Healthy Honey Lemon Bars - A delicious oatmeal crust topped with a creamy, honey-sweetened filling! If you're a lemon lover, then these are for you!
So, if these look familiar, it's because they are!
I've had this recipe on the blog for some number of years, but I felt like I wanted to perfect it a bit.
This is the new and improved version! The filling is very similar to the original, but the base is a bit different.
The initial inspiration for creating a lemon bar was my mom and Ina Garten, who has a very popular lemon bar recipe. I truly like Ina and watching her show on Food Network.
However, while many of her entrees and sides are relatively healthy, her desserts tend to be heavy in both butter and sugar.
Her lemon bar recipe, for instance, called for three cups of sugar!
I was quite interested to read the comments to see if anyone found the treats too sweet. I was not surprised to see some people writing just that, but some commenters described them as not sweet enough!
What do these lemon bars taste like?
- The creamy filling dominates!
- These have a light lemon flavor (not tart).
- The filling is creamy and modestly sweet. Read: This is NOT Ina Garten's recipe!
I love how 'clean' this recipe is (it seems anything with a citrus flavor is fresh and clean), and my husband loves that he gets almost five grams of protein per bar!
For those of you allergic to eggs, my Thick Raw Lemon Bars may be more your speed.
They're a delicious, no-bake alternative!
Recipe notes
To make oat flour, I just grind whole, rolled oats in a Nutribullet. A food processor will work as well.
Healthy Honey Lemon Bars
Ingredients
CRUST BASE:
- ¾ cup oat flour
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- 2 ½ Tbsp melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 ½ Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 large egg white (save yolk for filling)
LEMON FILLING:
- 4 large eggs, plus the yolk from the crust
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 5 Tbsp honey
- dash sea salt
- ⅓ cup oat flour
- ⅛ tsp powdered stevia
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
BASE:
- Whisk together the flour and salt.
- Stir the oil, maple syrup, and egg white.
- Mix until smooth and well combined.
- In a WELL-OILED 8 x 8 baking dish, spread the dough into the bottom of the dish. You'll need a spatula for this step.
- Bake the base for 10 minutes.
- Cool while you make the filling.
FILLING:
- Beat the eggs and yolk until a bit frothy.
- Add the remaining ingredients and beat for another minute.
- Pour the mixture atop the baked crust.
- Bake for 12-16 minutes (edges should be a light golden color).
- Cool completely, cut, and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!
This recipe was updated in May 2021.
Lori Jean Finnila
I love these. Could I use almond flour where I'm trying to cut down on carbohydrates?
Lauren
What you might do is look up an almond flour crust and sub it for mine? I'm not sure about the filling though, as I haven't tried that.
Karen
I can’t use honey nor maple syrup . What would be good substitutes and the amounts
Debbie Hyde
Could you please repost your original lemon bar recipe? It's been a while since I made them, but it was a family favorite, just as it was. I don't think there was an egg in the crust, but I can't remember if that was the only difference.
Thanks!
Lauren
Hi Debbie,
The original crust was: 3/4 cup oat flour, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and 3-5 Tbsp cold water. Also, leave out the extra yolk in the filling. Hope that helps!
Angie
Made these just now. Here are some things I learned that might save you some time and stress:
- Following the recipe as exact will lead you to: disaster
- The crust is NOT enough for an 8 x 8 pan, so I added an extra 1/2 cup of oat flour, plus about 2 tbsp of olive oil, a tbsp of honey, water, and an EGG YOKE (do this!) Baked it for 13 minutes at 350F
- For the filling, I added 7 tbsp of lemon juice instead of 5
- Baked it at 17 minutes and let it cool but then the other side (away from the heat) was spurting liquid as it was cooling?? I baked it for another 10 minutes and it seems fine
- I suggest refrigerating it for an hour or two to let it set
- Overall, the filling is nice, I don’t have much to say about the crust
Sue
These were great! I was looking for a way to use extra lemons and I have honey from my own hives. Found your recipe and it is yummy! I used an egg in the crust and then added enough water to equal I/4 cup. I generally put an egg in any gluten free crust to help it hold together. The bar has the texture of corn bread with that wonderful lemon custard in the middle. I didn't have any Stevia, so put in 2tablespoons of sugar instead. Thought the sweetness was perfect! This recipe is a keeper!
yeah
yeah so these weren’t good at all, i followed the instructions exactly but the flavor is horrible and the oat flour just rose to the top. the oatmeal crust was too bland and wasn’t crunchy enough (for me at least) i wouldn’t recommend this.
Tracy
I just made these ! Thank you for another Delicious recipe !
Lauren
Yay, so glad you liked them, Tracy!
