Healthy Lemon Bars

5 from 10 votes

Make these delectable, healthy lemon bars with a gluten-free crust and a protein-rich filling. You can slice them and keep them in the freezer all month long.

Prep Time20

Cook Time50

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Dessert

Diet: Low Calorie

Servings: bars

Author: Megan Olson

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour or Regular Oat Flour
2 tablespoons Coconut Sugar or sugar of choice
⅓ cup Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Unsweetened Almond Milk or milk of choice
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
¼ teaspoon Salt

For the top layer:

3 cups Greek Yogurt
2 Eggs room temperature
⅛ cup Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract or vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Tapioca Flour or cornstarch
2 teaspoons Powdered Stevia or sweetener of choice
2 tablespoons Lemon Zest for Topping

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper or grease liberally.
In a standing mixer or using a hand mixer, blend together the oil, sugar, milk, lemon juice and salt. Add the flour (measured properly) and mix together with the liquid. The dough will be slightly crumbly at this point.
Transfer the dough to the baking pan. Using your fingers, press it into the bottom of the pan firmly into an even layer.
Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool 20 minutes.
While the crust cools, prepare the filling by mixing the ingredients for the filling except the lemon zest together until well combined. See notes on sugar content. Test the batter as necessary, add and combine as needed.
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Make sure it is cool before pouring so it does not crack the crust.
Bake at 325 F for 35 minutes or until the filling has set. Once the edges turn slightly brown you will know it has set.
Remove from the oven and cool the bars at room temperature 60 minutes then chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before slicing into 12 bars and sprinkling with lemon zest.

Video

Notes

Let the crust cool completely before adding the filling to avoid cracking it.
Different brands of stevia have different levels of sweetness. Taste test your filling before adding it to the crust to ensure it is sweet enough.
Let the bars fully chill for at least 2 hours before cutting them to ensure they set and won’t fall apart.

Nutrition