I love all things berry and all things lemon. When I found this recipe for Lemon Raspberry Bars in our little cookbook from one of our first cooking classes I knew I HAD to make it. It’s so incredibly similar to our Key Lime Bars-Torta De Limão. It’s become a favorite of mine and I have one more reason in addition to the two above that I love it. It’s the graham cracker crust. Do you love graham cracker crusts? I literally cannot get enough of the crust!
Ok, so this is kind of a cheater lemon bar recipe as we aren’t cooking up lemon curd or anything, but really it’s the version of lemon bars we prefer. You just need sweetened condensed milk, lemon and eggs. That’s it.
When you bite into these bars it’s all creamy, thick and rich, then you hit the berries and they add a bright, fresh pop in your mouth. Continuing on you finally hit the crust and, oh. my. sweet. deliciousness. It’s all thick and buttery. Gosh, it’s so good. Have I convinced you to try them yet? Get on it!
How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust
Did you know that a graham cracker crust can actually be baked or there is a no bake graham cracker crust as well. So how do you make a graham cracker crust? Start out with the best graham crackers. Some will prefer Keebler while others may reach for Nabisco. We’ve found that a generic brand often isn’t as good as some of the others so definitely take your time and snack on a few crackers to decide which one you prefer.
Melted butter is number two and we go for unsalted so that we can choose to add salt if we want to. Then just add sugar, stir to combine until it’s like wet sand and you’re all set!
Now you can bake the crust for a few minutes or you can set it in the fridge to cool completely and you’re good to go! Obviously a baked crust does hold up a little better to a pie filling but both are great. You can even use the recipe to make a wafer or oreo crust too!
Are Raspberries Good For You?
Raspberries have an abundance of nutritional benefits.
Raspberries contain strong antioxidants such as Vitamin C, quercetin and gallic acid that fight against cancer, heart and circulatory disease and age-related decline.
Raspberries can range in color from the popular red and black varieties to purple, yellow, or golden.
Each color berry has a unique composition of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
How Long Will Lemon Bars Keep?
Lemon bars will last for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Lemon bars should be stored in an air tight container or covered securely with plastic wrap.
Can Graham Cracker Crust Be Frozen?
Graham cracker crust can be frozen to use later.
If you love these, then you have to try these other BAR DESSERTS:
- Scotcheroos Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats
- Mom’s Famous Caramel Brownies
- Brookie Bars
- Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
- Classic Lemon Bars
- Ritz Reese’s S’more Bars
- Peach Oatmeal Bars
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake Oreo Brownies
- Peanut Butter Caramel Brownies
- Twix Caramelita
- Raspberry Lemon Bars
Lemon Raspberry Bars
Lemon Raspberry Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 12 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Zest of one lemon
For the filling:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 12 ounces fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Spray a 9x13" inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest.
- Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist.
- Press crumbs into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Whisk 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 with a spatula. 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.
Video
Nutrition
Peaches n Cream Crumble Bars
These peaches n cream crumble bars are the best dessert I’ve ever had with peaches. That creamy filling and brown sugar oat topping!!
I’m trying the lemon raspberry bars.
They look pretty good in the video.
I hope they are as good as I think they will be.
How were they??
This recipe turned out well with exception of the crust. 12 tablespoons appeared to be too much. The mixture was very wet and when baked, the butter separated and bubbled up through the crust. Butter also came up through the custard. I’m a butter lover so it didn’t ruin the taste. I think I will try reducing the butter to 8 tablespoons and see how that works.
I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out the way you hoped! That is the right ratio of butter to graham cracker crumbs. A pie crust is usually 1 1/2 cups of graham crackers to 6 Tb of butter.
I made this and it turned out perfect! I followed the directions and changed nothing. Very easy and really very good. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you, Cindy! So glad you enjoyed them!
Didn’t come out right.
Baked twice since it was not setting. Still didn’t become firm enough to cut into pieces. To bake again that crest was getting hard but the filling stayed loose. Decided to throw in the trash.
Did you let it cool for at least an hour after baking? sorry it didn’t work out for you!
These are gorgeous! Raspberries are such a summertime delicacy to me! Love them!
Thank you!! Raspberries make life better, don’t they?!
Hi, Carrian and Cade,
I like this idea to make the bars and trying to make them.
But I couldn’t get it “2-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk＂.
Does it mean I add the amount of it as I like?
How many ounces of it is enough?
Hi Jamie, it’s 2 cans which are size 14 ounces
I only have a frozen pie shell, do you think it would taste ok with it?
Hi Pamela,
I’m sure you could make it work, but since we haven’t tried that I can’t say for certain.
Could you use fresh blueberries or blackberries as well ?
Absolutely! We even have a lime blackberry version. https://ohsweetbasil.com/blackberry-lime-bars/
Made it, came out so delish!!
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that!!
Not joking… (necessary because of the site name), but has anyone tried adding basil to this? I’m a cook not a baker. I’ve heard for baking you follow the recipe, much more closely. But any thoughts on my idea? Basil- yay or nay?
lol! But it is funny considering our name. I’m not sure that basil would work well in this one as it is baked and the basil would become stringy.
Strawberries would work too, right? These look so good!
They would probably work though I haven’t tried it yet. I have used marionberries and blackberries!
Made them this evening! Big hit!
We are so glad! THank you for commenting!
These are the best homemade lemon bars I have made, and I have tried many recipes as lemon bars are about the only dessert my husband loves. Got many compliments at a big party yesterday and am wondering when I can make them again. I will say that it took way longer for me than 15 minutes to get the filling to set, but I did have to make a can of sweetened condensed milk with evaporated milk and sugar as I only bought one can and I doubled the recipe. Make this recipe. It is amazing.
What dairy free substitute can I use instead if eggs!
Hi Pam, Unfortunately eggs really are best in this recipe. I’m sorry. 🙁
I made this last night..loved the flavor, just like raspberry lemonade. The only problem I had was the setting. I baked it for 22 min and it still didn’t really set. Will try a little longer next time.
Oh, darnit. I wish all ovens were created equal but I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Mine did the same thing. I left my daughter in charge of watching them while I showered. I showered, dressed and fixed my hair and makeup and came back downstairs and saw they were still in the oven. I flipped out and saw that they still were not set and left them in another 10 minutes. I think they were in there almost 45 minutes. They did firm up when cooled. Loved this recipe!
Yes, they will move a little when you pull them out but that’s why they need all of that cooling time to set up. 🙂 Otherwise they are in fact getting overcooked.
These look like lovely summer bars. Could I use blueberries instead.
Greetz from Holland 🙂
Nadja
Absolutely! And Holland is where my ancestors are from! So fun!
My daughter wants these for her wedding. Do you think we could make these a couple of weeks prior and then freeze them until her wedding day?
Unfortunately it doesn’t do very well frozen as juices leak once it begins to defrost. I would say the best bet would be to make them 2 days ahead of time, wrap well and store in the fridge. You could always do a trial run with freezing them and maybe your freezer will do better than mine.
Thank you!! I can’t wait to try them…
Could these be used for a bake sale?
Unfortunately our schools don’t allow home made food, but I imagine you could. We’ve taken them to a gazillion pot lucks
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Founds these via Pinterest – heaven!! Bookmarked 🙂 Happy to be your newest follower!
what yummy looking bars! could use one of those right about now…
Holy yum. I've made lemon blueberry bars before but I think lemon raspberry is gonna have to be next. These look great!
we have the love of lemon and raspberry things in common. I can't seem to get enough 🙂 The photos and recipe look amazing.
PS. thanks for visiting my blog 🙂