Yol
I have never made a dessert of this type. Thank you for this recipe. My elderly parents and I enjoyed the lemon bars.
What would be the measurements for a 9x9 pan.
Thank you again and look forward to trying your other recipes.
Claire
Just made these and everyone loved them! Not overly sweet and the perfect lemon flavor! I used coconut sugar instead of stevia. Turned out sooo yummy!!! 🙂
-Claire: Secretly Healthy Home
Maria
These looks great! I love lemon bars and have been looking for a gluten free dairy free option. Question, for the 1 and 1/4 cup oat flour, can I measure out that amount of rolled oats and then grind them into flour? Also, any chance maple syrup can be used instead of honey? Thanks!
Lauren
Hi there,
The maple should work, though I haven't tried it. For the oat flour, you can grind oats first, but it may take a bit more than 1 1/4 cup to make the needed amount of flour here.
Lorena
Hi,
I made this recipe and absolutely LOVED the flavour. The only thing is that the crust was too crumbly and didn’t stay on the bars. Do you have any advice about why this might have been? Or any other flour suggestion? Almond? Coconut flour? I wonder if I ground my oats very fine or if my crust needed longer baking time? Thanks a lot in advance 😉
Lorena
Hi,
I made this recipe and baolutely LOVED the flavour. The only thing is that the crust was too crumbly and didn’t stay on the bars. Do you have any advice about why this might be? Or any other flour suggestion? Almond? Coconut flour? I wonder if I ground my oats very fine. Thanks a lot in advance 😉
Lauren
Hi Lorena,
It will be a bit crumbly, given that there is neither gluten nor eggs to bind it, but it shouldn't fall completely apart. I would suggest a bit longer bake time, and then let the base cool to room temperature before topping.
Noelle
Yum yum yum! I can't tell you how happy I am with how these turned out. I'm always hesitant about "cleaning up" certain recipes that rely on a lot of sugar or butter (usually I just skip the traditional recipe altogether and miss out on all those yummy treats!). This was such a pleasant surprise. The crust is soft and flavorful, but hardy enough to hold up to all that creamy, tangy, sweet filling. I added a squirter of agave in place of the Stevia too and it worked perfectly 🙂 Thank you!
Lauren
That's great Noelle, thanks for your comment!
Joyce Estillore
Hello,
Was yyour rrecipe of T. Equivalent to a teaspoon or tablespoon?
I looked it up and T. Is interchangeable with tea and tablespoon.
Also, have you used agave nectar instead of honey? I did not have enough honey so I used agave nectar instead. I hope they don't come out Soggy.
Lauren
Hi Joyce,
T is for tablespoon, and I've not tried these with agave, so I don't know, sorry! 🙂
Megan
Just made these, and they are good! I put a little zest in the base, and used coconut oil (also, I used around 2T raw sugar instead of stevia). The taste is really nice, I'll definitely make these again!
Lauren
Thanks Megan, glad you liked them!
Nicky
Made with almond flour instead of oats. Misread t for tablespoon. Taste was amazing! But base is soggy because of too much lemon juice! . Will def do again with correct quantities!
NAN
I am allergic to sugar and miss desserts with lemon flavoring. I can't wait to give your recipe a try. Can I use old-fashioned oatmeal for the oats? What can I use instead of coconut sugar (I have honey & maple syrup that I can use
Lauren
Yes, the old-fashioned oats will be fine, that's actually the same thing I believe. 🙂 Honey or maple syrup should work well also, though I haven't tried it that way myself. Hope you like these!
Rachel
We are pretty healthy eaters and don't use much sugar. Still, these tasted like 'health food bars'. Big thumbs down from my family. If you add 'something' more that's sweet to them I think they would have a fighting chance. Will try some added maple syrup or honey next time.
Ellie
So this recipe looks amazing and I can't wait to try it out, there aren't a lot of really tasty desserts available for us poor gluten free souls. I was just wondering if gluten free flour would work just as well is ground oats?
Thanks xx
Lauren
Hi Ellie,
I haven't tried it any other way, so I can't say for sure, but my gut is that it would work!
Kayla Kalchbrenner
I want to make these TONIGHT buuut..... all I have is organic honey....not raw honey. Will the recipe still work?
.
Lauren
Yes, that should work fine! 🙂
Michele
Hi!
First of all...these look amazing and I can't wait to make them. I was just wondering, what are your thoughts on using just egg whites? Also, how do you go about making the oats into flour?
