Name: Paleo Lemon Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 110 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup almond flour; 3 tablespoons tapioca starch; 2 tablespoons maple syrup; ¼ cup ghee (at room temperature); 1 pinch sea salt; 7 large egg yolks (at room temperature); 1 large whole egg (at room temperature); ½ cup maple syrup; ½ cup whisked full-fat coconut cream (unsweetened; see Notes); ¼ cup fresh lemon zest (zest from approximately 2 large lemons); ⅔ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (strained, approximately 4 large lemons); 1 pinch sea salt; 4 tablespoons ghee (at room temperature); ⅓ cup tapioca starch (or organic powdered sugar; optional)

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With a perfect tart and rich filling on top of a tender shortbread crust, these Paleo Lemon Bars make the perfect, light spring or summer dessert!

Three paleo lemon bars stacked on top of each other. A bite is missing from the corner of the lemon bar on top. Other lemon bars surround the stack, just out of focus.

🍋 What Makes This Recipe So Good

This recipe for paleo lemon bars is even better than traditional lemon bars. The balance between the light and creamy curd and the shortbread crust is just right, blending buttery, rich shortbread with tart, bright lemon curd. Every bite is a dreamy combination, with no added sugars or processed flours.
Not only are the flavors incredible, but so are the textures. The crust is soft yet firm, crumbly but not dry, tender while also crisp. And the lemon curd? Smooth, creamy, fluffy, light. Dense but not heavy, sort of like a thick pudding. I promise you, you won’t want to stop eating these.
Whether you are making these for a bridal or baby shower, a family barbeque or cook-out, a romantic picnic, or even just a weeknight sweet treat, these bars are the perfect sugar-free, gluten-free dessert. They’re so easy to make – don’t let the instructions intimidate you! We’ve made the whole process completely foolproof. They’re also really easy to make for larger groups, either by doubling the recipe (make sure you’ve got enough baking dishes!) or by cutting the squares slightly smaller (we won’t tell).

👩‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

When zesting your lemons, use only enough pressure to grate the yellow skin. The white pith underneath is bitter and sour, which is not what you want for the curd! If you’ve never zested a lemon before, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through exactly how to do it (and more ways to use the lemon zest) in this post.
I know 45 minutes seems like a long time to wait for the curd to set, especially since it’s going into the fridge right after anyway. DON’T skip that step, though! In order to get the right consistency to both the lemon filling and the crust, they absolutely must cool down slowly until they’re completely room temperature. After that, pop them in the fridge to finish setting up. They should be ready to enjoy after an hour in the fridge, but it’s absolutely fine to leave them for 2 or even 6 hours if you need to.
The key to really clean paleo lemon bars that don’t smear when you cut them is all in the knife. Run your knife under warm water (not hot or boiling, but warmer than room temperature) and dry it completely, then make your first cut. Before you make your next cut, wipe the knife off completely so there aren’t any crumbs or filling left behind, then run it under warm water again. Dry it off, then cut. Repeat that process until you’ve cut all your lemon bars – the clean, warm knife will ensure you get perfectly crisp, clean edges.