no eggy custard needed in this recipe for easy egg free lemon bars! A tart and sweet lemon filling, and melt in your mouth shortbread crust make this easy springtime recipe a real treat!
Egg free lemon bars make for one of the best springtime recipes! You can feel it in the air, when the temperatures start to warm up moderately, (and then blast you with a cold front for a few days —but we won’t go into that) and then back up again! This recipe has a buttery shortbread crust that is crisp but melts in your mouth. Additionally, the lemon bars are fresh and tart, bursting with puckering citrus flavor.
The weather may be all over the place, but that doesn’t mean your baked goods need to be! Anytime is a good time to eat sweet and zingy lemon bars. Only one slight problem: traditionally, egg is used in custard which is the primary ingredient for this recipe. Lemon bar filling therefore needs an eggless lemon filling. Not a simple task, but I make it my mission to create recipes that can be made without eggs and can be accommodating to many allergies. It is an egg free and nut free recipe website after all.
After some research, analysis, testing and sampling, I feel like this is as close to a lemon custard filling as possible without eggs. I try to keep ingredients as simple and straight forward as possible, meaning, no funky ingredients you would have to go to the store specifically for because it only gets used once in a blue moon. That being said, the only ‘sort-of-funny-ingredient’ in this list would be condensed milk. I know I don’t normally keep it on hand all year long like I would flour and butter, but it is not unreasonable enough that you’d have to go to a specialty store.
Condensed milk is sweet (so sweet) and luxuriously creamy. If you have leftovers you can store it in a sealed container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, and use it to dip your berries in, or drizzle on your desserts. You can also use it in my recipe for no bake Oreo cheesecake dessert cups. Divine.
Back to the easy egg free lemon bars-
—Storage: leave out at room temperature for a day, but refrigerate when you go to bed that evening. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat, and allow about 15-30 minutes for them to come to room temperature before serving again (or just eat them cold.) I would say they keep fresh for 2-3 days, sealed in a container or covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. After that they’re going to pick up ‘fridge’ flavors. If you know what I mean. FYI the USDA says up to 7 days in the fridge, so you do you.
How to achieve egg free lemon bars:
-Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 7×11 Pyrex or 8×8 pan with parchment paper with minimal overhang, then set aside.
First, prepare the shortbread crust:
-In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, powdered sugar and salt well.
-Pour in the melted butter and mix with a spoon. The mixture will be crumbly. Use your hands to mix completely if needed, and then using your hands spread the shortbread crust into prepared baking dish. Flatten it down into an even layer. Bake 15-20 minutes until edges are lightly golden.
Filling:
-While the crust is baking, make the filling.
-In a mixing bowl, combine lemon zest, and lemon juice…
….water, condensed milk and salt. Mix until completely combined.
-Lastly whisk in the cornstarch, until mixed well and no lumps remain.
**Add one drop of yellow food coloring to enhance color- optional step but keep in mind the lack of eggs mean there is less yellow coloring.
-Pour filling on top of baked shortbread crust, and bake in oven for another 12-15 minutes, until set. It will be slightly wobbly still but will continue to firm up as it cools.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into the lemon bars. Sprinkle with a bit of sifted powdered sugar if desired. Leave at room temperature for the first day, then refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
Things that helped in the kitchen for this recipe, and can help you too:
Pyrex Glass mixing bowls – super versatile and easy to clean
Pyrex glass baking pan (7×11)– not sponsored by Pyrex haha, I just find a bunch of their items useful and resilient.
Mesh strainer set in small, medium and large – for dusting the powdered sugar
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Easy Egg Free Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
Lemon filling
- Lemon Zest from 2-3 medium lemons
- 1/2 cup Fresh lemon juice about 2-3 medium lemons
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3/4 cup condensed milk
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a 7×11 Pyrex or 8×8 pan with parchment paper, then set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, powdered sugar and salt well. Pour in the melted butter and mix with a spoon. The mixture will be crumbly. Use your hands to mix completely if needed, and then using your hands spread the shortbread crust into prepared baking dish. Flatten it down into an even layer. Bake 15-20 minutes until edges are lightly golden.
- Filling
- While the crust is baking, make the filling. In a mixing bowl, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, water, condensed milk and salt. Mix until completely combined.
- Lastly whisk in the cornstarch, until mixed well and no lumps remain. **Add one drop of yellow food coloring to enhance color- optional step but keep in mind the lack of eggs mean there is less yellow coloring
- Pour filling on top of baked shortbread crust, and bake in oven for another 12-15 minutes, until set. It will be slightly wobbly still but will continue to firm up as it cools.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting into the lemon bars. Sprinkle with a bit of sifted powdered sugar if desired.Leave at room temperature for the first day, then refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
Love the tanginess of this recipe. Great the second day too!