Cream Cheese Lemon Bars
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Cream Cheese Lemon Bars are the dessert you never knew you needed, but bake them once, and you’ll never go without them again. Sweet, cream cheesy, lemony, buttery, and so easy!
For more quick desserts, try my recipes for Apple Slab Pie, Easy Lemon Tart, Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Bars, and Cream Cheese Lemon Crumb Cake.
Confession: I’m a lemon dessert lover, Snow-Capped Lemon Cookies, Lemon Bundt Cake, you name it. And a cream cheese lover. (If you’re a cream cheese lover like me, try my Perfect No Bake Cheesecake.) So it only makes sense that I put these two flavors together into one easy dessert, right?
Spring has sprung and with it my mindset has changed somewhat in terms of what flavors and foods I’m in the mood for. Even if the days are somewhat chilly and it’s not quite yet time to start the garden, I’m still thinking about cookouts, picnics, potlucks, and those days when friends stop over for a bit and end up staying through dinner. Those are the best days right?
These classic lemon bars are perfect for those days…well, for any day really! But, if you’re looking for a delicious dessert that isn’t too heavy and uses a lot of pantry and fridge staples, then this is it my friends!
Ingredients:
- Flour
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Powdered sugar
Here’s How You Make It
Did I mention these lemon bars are so easy to make?
- First thing you need to do is preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x13-inch pan with foil or parchment paper. Leave plenty of overhang around the edges so that you can lift the bars out of the pan before cutting.
- In a blender or a food processor combine the flour, sugar salt, and butter cubes to make the crust. Cover and pulse to combine the dough into fine crumbs. You can do this with a pastry cutter, fork, or fingers in a large bowl if you prefer.
- Press the crust into your prepared pan and put it in the oven for 10 minutes. While it cooks, turn your attention to the filling.
- To make the filling, combine the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Cream together until it’s smooth. Then, mix in the flour, powdered sugar, lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla until they are all incorporated into the cream cheese and sugar mixture.
- When the crust is done, spread the cream cheese filling over the crust and put it back into the oven for 30 minutes.
- Let the lemon cream cheese bars cool for about 20 minutes, then cover them and put them in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight to chill. When you’re ready to dive in, lift the foil edges up out of the pan to remove the dessert. Slice into squares, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you aren’t going to eat all these cream cheese lemon bars right away and you have some leftover (which would be shocking to me that anyone would have leftovers), then you should store them in the fridge. Just put them in a covered container if you’ve already sliced them into squares.
Or, if you know you’ll only be eating a few, you could put the rest back into the pan you cooked them in and cover it with foil and put in the fridge for later.
You can easily freeze cream cheese so long as it’s made with full-fat cream cheese. What I like to do is either freeze the whole thing by wrapping the cream cheese lemon bars — pan and all — in plastic wrap then add foil to the top of that to make sure the bars don’t get freezer burn. You can keep them in the freezer for about a month.
Or, you can freeze individual slices of the lemon bars with a shortbread crust. Cut them as instructed, then put the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Put the tray into the freezer to freeze the lemon bars individually. This will take about 6 hours or overnight. When they are frozen, you can take them off the tray and wrap them individually in plastic wrap then put them all in an airtight, freezer-safe container. This way, you can take one out at a time and not eat them all at once.
To thaw, put the pan in the fridge overnight and then cut them as directed. Eat within two days (keeping them in the fridge in between). Once they’re thawed, do not refreeze them.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
- Strawberry Cobbler (the easiest and BEST you’ll ever make – THAT CRUST)
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Lemon Bundt Cake from Scratch
- Cream Cheese Lemon Crumb Cake (that filling. that CRUMB topping. that glaze.)
- Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting (crowd pleaser!)
- Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Super Soft Peanut Butter Cookies (reader favorite!)
Did you make these cream cheese lemon bars? I’d be thrilled if you would give it a rating below!
