Our lemon raspberry bars recipe is perfect for those that say that lemon is their favorite flavor. They will thank you forever for making these delicious lemon squares.
However, these will not be enjoyed only by those that just love lemon, because they have that wonderful raspberry topping with it and a super delicious and thick crust to accompany this amazing lemon dessert. So, do not pass up trying it!
Lemon bars with graham cracker crust are probably my favorite version of a lemon squares recipe. It gives that added little bit of sweet to pair perfectly with the tart lemon flavor.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make Lemon Raspberry Bars, you will need the following ingredients:
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Salted butter
- Sugar
- Lemon
- Egg yolk
- Fat free sweetened condensed milk
- Fresh lemon juice
- Fresh raspberries (frozen can work too, but will need to be thawed)
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How To Make Lemon Raspberry Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray a 8×8″ baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist.
- Press crumbs into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Fold carefully so you don’t break the raspberries.
- Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.
- Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator-up to five days.
Can I Use Other Fruit in this Lemon Raspberry Bar Recipe?
Yes! You do not only have to use raspberries. You can substitute them with blueberries, blackberries, or diced strawberries.
Or, if you aren’t a fan of fruit in your dessert, you can always omit it too!
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:
- 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.
Lemon Raspberry Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 Tablespoons butter (salted), melted
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
Filling
- 2 large eggs, just yolks
- 14 ounces fat free sweetened condensed milk, 1 can
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries, (you could use frozen, just thaw them)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray a 8×8" baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist.
- Press crumbs into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Fold carefully so you don't break the raspberries.
- Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.
- Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator-up to five days.
Notes
- blueberries
- blackberries
- strawberries
- peaches
- plain
Nutrition
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.
perfectly scrumptious!!
YUM! Makes me want to bake up a batch…or two!
Those look yummy! Can’t wait to make them!
Coming over from Whisking Wednesdays. When I saw raspberries in the title, I just had to check it out. I was blessed with a large amount of raspberries last night. This looks like just the thing to do with party of them. Thanks for posting.
These look delicious. WIll try tomorrow. Have everything but graham crackers, and that is easily fixed.
I am back to say that I am listing these in my Friday Finds post this week. I will be making them on Saturday.
Oh boy I can just taste them now! So good!!! Thanks for sharing!
these sound awesome come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
oh yum!!!! great blog!Found you on TT&J.
I would love for you to link this up at my weekend Link Party, Once Upon a Weekend. This weekend is my first-ever party, and I am so hoping people will participate! 🙂
Here?s the link if you?re interested:
http://familyeverafter.blogspot.com/2011/07/once-upon-weekend-link-party-1.html
Also, if you have a list of favorite link parties, I?d love to be included on Fridays. Thanks a ton!
Thank you for sharing your recipes with me at Cast Party Wednesday. I hope you will come back tomorrow and share more of your recipes.
Thanks,
I hope to see you there!
Your recipe looks amazing! We love it so much that we’re featuring it tomorrow at our {What I Made Wednesday} linky party! Thanks for linking up last week!
Briana
Just wanted to thank you for linking up on Whisking Wednesdays and hope you’ll come back and link up another recipe or two this week!
http://pinchofthisthatandtheother.blogspot.com/2011/07/whisking-wednesdays-12.html
One of the best desserts I’ve ever had! They are absolutely delicious and were a huge hit. I doubled the recipe and made them in a 9×13 pan and they turned out great.
Can I use regular sweetened condensed milk (that’s all I have)?
Thanks,
Kim
For sure!!! I was just trying to cut calories and fat. 🙂
I made these for my daughters 10th Birthday Cookie Cake. I liked the taste and texture. Not sure why but they came out prison pink. Not universally popular with the kids to say the least and not a recipe I will repeat as they are soo rich.
I made these for my dad celebration of life ceremony. They were amazing!! I am usually a chocolate fan but I had both on my plate and hands down lemon won for me. I gave a lot of left overs away but I hid those!!! lol thank you so much!!!
These were sooooo delish!! I don’t usually like lemon squares but these are simply awesome!
These look amazing! Can you freeze these?
These will freeze just fine in an airtight container.
These look delicious! If I double the recipe, will it work in a 9 X 13 pan? Would the bake time remain the same or would I bake them longer?
(I am at high altitude)
Thanks!
Hi Kathy. We have only made it in the 8 x 8 inch pan. I’m sure you would be fine in a 9 x 13. Maybe add one minute to the cooking time on the crust. For the lemon raspberry layer it says to cook until set. That might be longer than the 15 minutes that it calls for. Just watch it carefully. Let us know how it goes.
I’m from Canada & the closest size of sweetened condensed milk I can find is 300ml which is 10 oz. Can I supplement the other 4 ounces with extra milk?
I am planning on making these for a get together where someone is dairy intolerant. Would it be possible to use Coconut sweetened condensed milk or would it mess with the recipe consistency too much?
It was really good turned out great and looked pretty too. The crust was alsome, lemony goodness.
These turned out really good and were a huge hit at my office potluck. I only did 1/4 C. of lemon juice and 1/4 C. water so the bars weren’t too tart. Super good and love the thick crust!
If you have replaced the coconut sweetened condensed milk in the past for regular sweetened condensed milk, it will probably be fine. We have not used the coconut flavor before.
You would be safer to purchase 2 cans. Regular milk is very thin compared to sweetened condensed milk.
Do you cook the filling?
You add the filling to the baked crust. And then stick in the oven for 15 minutes or until set. (step 6 in the instructions)
I had to bake with the filling for around 25 minutes instead of 15 because the filling would slide around quite a bit when I tilted it to see if it had set. Is this normal?
(Oops accidentally responded to someone else’s comment!!)
I had to bake with the filling for around 25 minutes instead of 15 because the filling would slide around quite a bit when I tilted it to see if it had set. Is this normal?
These look delicious. The filling didn’t rise much. I stirred filling in a bowl to combine. Should I have beat with a mixer? I also cooked for 25 as they were not set. They are cooling in the fridge.
Sorry, I meant to reply to sixsisters
Did you stir until the mixture starts to thicken? That is important. Sorry they didn’t set after the cooking time. I’m glad you went a little longer with cooking.
Easy recipe! And delicious! However I used oatmeal for my crust instead and cut the sugar down. Good thing since I had to transform my evaporated milk into sweetened milk HOLY SUGAR. I also baked mine for about a 1/2 hour.. they couldn’t chill quickly enough I was tempted to eat them as pudding!! Will definitely make again with fruit variation.
I usually love all the six sisters recipes, but this one missed the mark a bit. The crust to filling ratio wasn’t quite right as I had way to much crust compared to filling. This wasn’t so much a solid bar, but more like a key lime pie consistency. It was good, but I was expecting something different.
This lemon raspberry bars look yummy! May try the recipe. I’m in charge of bringing desserts for Easter and this would be perfect.
I have made these many times and returned to the recipe for Mother’s Day!
Is the calorie count listed above per serving or for the entire recipe?
The calories are per serving