETTER!

What’s your favorite lemon square recipe? Leave a comment below!

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I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS

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More Spring Dessert Recipes you May like:

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1. Raw Carrot Cake Truffles 

2. Healthy Blueberry Lemon Muffins

3. Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

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A plate of gluten free lemon bar that has powdered sugar on top and a bite in the middle. The texture appears to be creamy and soft.

Get the recipe:Healthy Lemon Bars

Yield: 9 – 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Sweet and tangy lemon filling on a buttery, gluten-free shortbread crust, these healthy lemon bars are paleo, gluten-free. can be made keto.
5 stars (7 reviews)
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Ingredients

Shortbread crust:

  • 1 1/2 cup Almond flour, packed
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar *
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or ghee, melted and cooled
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

Lemon Bar Filling

  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • Zest from one lemon
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, about 2 large lemons
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup *
  • 1 tbsp tapioca flour
  • 1 tsp coconut flour

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Shortbread Crust
  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
  • In a food processor or blender, combine the coconut oil or ghee, egg, baking soda, and coconut sugar. Blend for 20-30 seconds until thoroughly mixed. (You can also use a whisk or your hand for this step)
  • Add in almond flour and blend until a dough forms. Allow dough to rest in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
  • Using your hands or a spatula, place dough in the parchment paper-lined 8×8 baking dish and cover the entire bottom of the pan with the dough evenly spread.
  • Bake at 350 F for 15 min.

  • Lemon Bar Filling
  • Prepare the lemon filling by combining eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, maple syrup, tapioca flour, and coconut flour in a bowl and mix well.
  • Remove the shortbread crust from the oven once done, then reduce the oven to 325 F.
  • Pour lemon filling over the shortbread crust and bake in a 325 F oven for 18 – 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, let cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar* if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

  1. Add the lemon filling to the shortbread crust while the crust is still warm.
  2. I recommend using an oven thermometer to avoid the lemon filling crack too much due to the higher temperature.
  3. *For Keto-option, use keto-friendly liquid sweetener and granular sugar (some of my favorites listed below)
Serving: 1g, Calories: 218kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 65mg, Sodium: 52mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 14g

The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.

Author: Shuang Shuang Liang
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American