Thank you in advance!! -m
Lauren
Thanks Michele! I'm not sure on just using the whites, as that would cut down on fat and ultimately flavor. To make the oats into flour, I just grind them in a coffee grinder until they are fine, but I bet a food processor would work as well. 🙂
Christianne
Thanks for the quick reply!! I am going to try these this weekend and will let you know how they turn out.
Christianne
I'm so excited to try your recipe! I recently started cutting out most refined sugar and this recipe looks so yummy without using a lot of weird ingredients 🙂 I do have a question. I'm not worried about gluten and I was wondering if you know if I can substitute all purpose or whole wheat flour instead of the oats? Or even use whole oats instead of making into a flour? Just curious 🙂 thanks!
Lauren
Hi Christianne,
I would think WW or AP flour would work here, but I'm less convinced of using whole oats, as that might make the crust too crumbly. 🙂
Laura
I made the thick raw lemon bars too and they were also super good. These are my fave though ::-))
Laura
I've made these twice now. Once I only had three eggs and forgot to ground the oats for filling before adding the rest of the ingredients. Turned out delicious. The other I used a little less honey and coconut sugar and used coconut oil and they were outrageous. This is adaptable and so friggin good. Can't stop eating 'em. Thank you so much. Satisfied my sweet tooth and guilt free. Winning!!
Love all your recipes.
Melissa Barto
WOW! Lauren, you did a fantastic job on this recipe. A lot of the other ones I looked at involved way too many ingredients that I don't normally use. I just blogged about your site & this recipe too!!
Lauren
Thanks so much Melissa! 🙂
Tui
How do you store these?
Lauren
In an air-tight container, in the fridge. 🙂
Tonya Wasielewski
I grew my own stevia and dehydrated it for the first time this year. The "storage and processing" directions I have read tell me to store it in whole leaf dehydrated form then grind it fine before use. Would this fine grinding be the same as your powdered form? Thanks.
Lauren
Hi Tonya,
I can't say for sure, but my guess is that the amount you'd have to use would be greater. Sorry I can't be of more help!
Ailsa
I made a batch of these last night and they came out great. We've already eaten half the pan. Thanks so much for the recipe. I didn't have stevia so I added an extra T of honey as suggested and it was perfect. I love how these bars are not very sweet and are so filling.
Lauren
That's great, Alisa! We just made a batch of these the other night as well, and I couldn't get my husband to stop eating them! So glad you enjoyed them too! 🙂
Abbie
Thank you for such a quick reply! I've just made this and it is perfection! A great recipe! Well done xxx
Abbie
Is t. One tablespoon or teaspoon and how big is one cup? Haha I only usually work in grams
Lauren
Hi Abbie,
t is teaspoon, and one cup of a dry mixture is equal to about 128 grams (according to an online source). I don't work with grams though, so I can't be sure!
Judy
Don't know if this always happens, but my crust came up to the top when lemon filling baked. I had already put on the powdered sugar before I noticed...so we ate upside-down GF honey lemon bars! 😉 So creamy, so tasty (didn't even tell my friends they were GF)...upside-down, right-side up, side ways, no matter how you eat them...delish!
Lauren
HI Judy,
I'm not sure what happened...did you pre-bake the crust? In any case, I'm happy you ultimately enjoyed them! 🙂
Cristal
I've made these twice and my whole family loves them! I used orange almond coconut oil in the crust. I will also use this crust when making other desserts, such great flavor and texture! The texture of the lemon filling was perfectly sweet And perfectly creamy. Added bonus..they freeze well! Seriously a great treat when you're craving something cold and sweet. Thanks for sharing:)
Lauren
That's great Cristal, thanks for letting me know! You've made me want to go make a batch. 🙂
Bethany
Good to know! I'll remember that next time. I also realized that I used "extra thick rolled oats," which probably made a difference. I shared them with my sister and she LOVED them and ate up the whole batch! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Bethany
Just made these! Super yummy! I love that you can really taste the lemon and honey. I'd call these more of a "honey lemon oat bar" recipe, though, because there's a definite oatmeal taste and texture. But maybe I just didn't grind the oats up finely enough. I personally like oatmeal, but the texture is definitely different from regular lemon bars, at least in my batch. I also added powdered sugar to the top of mine for a little extra sweetness. Still a tasty recipe and much healthier than the regular version. 🙂
Lauren
Hi Bethany,
The oats should be really fine, like flour. I'm happy you enjoyed them! This is one of my favorite recipes on the blog. 🙂
Audrey
Hi Lauren!
I tried your recipe today and my filling turned out to be really egg-y and not creamy at all! Any suggestions as to how to improve upon it? Love your website and recipes btw, bookmarked so many recipes to try out! Thank you!
