Absolutely delicious soft and chewy Lemon Raspberry Bars begin with a simple dough that transforms into a buttery crust and a crumble topping. These easy bars are packed with slightly sweetened fresh raspberries, dollops of raspberry jam, and lemon zest for the ultimate easy to prep everyday treat.

Overhead view of lemon raspberry bars cut into squares.

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Soft & Chewy Lemon Raspberry Bars

Hello raspberry season! If you are like me and love stocking up on berries, then you’ll want to try these fresh lemon raspberry bars.

Especially during the summer months, I love making crumble bars with fresh fruit (like these raspberry bars and blackberry bars). It’s a low maintenance dessert that uses one dough for the crust and topping and an easy no-cook filling that you can use any fruit you love. With their perfect soft and chewy texture and a fresh raspberry filling, these flavorful lemon raspberry bars are melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

Everything You'll Need To Make These Bars

Ingredients for lemon raspberry bars in a bowls on a flat surface.

These incredible lemon raspberry bars begin with a simple shortbread dough that’s divided between the crust and crumble topping and filled with a jammy raspberry layer. Here’s what you’ll need:

Flour: Nothing fancy here. Regular, all-purpose flour will do the trick. I always use unbleached and unbromated flour (King Arthur flour is my go-to!).
Sugar: I use light brown sugar for my dough but, you can use dark brown sugar for a more molasses flavor. You’ll also need some granulated sugar to sweeten the raspberries for the filling.
Salt: Enhances the flavors of the other ingredients in the crust and crumb topping.
Lemon zest: Fresh lemon zest adds a pop of flavor to both the filling and crust. You’ll need about 2-3 large lemons.
Butter: I always use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the recipe. If you have salted butter, reduce the salt to ¼ teaspoon.
Raspberries: I recommend using fresh raspberries. Frozen raspberries will release too much moisture and create soggy bars.
Cornstarch: Helps to thicken the filling during baking.
Vanilla: Splurge on a good quality pure vanilla extract! It’ll make a difference.
Raspberry jam: Use your favorite jam (seedless or regular jam)!

How To Make Lemon Raspberry Bars

Shortbread dough in a a stand mixer metal bowl set on a flat surface.

Make the crust and topping: Use a mixer to beat the flour, brown sugar, salt, lemon zest, and butter until a crumbly dough forms.

Shortbread crust pressed into an 8x8 square pan lined with parchment paper.

Form crust: Press ⅔ of the dough into a parchment-lined 8x8 square pan.

Fresh raspberries mised with sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest in a glass mixing bowl.

Make the filling: Combine the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest.

Add the filling: Spread the raspberries into an even layer over the crust and top with dollops of raspberry jam.

Unbaked lemon raspberry bars layered in an 8x8 baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Add topping: Crumble the remaining dough over the raspberries. Bake for 50-55 minutes, and then cool completely before slicing!

Tips For Gooey Buttery Lemon Raspberry Bars

The lemon raspberry bars are easy to make using pantry staples. To create an irresistible soft, chewy texture, you’ll want to follow these tips:

Use room-temperature butter: Set your butter on the counter 30 minutes—1 hour before using it. You’ll want it to be soft, not greasy and melty so that the butter can easily be incorporated with the other ingredients into a crumbly dough.
Don’t overmix dough: Overmixing the dough will cause the gluten to overdevelop and result in a tough and more bread-like texture—the opposite of what we are looking for. You’ll want to mix the dough just until it becomes crumbly. It should NOT resemble cookie dough.
Let cool completely: I can’t stress this enough. Before slicing, you’ll want to make sure these bars are completely cooled otherwise they will fall apart. But if you prefer a super gooey texture, then you can serve these bars warm in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Stack of two lemon raspberry bar squares on a flat surface.

Want To Serve A Crowd?

You can! Just double the recipe and use a 9x13-inch baking pan that’s lined with parchment paper. You’ll need to add some additional time to the baking.

How To Store These Bars

If you have leftover lemon raspberry bars, they will keep well at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also store them in the fridge sealed tightly for up to 5 days.

Can You Freeze These Bars?

Yes! Let the lemon raspberry bars come to room temperature before slicing and placing them in a freezer-safe bag or container. You can freeze these bars for up to 3 months.

Lemon raspberry bars sliced into square and set on a parchment lined round wire rack.

More Berry Recipes You'll Love

I hope you love these Lemon Raspberry Bars as much as we do and that they become a family favorite! Please leave a comment below, I love reading your feedback! And if you’d like to make this recipe later, don’t forget to pin it on Pinterest! Happy Baking!