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My Grandma made these Jello Lemon Bars and they were so good, I just had to make them again! If you love lemon, you are going to LOVE these!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make Jello Lemon Bars, you will need the following ingredients:
Bars
- Yellow cake mix
- Lemon jello
- Eggs
- Water
- Vegetable oil
Icing
- Powdered sugar
- Lemon, juiced
- Butter, melted
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to make Jello Lemon Bars
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Mix together the cake mix, jello mix, eggs, water and oil. Beat on medium speed until well blended.
- Spray a 9 × 13 inch glass pan with non-stick spray and pour your batter into pan
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- As soon as you remove it from the oven, poke holes all over the cake with the end of a wooden spoon.
- Prepare the icing while the cake is cooking so you can pour the icing over the cake while it is still warm out of the oven.
Storage Suggestions
If you manage to have any leftover Bars + Brownies, these can store well if prepped appropriately. Once they have cooled completely, here is how you can store it:
- Counter: Store bars and brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. If your kitchen is particularly warm, consider refrigerating instead to prevent them from getting too soft or melty.
- Refrigerator: Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Let them come to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
- Freezer: To freeze, make sure bars and brownies are completely cooled and unfrosted. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap (or Press & Seal) and then place in a freezer-safe bag or container. For easier portioning, wrap individual squares before freezing. Don’t forget to label with the date. They’ll stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Enjoy More Delicious Citrus Bars Recipes
There’s nothing better than an easy brownie or bar recipe. Check out our comprehensive list of brownies, bars, and blondies here.
Jello Lemon Bars Recipe
If you are a lemon fan, then you will LOVE these Jello Lemon Cake Bars. They are so easy to make and taste delicious!
Serving Servings
Ingredients
- 18.25 ounces yellow cake mix
- 3 ounce lemon jello*
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
Icing
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 lemon, juiced
- 2 Tablespoon butter, melted
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Mix together the cake mix, jello mix, eggs, water and oil. Beat on medium speed until well blended.
- Spray a 9 × 13 inch glass pan with non-stick spray and pour your batter into pan
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- As soon as you remove it from the oven, poke holes all over the cake with the end of a wooden spoon.
- Prepare the icing while the cake is cooking so you can pour the icing over the cake while it is still warm out of the oven.
Icing
- Mix together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and melted butter.
- Pour the frosting over the cake while it is still warm from the oven. That way the frosting will seep into the cake.
- You can serve it warm or cold.
Notes
Make sure you use lemon jello mix, not premade jello.
Nutrition
Calories: 212 kcal · Carbohydrates: 23 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 14 g · Saturated Fat: 10 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 48 mg · Sodium: 58 mg · Potassium: 37 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 21 g · Vitamin A: 113 IU · Vitamin C: 8 mg · Calcium: 11 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Nothing beats grandma’s cooking. These lemon bars are looking so delicious!
We love Indiana! My husband is doing a residency here as well.
Welcome to Indiana! I hope you like it here where are you moving to?
Welcome to the Hoosier State!
We are moving to Muncie in June!
Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you love it! We are so excited!!!
My family lives in Muncie. I am assuming your husband will be at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. My husband is a volunteer there two days a week and we know several people associated with the hospital. I will be happy to help you with anything you need before or when you come to Muncie. We have lived here all of our married lives which is coming up on 46 years. Feel free to contact me if you need something.
Do you know about how much lemon juice that is? I don’t always have lemons around but I do have Real Lemon.
From a regular sized lemon you should be able to get about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Thank you so much June! We are so excited to move there! IU Ball Memorial was our first choice – the main reason being the people my husband met out there! I will be sure to contact you if I have any questions! Thanks again!
I just made these, following the directions to the letter. I have a very moist lemon sponge cake, not bars. The taste is very good, though.
I mistakenly used lemon cake mix instead of yellow cake mix and I have to say that my guests were in awe over how great this was!! If you really love lemon, go for the lemon cake mix over the yellow.
I just made these OMGoodness! So moist and yummy.
However I too got a lemony sponge cake. What happened?
Just made this for dessert tonight. Took a little taste test I think everyone will be very pleased. Thanks for the share 🙂
I have tried this recipe twice in a glass 9×13 cake pan. It never rises as much in the center as it does the sides. Any ideas of what I am doing wrong?? It still tastes very yummy, just doesn’t look like the picture.
So simple and easy to make. My bars came out great and super moist too.
hi, this looks yummy!! can u use sugar free jello? thanks
We have not made these jello lemon bars with sugar free jello, so we are not sure if that would work the same as regular jello.
