Healthy Paleo Lemon Bars (Gluten Free)
These healthy paleo lemon bars are perfectly sweet & tart with a delicious gluten free crust. An easy, scrumptious party treat or after dinner dessert!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Easy, Healthy, Paleo Lemon Bars Recipe
Lemon lemon and more lemon! This is the best time of the year. The weather is warming up, flowers are blooming, and citrus season is fast approaching! Spring and summer remind me of delicious citrus-centric recipes, and lemons are the perfect fruit to bake with! I love the blend of sweet and tart, and what is better than when the “healthy” version is just as good as the original?! I just can’t get enough lemon desserts, and this gluten free lemon bar recipe is totally hitting the spot!
The best part? These gluten free lemon bars are grain-free, dairy-free, and absolutely scrumptious! With only 10 minutes of prep, your oven does all the work. Set in the fridge for 2 hours, and you have the most delicious after dinner dessert that the whole family will love!
How to Make Gluten Free Lemon Bars
As I said, lemon lemon and more lemon! The combination of lemon juice and lemon zest gives these paleo lemon bars the perfect tart flavor, balanced with the sweetness of the maple syrup in every bite!
Gluten Free Crust
The gluten free crust for these lemon bars is simply a blend of almond flour, coconut flour, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt. Simply combine with a fork and press into your 8×8 pan to create a divine gluten free crust.
Paleo Lemon Bars Filling
This lemon bar filling is made with just a few easy-to-find ingredients. Lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and tapioca flour blend together to make a deliciously gooey filling that will set perfect to create the “lemon bar” shape. Dusted with powdered sugar and served chilled, these refreshing, gluten free bars will satisfy all of your sweet treat cravings!
Keto Lemon Bars Option
These paleo and gluten free lemon bars are actually made with mostly keto-friendly ingredients! With a couple of easy swaps, these become keto lemon bars in a snap!
To make these lemon bars keto:
- Simply swap the maple syrup for keto-friendly maple syrup from brands like Lakanto or Birch Benders.
- Swap the powder sugar dusting for Swerve powdered sugar (zero carbs and zero sugar!).
After making these swaps, these keto lemon bars have just 6 net carbs per bar!
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
Setting: The most important step in getting the gluten free lemon bars to the right consistency is refrigeration! In order to set properly, be sure to place these lemon bars in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Once completely set, they are ready to serve!
Almond Flour vs. Flour: I love using almond flour as a swap for regular flour for a few reasons. It’s low carb, packed full of protein, and gluten free! It’s easy to bake with and is easy to find at local grocery stores.
Serving: You can serve these paleo lemon bars straight from the refrigerator or let them come to room temperature after setting. Both are great!
FAQs
If stored in an airtight container, these lemon bars will last up to a week in the refrigerator!
While lemon bars definitely have an ooey-gooey middle, they shouldn’t be too gooey, as the filling needs to set before getting to the right consistency. If you skip the setting process, they will be much gooier than they should be.
Yes! Store your lemon bars in a freezer-safe, airtight container for up to 6 months! Make sure to separate layers of lemon bars with parchment paper. Defrost overnight in the fridge and serve!
More Gluten Free Bars
Grain Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Paleo Fudge Covered Date Nut Bars
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Healthy Paleo Lemon Bars
Ingredients
crust
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
Lemon filling
- 4 eggs + 1 yolk
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup lemon juice, about 4 lemons
- zest from 1 lemon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- organic powdered sugar, for dusting – optional
Equipment
- 1 8×8 pan metal works better than glass for this recipe!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 8×8 metal pan with cooking oil.
- Combine the crust ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla and salt in a bowl. Mix well using a fork until combined.
- Add the mixture to the pan and press it down into an even layer using your hands. Bake for 16-17 minutes until golden brown.
- While the crust is baking, combine the eggs (+ yolk), maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk very well until combined. You can also use an electric mixer to ensure the egg is well combined. Add the tapioca flour last and continue to mix until combined.
- When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the egg and lemon mixture over top right away. Reduce the oven temp to 325. Bake for an additional 19-20 minutes until the top is mostly set.
- Let the bars cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer the pan to the fridge for at least 2 hours. Slide a knife around the edges of the bars to loosen, then cut into 9 square pieces. Sprinkle with organic powdered sugar, if desired. Serve and enjoy!
22 Comments on “Healthy Paleo Lemon Bars (Gluten Free)”
These lemon bars are so good! They are just like the ones I had growing up. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out great. Everyone in my family loved them. I can’t wait to make them again!
So glad you loved them! Thanks, Julie!
These are AMAZING. Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Thanks Becca!!
Holy Smokes! Just when I think your recipes couldn’t get any better you come to the table with these! Absolutely delicious! Tart lemon flavor and the crust is delectable. Chefs kiss!
Yay! Thank you Christine!
These lemon bars are so delicious and easy to make! I am a lemon lover and especially lemon bars. So thankful for this recipe so I can still enjoy lemon bars with clean ingredients!!
These are SOOO good!! I made them for my small group and not a single gal could tell that I had followed a healthier recipe for a beloved classic. The flavor was perfect and making them was easy! I also love how well they hold up in the fridge for the next few days.
Love how lemony these were! The crust was very tasty, too!
Quick and easy!
These were great!
I had never made Lemon Bars before. I made them for Easter and loved them! Loved the flavor and so easy to make. This recipe is a keeper. I’ll definitely make them again.
Wow! I made these for Easter, and they were absolute perfection. No one would ever guess they’re gluten-free or paleo. They taste like the real deal. So, so yummy. I made the crust dough the day before and stored the uncooked dough in the fridge for a day, and it worked great.
My 5 year old helped me make these and they are AMAZING!! I get my sweet fix without the guilt!
These look delicious! Can I replace the tapioca flour with arrowroot or coconut flour?
Delicious and easy to make.
I took these to work today and received so many wonderful comments on them! They are absolutely delicious and not sickeningly sweet like most lemon bars.
Will definitely make these again!
Used lemons from my tree! This recipe came out delicious! I used butter instead of coconut oil, and it came out perfect! Thanks for a wonderful gluten free recipe!!! We all loved it🍋
Awesome, thanks Nancy!
So good! And I usually don’t like lemon desserts. I’ll definitely be making this again!
My sister gave me a huge bag of lemons from her tree recently and I knew I had to make this when I saw you post the recipe on IG. Such an easy recipe! The texture is great and I love that they’re not too sweet. The only thing I did differently was use melted butter instead of coconut oil. They came out perfect!
Can I leave out the tapioca flour?
These were so good! I did replace the tapioca flour with coconut and it turned out fine.