Lemon Crumb Bars are dessert bars filled with lemon filling and flavor in between two layers of an oatmeal crust. They are one of the BEST lemon desserts I have ever had! If you love lemon desserts, be sure to also try my Lemon Bars and Lemon Brownies!
Lemon Crumb Bars
When life gives you lemons, make these Lemon Crumb Bars! They start with the oat crust from my Apple Cream Cheese Bars (without the cinnamon). And then the oatmeal layers are separated by a lemon filling that you can taste in every bite. There is a fantastic fusion of texture and flavor in these bars… they are unlike any other lemon dessert on my website!
Bars Ingredients
There are two parts to this recipe–the oatmeal layers and the lemon filling.
Oats: Use quick-cooking oats. Quick oats are more processed than old-fashioned oats, which allows the oats to cook faster.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: Be sure to check the labels carefully when buying sweetened condensed milk. Do not use evaporated milk in this recipe.
Lemon Juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice from about 5 lemons for the best taste. We tested this recipe using bottled lemon juice, but there was a difference in flavor. I will get to that later.
Lemon Zest: For even more lemon flavor in each bite, add a teaspoon of lemon zest to the filling.
Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice vs. Bottled Lemon Juice
As I stated earlier, we tested these bars two times–one time using freshly squeezed lemon juice and the second time using store-bought juice. When taste-tested side by side, the bars that were made with freshly squeezed juice won by a landslide. Of course, there is always one odd one out, as they say, who preferred the bottled juice.
If using the bottled juice, you will notice more of an artificial lemon flavor compared to freshly squeezed juice. However, if you only have bottled juice, the bars are still lemony and tasty.
How to Store Lemon Crumb Bars
Lemon Crumb Bars can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If you store them in the refrigerator, they will last up to 5 days. You can freeze the bars for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Bars
Lemon Crumb Bars
Ingredients
Oat Crust
- 1 cup (80 g) quick-cooking oats
- 1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks / 170 g) unsalted butter. melted
Lemon Filling
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ cup (115 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 5 lemons
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper.
Oat Crust
- In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Pour melted butter over the mixture and mix together until crumbly. Be careful not to overmix so it will be crumbly for the top later.
- Measure out ½ of the mixture (about 2 cups), and set it aside to reserve for topping.
- Pour the remaining mixture into the lined baking dish. Press firmly to the bottom of the pan.
- Bake 12-15 minutes, or until a golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly while you make the lemon filling.
Lemon Filling
- In a large bowl, add sweetened condensed milk, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Assembly
- Spread lemon mixture over the top of the baked oat mixture.
- Crumble the reserved oat mixture over the top.
- Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
- Let come to room temperature and then refrigerate 1 hour before serving. (Best enjoyed at room temperature.)
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I loved these! My husband and grown children loved these!
Thank you so much! This is our new favorite for every occasion! You’re always coming to the rescue for me!
Thank you for including the metric measurements, where I bake here in Australia it’s metric, and I find cups to be tricky and changeable and mean different things in different places, eg our tablespoon is 20ml. I plan to make this yummy recipe!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to make these.
Love your ideas out of the box
You may want confirm your metric measurements for the dry ingredients.
Thanks, Kris! I got that fixed. 🙂
I love Lemons
I stopped buying fresh lemons years ago. Now, I buy Minute Maid FROZEN REAL lemon juice. It is NOT what the bottled “reconstituted” stuff is, but actual FRESH lemon juice that has been frozen. I always have 3-4 bottles of it in the freezer. I’m not a fan of “zest” so keeping this in the freezer lets me make “lemon” anything any time I want. And I used it in this recipe, awesome! When I used to buy lemons, I’d juice them all to keep them from getting old, and put in the freezer in a freezer container
, now Minute Maid does that for me………..LOVE IT!
how is this with gluten free flour?:
Does this recipe do all right being doubled?
Hi there I like this recipe. I
Will put some whipped cream on top instead of the crumbs.
I enjoy your recipes.