Thanks. I made the bars this morning and it looks nothing like yrs. will upload photo to yr site later
I had the same thing happen. I wonder if we should use a Jiffy mix yellow cake. But would think they would say. Did taste good though just not dense like bars should be.
I have been making this recipe for 45 years using lemon cake mix. It’s a family favorite birthday cake. The cake sinks in the middle creating the most scrumptious lemony gooey pieces. If you leave the pan in the oven another 2 minutes the center doesn’t sink in the middle. Also I use a fork to poke holes in the top of the cake so that the glaze is more evenly distributed. But mine never came out looking like the bars pictured above but more of a cake appearance and texture.
FYI: try mixing it up a little, orange cake mix with orange jello, strawberry cake mix with strawberry jello, even tried the blueberry cake mix and berry jello. For the glaze I still use the powdered sugar and water leaving out the lemon juice subsituting with fruit juice/orange juice,
I live in Australia, and would love to try this recipe – but how much does a package of American cake mix weigh? Australian ones are 340g (about 12 ounces). Thanks.
Thank you so much for this super simple and delicious recipe! My husband hates cake but LOVES lemon bars so I decided to surprise him and try this out for his birthday. He’s very picky and loves his bars extra tart so I added an extra lemon, he absolutely loved it. This will definitely be his “birthday cake” from now on 🙂
Most cake mixes in the US are around 15 to 16 ounces.
Thanks for that. I’ll adjust…
Great!!! Made these today for my husband and I couldn’t resist taste testing as soon as I poured the icing. So moist the cake melts in your mouth. Really, really hard not to go back again & again!!!!
Could you substitute lemon extract for lemon juice?
Lemon extract is a lot stronger than lemon juice. Lemon juice works the best in this recipe.
Want to make this, r u using lemon pudding mix or lemon gelatine or lemon jell-o please help
Lemon jello, which is also lemon gelatin dessert.
I made this and like everyone else, got a fluffy, thick, moist cake. I’m wondering if it should be 4 egg yolks and not whole eggs as the whites would add to the fluffiness and the yolks would tend to make it dense. Either way, it’s delicious!
Usually when the center “falls” it is too moist. Based on others comments I’d wonder about using less oil or eggs.
I wonder how this would turn out now, since all of the cake mixes have been drastically reduced in volume. Please advise.
Been making this cake for twenty years or more and always use instant lemon pudding mix. When cake comes out of oven, don’t turn oven off; after poking holes over cake and pouring glaze on, return to oven for two or three minutes to set glaze.
I’ve made this twice now. Best lemon cake EVER! So easy. Too easy to be so delicious! Will be my go recipe forever more when I want something lemony! Thanks for sharing
I’m printing this out as I type! This sounds delicious ?. I’m diabetic so I’d use a sugar free cake mix, sugar free jello, and Splenda for the icing. I adapt recipes all the time and will be launching a website soon. I’ll be sure to credit you with a link when I post this.
what is the best way to store the lemon bars? I need to make them a day ahead.
You can make these a day ahead. Just store them in an airtight container or a covered container in the fridge.
I have a dear friend who cannot eat sugar but not diabetic. We play cards every couple of weeks and have dinner and dessert. I have a hard time fixing good desserts and would love to have access to your website. I don’t get emails on my phone; only on my computer.
I got the fluffy yellow cake with delicious light lemony icing. Not a sense bar. Still loves this as a quick easy dessert. 🍋 ❤️ 😊
Couldn’t you use a jelly roll sheet pan to get bars? Bake with less time
Checking out some of you WW jello salads \. Thank you Sally
Can these lemon bars be frozen
This recipe was very good. However, I was looking for a lemon bar recipe and this is definitely a cake.
We have all kinds of lemon bar recipes. For the more traditional lemon bar – this is probably what you are looking for https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/lemon-bars/
The current Betty Crocker cake mix is 13.25 ounces. Will this recipe still work?
This recipe really helped me in a pinch! For Easter I had to make a sugar free dessert for diabetic family members and I used this recipe substituting for sugar free jello & pilsbury cake mix. (I used lime instead of lemon and added coconut flakes to the top) I recommend adding HOT water to the jello first and miking until its fully desolved. Then add eggs and oil & again mix thoroughly. This should help with the texture. My 1st try i mixed everything at once and while the jello added flavor I noticed small clumps throughout the cakey texture. Allowing the jello to fully dissolve first garuntees it will be even distributed and properly bind with the dry ingredients. Love this recipe & the options are endless!
Oh no! Shrinkflation strikes again! We’ve heard from other people that other brands may still have the 15.25 ounce size, or you can buy a second mix (not the best option, I know) and add in a few tablespoons to make it the same weight. Sorry we don’t have a better answer!