Lauren
Hi Audrey,
I'm sorry they didn't turn out for you! They are going to be different than the average lemon bar, because you don't have the excessive sugar content, but mine still turned out pretty creamy. This may be ridiculous, but did you let them cool? Also, make sure the ingredients for the filling are well-mixed. Did yours look like the pictures?
Melissa
Got some of these in the oven right now. I added some coconut to the base. Can't wait for them cool so I can dig in. Thanks for the feat recipe.
Lauren
Awesome Melissa, I hope you are enjoying them! 🙂
k. harringtob
Am not trying to be rude... but these are not dairy free. Eggs are in the dairy category. My allergist confirmed this when my son almost died eating them. Dairy includes egg egg is dairy
Lauren
The definition of dairy is 'food produced from the milk of mammals', so I respectfully disagree with your comment.
Robin Ay
I’m not trying to be rude.., but stop finger pointing. Eggs are poultry not dairy. If an allergist told you otherwise, find another allergist. Or, just try google. https://www.delish.com/food-news/a21605943/are-eggs-dairy/
I’m excited to make this tomorrow to have chilled for Mother’s Day. Lemon is mom’s favorite!
Christine
wow wow thank you so much! just made this and it is DELICIOUS! I made into a circular tart rather than cutting them out as bars! so yum 🙂
Lauren
That's so great Christine, thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Laura O | Petite Allergy Treats
Hi Lauren,
Sounds like we have the same style with blogging recipe development. I think I still have about 20 post I need to finish or redo. 🙂
Love the lemon bars!
Laura O| Petite Allergy Treats
[email protected]
These look like a nice refreshing snack for spring! Love that they're a vegan friendly option as well. Thanks for the share!
Melissa @ Nourish By Melissa
These look great! I have all the ingredients yay! 🙂
Jessica
My mom brought me lots of lemons yesterday. I'm looking for lemon bars recipe and so far this is one of the best recipes I found.
Isadora
I love Ina too, but I agree with you, she is always using a ton of sugar and butter in her recipes. I've been craving lemon bars for a while now and your dairy free, gluten free version looks really good!
Emma
Yum YUM! I always get an immense feeling of satisfaction when I can give treats a "clean makeover". These gems look divine, I am pinning them for later 🙂
amber
Hey Girl,
Too funny. My son had lemon bars at his school (the kind filled with junk) so as usual, I made him his own healthy version! Lemon bars on the mind baby. I will share mine when I return. Yipes, so many recipes building up.
Your recipe looks incredible, Lauren, as usual!!
I think you should write a cookbook!!!! Pleeeease! You're recipes are always so amazing...and easy!
Hugs,
--Amber
Lauren
How about you and I write one together? 😉 'The Food Allergy Duo'!
Erica {Coffee & Quinoa}
These look unnnnbelievable, and I'm not even a lemon bar person! And I'm quite glad they have a few tablespoons of honey rather than 3 cups of sugar 🙂 Not sure whether I should make these or the raw lemon bars first! Yummm.
Lauren
Thank you so much Erica! I love raw desserts as well (as you can tell). 😀
Mike @TheIronYou
I truly, deeply love Lemon Bars, it's one of those guilty pleasures I'll never renounce to; no matter the sugar and butter content.
There's actually a bakery in NYC called Two Little Red Hens that makes, hands down, the best lemon bars in the world. But they are sweet and buttery, and I feel super guilty every time I eat one.
So this recipe you've created is groundbreaking; I can finally have Lemon bars everyday, I mean, HELLO! 😉
Lauren
Lololol, ahhhh bless you sweet Mike. 😀
Mary Frances
Lauren, these look amazing! I LOVE lemon; it is so bright and refreshing! And I want the filling to "dominate" like you said. Pinning these! Huh, that is really interesting (about the sugar) I think it is very easy to reduce the amount of sugar in recipes without people noticing. It is too bad so much of our country thrives (or thinks they thrive) on it!
Karen @ Kama Fitness
WOW that other recipe used 3 cups of sugar...obviously NOT needed because look how clean your recipe is! These bars look delish & I also love the 4 grams of protein! A girl can never have enough protein !!
Sharon
These look amazing Lauren! Nothing says spring is coming like lemons!
I'm with you on the less sweet front. When I was a kid I would have cups of tea with my grandmother and would never have sugar in my tea. She would say I was sweet enough. 😉 I loved that.
Have a great week!
Kath
This recipe sounds lovely and I will certainly try it this week but can I skip stevia?
Lauren
Hi Kath,
You can definitely leave out the stevia, but the bars may be a bit more tart. Perhaps add in another tablespoon of honey to compensate?
Kath
Thank you for replying 🙂 I'll try with some more honey then.