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!
If you love lemon desserts try this lemon meringue pie recipe, these lemon bars and this lemon sugar cookies recipe, too!
Table of Contents
Favorite Lemon Dessert
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, like a soft sugar cookies recipe, with just a hint of light lemon taste like my lemon crinkle cookies. The powdered sugar glaze on top is tart and sweet and makes a perfect compliment to the brownies without being overpowering.
Lemon Brownie Recipe Ingredients
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.
Substitutions and Variations
Mix it up with these lemon brownie variations!
- Other citrus. Try orange zest with orange juice or lemon zest with lime juice.
- White chocolate. If you missing the chocolate normally in brownies, add some white chocolate chips.
- Extract. Add up to a teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract or coconut extract for a little flavor.
- Topping. Try a cream cheese glaze or even just a dusting of powdered sugar. Add a drizzle of white chocolate or top with coconut like these lemon coconut bars.
- Gluten-free. A few followers have had success substituting gluten-free flour cup-for-cup for all-purpose flour to make gluten-free.
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.
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment or foil and spray with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth it out evenly.
- Combine. Whisk together the ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour on top of the brownies and spread evenly to coat.
- Bake. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes.
Lemon Glaze
The glaze is sweet with a tart lemon flavor and takes these brownies over the top! Add a little more (or less) juice or zest depending on how much citrus flavor you’d like.
- Powdered sugar: This is a sweet and powdery texture sugar that helps build up frostings and glazes.
- Fresh lemon juice: Squeeze the sliced lemon right into the glaze.
- Zest from half a lemon: The zest will add a tart but sweet texture to the glaze. This is an added touch to the top of the homemade lemon brownies.
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. Learn how to zest a lemon the easy way.
- Double it! Feel free to double the recipe and bake in a 9×13″ pan.
- Cool brownies. Make sure the brownies have cooled completely before slicing them.
Do you love brownie recipes? Try copycat cosmic brownies, marshmallow brownies, or cheesecake brownies next time you are baking!
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!
Recipe FAQs
Here are the difference between the three and how these came to be lemon brownies (lemonies). For these to be true 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 brownies are fudgy from chocolate and butter, they can be different flavors, just like these with lemon or my strawberry brownies!
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.
Yes! You can easily freeze if desired. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and then again with foil. To thaw, set out at room temperature.
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.
I’m not sure what happened but after doubling all the amounts of lemon juice and zest in this recipe, they turned out tasting like flour with a slightly lemony glaze.
My family loved these! The texture was lighter than I imagined, more like a sponge cake than a brownie, but delicious all the same. I made a raspberry glaze for the top which was good, but I love lemon so will try with the original recipe next time.
forget lemon bars, this is my newest favorite lemon dessert! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe
So glad you enjoyed the lemon brownies!
I totally agree!!! LOVE these and so does my family!!!
So bright and delicious, these are just lovely! I’ll be taking these to all of my Spring events!
I love lemon and knew I’d love this but I didn’t know I’d love them this much! So good!!
Amazing recipe they turned out so darn good and I doubled the glaze recipe I’ll definitely be making these regularly now so easy and delicious thank you for a great recipe.
Could these be made in a jelly roll pan?
Would you triple the recipe?
I haven’t tried, but that should work. Let us know how it goes!
We love the fresh lemon flavor. This is a new favorite lemon treat!
I added a little maldon on top. Or could have have used a little salt in the batter.
My son made and it was delicious! So light and moist! I’d like to make a two layer cake by doubling the recipe. Will it fall apart when I remove the cake from the pan?
I haven’t tested using it to make a layered cake. I would definitely use a spring form pan lined with circle parchment paper so it is easy to remove. Then you could try freezing the layers before frosting. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!
I am doing the cup for cup gluten free flour, I added vanilla and blueberries. Coming out of the oven now. Hope they are a hit!!
Thanks for the recipe!!! We are lemon lovers!!!
OMG can’t wait to make this!!! How long do they last after they’re baked? If I want to serve 3 days after I make it, should I freeze? Thanks!!!
Hi Kim, once baked these brownies will stay fresh in a sealed container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze for up to 3 months. Just wrap in plastic wrap and then again with foil. To thaw, set out at room temperature.
thank you!
Yum!! If you love lemon- you’ll love these! Thank you for this simple delicious recipe!
You are so welcome! Glad to hear you enjoyed it :)
Im happy to hear you liked them, Judy! Thanks for sharing.
These are fantastic my family devour them in no time. Thanks for posting. I will definitely try some of your other recipe
Yay! So glad your family loved them! It’s a family favorite of ours as well!
Yay! Glad your family enjoyed them!
Oh my goodness, these were delicious! As per your suggestion, I nearly doubled the lemon zest and juice in both the batter and glaze and they were perfection. Thank you for another fantastic recipe.
Glad you enjoyed the Lemon Brownies, Shannon!
These were actually amazing. I love all things lemon and these did not disappoint! I will make them many more times, guaranteed. The glaze is what makes these perfect. It’s super tart by itself but paired with the “brownie” … SO good!!
I’m so happy to hear you loved them, Karah! Thanks for your nice comment and review :)
These are delicious. Light, lemony, and scrumptious. There can not be too much lemon for my husband and I, so I doubled the rind and juice in the brownie as well as the glaze. I am always looking for a new lemon recipe and this has been added to repertoire. Thanks.
I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for your kind comment and review, Diane :)
I made these and they were great . Very sweet but left a nice refreshing lemon taste . Will definitely make again .
I made these and although very sweet , they were great . Would definitely make again . Left a nice refreshing taste in my mouth . Thanks for the recipe .
You are so welcome! Happy yo hear you enjoyed them :)
Has anyone tried, or would anyone be able to comment if egg substitutes would work in the recipe? We have an egg allergy in the family. The powdered egg substitute is hit it miss in some recipes. I’m wondering if the flaxseed/water substitute would work better? We are new to the egg allergy, and LOVE lemon anything so interested in trying this recipe out. Thanks in advance!
Hi Paula! I haven’t tried this recipe with an egg substitute, but hopefully someone else who has will chime in. Let me know how it goes if you give it a shot!