Cream Cheese Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
For the Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- ¾ cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar, plus more for topping
- 6 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×13 inch pan with foil or parchment with plenty of overhang around the edges to lift the bars out of the pan before cutting.
- Prepare the crust by combining flour, sugars, salt, and butter cubes in a food processor or blender. Cover and pulse until fine crumbs form. (You can also do this with a pastry cutter, fork, or with your fingers in a large bowl.)
- Press crust into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
- Prepare the filling by combining cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Cream together until smooth. Mix in flour, powdered sugar, lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla until completely incorporated.
- Pour filling over crust and return to oven for 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool for about 20 minutes, then cover and transfer chill in the fridge 4 hours or overnight. Lift the foil edges to remove the bars from the pan, slice into squares, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I havent made this yet but im making it this weekend. I have a question: can I use cane sugar instead of granulated sugar?
This recipe hasn’t been tested with cane sugar but I think it should be fine! and deliver a tasty result, with mild differences. Substitute 1:1 of cane sugar for the granulated sugar. Just watch that the sugar fully dissolves in both crust and filling. You may need to bake or chill longer to help it set as well.
I’m wondering if I can make these in a different pan…either 8×8 or 11×7. Any idea how I would adjust the cooking time for either of these sizes? Hoping to make these today, but we just made a Mexican chicken thing in the only 9×13 pan I have, hence the need to substitute. Thanks!
Yes, you can use a different sized pan! If you use an 8×8 you will have thicker bars or you will need to half the recipe. If you don’t half the recipe, you will need to lower the oven temperature to about 325 to help cook the center of the bars without burning the edges. You will also need to increase the bake time to about 30-45 minutes. A 11×7 pan is a better substitute if you want to make the full recipe instead of halving it. The bars will still be a bit thicker but not as much as the 8×8 pan of course. Keep the oven at the same temperature but bake for 25-35 minutes. 🙂
Hi there ! I have made these lemon bars several times now and they are the absolute best. My only question , and all except for one time I have made them , the bars are really gooey and have a pudding like consistency in the middle even though I follow the recipe exactly . I even bake them a little longer too in hopes to get them a little more firm but no such luck. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong ? I feel like they should definitely be more firm on the inside 🤔 . They still taste absolutely amazing though !
I’m sorry you’ve had this problem. I’m glad you enjoy these despite having that issue, though! Do they not solidify as they cool and chill? There are a few things that could possibly help if they don’t. First, even though you said you put them bake in the oven, I would suggest to keep baking them for 5 minute increments until the center is only slightly wobbly. Ovens can vary and you may just need to bake for longer. If the edges start to brown you can tent the bars with foil while they continue to bake. As mentioned before, chilling them for 4 hours or overnight as stated in the recipe really helps them set. You can also make sure the cream cheese is fully softened before mixing. Also make sure the filling is smooth before you pour it onto the crust. This also goes with the flour, you don’t want any lumps due to under mixing. Another thing you can make sure is that you’re measuring everything correctly especially the eggs and flour. Lastly, making sure you’re using a 9×13 pan. If you’re using a different size pan, the bars won’t set the same. Hopefully this helps!
These were fantastic!! I brought to a friends party and never had so many requests for the recipe! These were so much creamier than a traditional lemon bar recipe, very well balanced flavor! I ended up having to cook for ~15 mins extra but worth the wait. I made these GF with Bob’s Red Mill baking flour and it turned out great, no one would have even thought they were GF. Will absolutely be making these again!
These are Awesome! Easy to make and refrigerated leftovers are even better!
Where are the measurements?
The measurements to every recipe are in a recipe card at the bottom of each post.
The family loved them! These are creamy and tart and sweet and the crust even gets a little crisp so there’s such good texture. I did half butter and half coconut oil in the crust because that’s what I had and it turned out great!
Do these bars freeze well? Thanks
Yes, you can freeze them or keep them in the fridge. I have a section for both topics in this post. In the fridge, they will last about a week or so.