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ByBrandie
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These Easy Lemon Crumble Bars only have 3 ingredients! This summertime dessert recipe only needs cake mix, butter and lemon pie filling!
EASY LEMON CRUMBLE BARS
You never know where a recipe will take you. I love the story of how this particular recipe plopped into my lap. While hanging out on facebook, answering some questions, I got a question from a reader named Toni (hi Toni!). She had a couple of cans of lemon pie filling in her pantry and she wanted some ideas on how to use them up. I suggested a recipe I had on the site here called Lemon Dream Cake. But I also decided to ask folks on facebook if they had any recipe suggestions.Well, someone did! Sandi G. (Hi Sandi!), shared a crazy-easy recipe to use up a can of lemon pie filling.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- yellow cake mix
- salted butter
- lemon pie filling
HOW TO MAKE 3 INGREDIENT LEMON BARS
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.Spray 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.If you’ve followed my blog for a while, y’all know I’m a big fan of Baker’s Joy nonstick spray. It has flour in it. It is so awesome for baking.In a bowl, combine softened butter with dry cake mix.
Mix until crumbly.Now at this point, you might think to yourself, this stuff is so crumbly, how is it going to pack into the baking dish and make a crust? Well, I thought the same thing.But it all pushes together nicely and bakes up so well. Just make sure you are using real butter for this, I’m not so sure margarine would hold up in this recipe.But if anyone tries it, let me know.Before you go any further, you’ll need to set aside 1/2 cup of this crumbly mixture.
Take the rest of the crust mixture and press it into a 9×13 baking dish.Spread it out evenly and then just go around and pack it down in there with your hands.Spoon lemon pie filling onto crust.Do your best to spread it out as evenly as possible.
Then take the 1/2 cup of crust mixture that you set aside earlier and sprinkleall over lemon pie filling.This is going to give you a nice little crumble topping.
Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes.The crumble on top will just start to turn a very light golden brown.Then slice up and serve. This crust slices up very nicely.I like to eat it while it is still a little warm but it was really good nice and cold from being stored in the refrigerator. I bet that would be delicious during the hot summer months.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Lemon Brownies
- Starbucks Lemon Loaf
- Cherry Crumble Bars
- Apple Crumble Bars
- Lemon Bars with Nilla Wafer Crust
- Lemon Magic Cake
- Classic Lemon Bars
- Lime Bars
Originally published: February 2013
Updated photos & Republished: June 2019
3-Ingredient Lemon Bars
These Easy Lemon Crumble Bars only have 3 ingredients! No one will guess how easy this dessert recipe is to make. Cake mix, butter and lemon pie filling!
4.81 from 84 votes
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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 12
Author: Brandie @ The Country Cook
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup) softened to room temperature
- 22 ounce can lemon pie filling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a bowl, combine softened butter with dry cake mix. Mix until crumbly.
Set aside 1/2 cup of this crumbly mixture for the topping.
Take the rest of the crust mixture and press it into baking dish.
Spread it out evenly and then just go around and pack it down in there with your hands.
Spoon lemon pie filling evenly onto crust layer.
Then take the 1/2 cup of crust mixture that you set aside earlier and sprinkle all over lemon pie filling.
Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes. The crumble on top will just start to turn a very light golden brown.
Allow to cool then slice up and serve.
Video
Notes
- This crust slices up very nicely. I like to eat it while it is still a little warm but it was really good nice and cold from being stored in the refrigerator.
- This should be covered and stored in the fridge. I found if I just covered it and left it out that the crust would soften up a bit so put in the refrigerator if not eating it all the same day it’s made.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Nutrition
Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 313mg | Sugar: 18g
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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I love this recipe. Next time I’d use a smaller pan so the bars would be a little thicker..Reply
See AlsoSugar Cookie TrufflesHow would this work if, before you add the lemon filling, you spread about 1/8″ or so layer of blueberry preserves over the crust?
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It’s not a heavy duty crust so you have to be really careful how much weight you add onto it. Let me know if you try it!
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Could you add blueberries to the filling?
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It’s not a really hefty crust so I’d be worried it wouldn’t hold up to the weight of the additional blueberries. But having said that, I haven’t tried it so if you do please let me know! I also have this recipe for lemon blueberry bars: https://www.thecountrycook.net/blueberry-lemon-bars/
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I made this but I used lemon cake mix. My family loves lemon so I bumped it up. Was so so so good.Reply
Can you use lemon cake mix?
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Sure if you like it ultra lemony 🙂 It’s a bit too much for me with the lemon pie filling (and I love lemon) but that call is totally up to you
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Saw this recipe on Pinterest and knew I had to try it! Thanks so much – they were so easy my little girl was able to help make them!Reply
Loved these bars. Turned out great and so easy! Just wondering how well they freeze for later?Reply
I made these and they turned out perfect. I frozen half and it was actually even tastier when frozen. They were enjoyed by all!Reply
I’m sorry, I just don’t know. I’ve only ever made it with pie filling. Anything else you add will just dilute it.
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Can this be made ahead of time and frozen?
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You should be able to
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Made this for the 4th of July and it was delicious and so easy to make.
Will definitely make again!Reply
Thanks so much Anita!! So happy to hear that!
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If I don’t have butter on hand can I use margarine instead?
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I’ve never used margarine. It’s not the same as butter since it’s just oil.
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Thank you for your reply! I went to the store and bought butter(didn’t want to risk it) I am going to make it for the Fourth of July. I will let you know how it turns out.
Nope! No need to rinse 🙂
This is so good! I followed one of the reviews and baked crust 5 minutes then added the lemon pie filling and then sprinkled the 1/2 cup of crust over top. Cooled then sprinkled powered sugar…. Easy and refreshing on this very hot Florida day. Thanks for sharing.Reply
can I use white cake mix in this recipe
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I don’t see why not
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you didn’t say if we needed to purchase the lemon filling in the can or make it our self.Reply
It says 22 ounce can lemon pie filling in the recipe card
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These are even yummier made w/ a Lemon Cake Mix.
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In order to crisp the crust, I baked it for 5 minutes, then spread the lemon pie filling over the hot crust and then topped with the remaining crumbs. Baked 25 minutes more to get some browning. Delicious!Reply
Great tip Pat! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and comment! So happy you enjoyed this one! ❤️
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