Olive Oil Lemon Bars (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free option)

Light, fluffy, and bright with lemon flavor, these olive oil lemon bars come together in one bowl and are naturally dairy free. Swap the flour for your favorite gluten free blend and they work for basically everyone at the table.

The Story Behind These Bars

Teacher Appreciation Week is one of my favorite excuses to bake a ridiculous amount of food.

This year I signed up to bring treats for the whole staff, which ended up being 70 teachers and staff members. I love a big baking project so I was genuinely excited. For most of the group I made brown butter chocolate chip bars, but I also wanted to make sure the dairy free folks had something just as good, not just an afterthought.

So I made these.

Olive oil lemon bars. Fluffy, bright, a little sophisticated, dusted with powdered sugar and finished with a little extra lemon zest. They came out of the oven smelling incredible and disappeared just as fast as everything else on the table.

The best part is how simple they are. No melting butter, no waiting for anything to come to room temperature, no fussing. You just whisk, stir, pour, and bake. One of those recipes that feels like you did more work than you actually did, which is my favorite kind.

Save

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Naturally dairy free. Olive oil replaces butter entirely, which means these are dairy free without any swaps or substitutions. No vegan butter, no coconut oil, no compromises.

Easily gluten free. A 1:1 gluten free flour blend works beautifully here. I’ve made both versions and the texture is great either way, a little more tender with the GF flour, but still holds together perfectly when you cut into it.

One bowl (basically). You whisk the wet ingredients in one bowl, stir the dry ingredients in another, combine them, and you’re done. It comes together really fast.

It travels well. I cut these into bars, stacked them in a sheet pan, and they held up completely. Great for bake sales, potlucks, teacher appreciation tables, or any time you need to bring something somewhere.

Tips for the Best Lemon Bars

Zest before you juice. It is so much easier to zest a whole lemon than one you’ve already squeezed. Do it in the right order and you’ll thank yourself.

Use fresh lemon juice. Bottled works in a pinch but fresh makes a noticeable difference here since lemon is really the whole point.

Check at 40 minutes. Ovens vary and you don’t want to over bake these. The top should be a medium golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick should come out clean.

Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar. If you dust a warm cake with powdered sugar it just absorbs and disappears. I know it’s hard to wait. Wait anyway.

Save

Tools I Used

• All-purpose flour (or swap for your favorite 1:1 GF blend)
• 9-inch square pan (I like this one because you can easily add the lid to save the leftovers)
• Parchment paper
• Microplane or zester for the lemon zest
• Large mixing bowls
• Spatula

Olive Oil Lemon Bars

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 50 minutes
Cool time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Serves: 12-16 bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1:1 gluten free flour blend)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (from 2-3 lemons)
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from those same 2-3 lemons)

For serving:

• Confectioner’s sugar
• Optional: fresh berries and additional lemon zest

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350°F.
2. Prep a 9×9-inch cake pan with baking spray or a light rub of olive oil, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined.
4. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the olive oil mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix.
6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, checking at 40 minutes with a toothpick. You’re looking for a medium golden brown top and a tester that comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove it from the pan and let it continue to cool completely for another hour before slicing.
8. To serve, dust generously with powdered sugar. Top with fresh berries and extra lemon zest if you want to get fancy.

Made these? Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram, I love seeing your bakes.

This post may include affiliate links. I never recommend anything I wouldn’t use in my own kitchen or home.