These lemon brownies are sweet and tangy with a soft, moist texture topped with a delicious glaze. This lemon blondie is the best with lemon zest and juice in every bite!
Lemon Brownie Recipe
These lemon brownies may be one of my favorite desserts ever! I love fudgy chocolate caramel brownies or rich brown butter blondies, but there’s something about a lemon brownie that’s light and fresh.
They are moist and buttery with just a hint of light lemon taste like my lemon crinkle cookies but not as tangy as a lemon bar. The powdered sugar glaze on top is tart and sweet and makes a perfect compliment to the brownies without being overpowering.
Ingredient Notes
These easy lemon brownies are simple to make with flavors that are light and sweet with a gooey texture. Perfect for lemon lovers!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Salted butter: Butter adds richness and a savory taste to brownies.
- Sugar: Sweetness is needed to balance the lemon flavors.
- Lemon: Both lemon zest and fresh lemon juice will be used in these brownies for that fresh lemon flavor.
- Eggs: This will help combine the lemon brownie batter and give it the color and flavoring.
- All-purpose flour: Thickens the batter and gives it a nice thickness when baking.
- Baking powder: Helps raise the brownies and thickens them while baking in the oven.
- Lemon glaze: Powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.
How to Make Lemon Brownies
Lemon brownies are easy to make! Simply, mix ingredients together, bake, then make a glaze to frost the brownies.
- Mix. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. One at a time, mix in the eggs. Then add in the lemon juice. Mix in the flour and baking powder until just combined.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the batter into prepared 8×8″ baking pan and smooth it out evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes.
- Combine glaze. Whisk together glaze ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Pour over brownies. Pour on top of the brownies and spread evenly to coat.
Tips for the Best Lemon Brownies
Follow these easy tips and modifications to make the best lemon brownies.
- Prepare. Line your pan with parchment or foil for easy cleanup.
- Fresh lemon. If you’re a big lemon lover like me, you can add more zest and juice to the batter and glaze. You can even add lemon extract!
- Double it! Feel free to double the recipe and bake in a 9×13″ pan.
- Other citrus flavor. Try orange zest with orange juice or lime zest with lime juice.
- White chocolate. If you missing the chocolate normally in brownies, add some white chocolate chips.
- Cool brownies. Make sure the brownies have cooled completely before slicing them.
Brownies, Blondies or Lemon Bars
Here are the difference between the three and how these came to be lemon brownies (lemonies). For these to be true lemon blondies, they would need brown sugar!
Lemon bars are made with a shortbread crust and a filling that consists of mainly of eggs, sugar and lemon juice. While usually homemade brownies are fudgy from chocolate and butter, they can be flavored, just like these with lemon or my strawberry brownies!
Storage
- Store: Simply cover the room temperature lemon brownies pan in an airtight container or using plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for four to five days depending on how long they still stay moist and chewy.
- Freeze: Wrap in plastic wrap and then again with foil. To thaw, set out at room temperature.
If you love lemon desserts try this lemon meringue pie recipe, these lemon coconut bars and this lemon sugar cookies recipe, too!
More Lemon Desserts
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Lemon Brownie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- ½ cup salted butter , softened (1 stick)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 lemon , zested
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
For the glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8×8" pan by spraying with cooking spray or lining with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Make batter. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together 1/2 cup salted butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and zest of one lemon until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Add 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and mix until just combined.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out clean. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Glaze. For the glaze, whisk together 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 lemon zest, then pour over the brownies, spreading evenly to coat.
- Cool and slice. Let cool completely before slicing. Then slice into 16 squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Bars, Brownies, Desserts, Fruit Desserts
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
The written recipe did not include salt but the video said to add salt. The video showed a lemon being squeezed but the written directions said 1 T. That made the batter very runny. Can you clarify?
Hi Patsy, since the video was made, we updated the recipe to use salted butter instead of adding salt. If you use unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt. And that is correct, you will need 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. The video is showing the use of a freshly squeezed lemon (and approximately) measuring 1 Tablespoon. Always refer to the ingredient amounts in recipe card as the video does not have ingredient amounts listed. Enjoy!
Great taste! Very lemony, but consistency was that of a cake.
Thanks for the review!
If I double the recipe- you said I could use a 9×13 pan- but how long do I bake it for then? I made these before and I loved them so I want to try a bigger batch.
I would check at 20-25 minutes and then add another 5-10 minutes if the lemon brownies are not done.
Your recipe calls for half a cup of butter, but the directions say use one cup. Should I use half a cup of butter or one cup of butter.
Sorry about that! 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) is the correct amount to be used.
I made these with some slight adjustments because I wanted “brownies”. I put maybe 1/3 c of white chocolate chips (they do not taste like chocolate, more vanilla) in a microwave bowl and put the 1/2 c butter on top and microwaved until soft. I then used 1/4 tsp of baking power instead of 1/2 tsp. They are delicious! I nearly licked the bowl clean before it went into the pan!
Thanks for sharing how you made them, so glad you enjoyed them!
This was delicious! They are more cake like than brownie like which is fine with me! I made them as stated but doubled it for a 9×13. Needed about 30 minutes of baking time. Everyone loved them!
So glad you enjoyed them, thanks for the review!
Loved them! But I skipped the baking powder to make it more compact like brownies. 👍🤗
So glad it worked out for you when omitting the baking powder! Thanks for the review.
Tastes great, but as others have said I would call it a lemon cake, not a brownie. We enjoyed it, but it was not what I was expecting for a brownie.
Made this tonight and it’s definitely not a brownie, it made a fluffy lemon cake. Still very tasty but not what I was expecting.
So easy, takes no time. As a person who makes lemon meringue pie a LOT (like 9 hours) this recipe is refreshing, both mentally, and literally. The lemon takes amazing and the brownie texture is exquisite. 10/10
Glad you enjoyed them!
This is straight up cake. This is not what brownies are. It tastes great but the texture is completely different than what brownies actually are. It’s cake. :)
These lemon brownies are delicious! My husband does not have a sweet tooth but he devoured these.
Jamielyn, do you use an electric whisk to mix all the ingredients or just for the egg + butter. I felt like I over whisked mine, so curious to know.
So glad you and your husband enjoyed them! As shown in the video, I do use an electric mixer (use low speed) and only mix until combined. Thanks again for the review!
This was SO delicious, I ended up consuming it in 2 days all to myself haha. I am so glad I picked this recipe to use to make it. Making it again for sure!!
Can i use milk instead of eggs
Unfortunately, not. The eggs are needed to bind the ingredients together whereas milk would add too much liquid.
Delicious!
These are AMAZING!
I’m so happy you love3 the lemon brownies Lisa! A perfect summer treat!