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If you’re a lemon lover, you’re going to love these Lemon Cake Mix Bars. Also called Lemon Gooey Bars, they have just 5 ingredients! They’re gooey and rich and the best easy dessert recipe; these delicious lemon bars are the perfect cake mix dessert.

Three golden, chewy blondie bars with visible white chocolate chunks are stacked on a white plate, showcasing their soft texture and slightly crumbly edges.

If you love making cookie bars out of cake mix you’re going to want to make this recipe ASAP. With only 5 ingredients these can be done in no time at all!

Lemon Gooey Bars are easier than making cake mix lemon bars and they taste just as good. I love making gooey bars (basically, cake mix with a gooey center) and I’ve made so many different versions. Funfetti Gooey Bars were one of my first viral recipes and since then I’ve turned them into chocolate chip gooey bars with yellow cake mix, brownie gooey bars with brownie mix and so many more! 

Top-down view of five baking ingredients for Lemon Gooey Bars on a white surface: a measuring cup of liquid, a bag of flour, white chocolate chips in a bowl, a stick of butter on a green plate, and an egg in a small bowl.

How to make Lemon Cake Mix Bars

  1. Start with a lemon cake mix – just the dry cake mix. Instead of making the cake batter as called for on the box, your’e going to just add a stick of butter and an egg.
  2. The dough is very thick – you’ll need a mixer to get it nice and combined.
  3. Half the dough goes into the bottom of the pan and pressed thin like a crust.
  4. Sweetened condensed milk and white chocolate chips make the gooey center.
  5. To easily spread the remaining dough on top, it’s best to grab small sized pieces and flatten them then place on top. The cake mixture won’t totally cover the top.
  6. Make sure to line your metal pan with foil or parchment and use non-stick spray for easy removal – these can get sticky around the edges. The end result is a super lemon bar with a blondie texture and a cake-like flavor!
Three lemon blondie bars stacked on a white decorative plate, with a sliced lemon and more blondies on a cooling rack in the background. The bars have a golden, crumbly texture and visible white chocolate chunks.

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Storing Lemon Gooey Bars

  • Make sure they’re cool completely and then store in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
  • You can also freeze the cooled bars between sheets of parchment paper or wax paper for several months.

Expert Tips

  • Be sure to cool the bars completely before removing them from the pan and removing the foil or parchment. It can also help to chill them before doing this and slicing with a sharp knife because they can be sticky.
  • It’s important to place the dough around the edges on top first to seal in the sweetened condensed milk so it doesn’t bubble up around the edges of the pan.
  • Do not use a glass dish – I recommend using a metal pan.
4.70 from 13 votes

Lemon Gooey Bars Recipe

By: Dorothy Kern
These Lemon Gooey Bars are SO EASY and so so good. Start with a cake mix and fill them with super lemony flavor. They’re gooey and sweet and perfect lemon bars! Lemon Gooey Bars – this EASY cake mix recipe uses lemon cake mix to form the bar that’s filled with a gooey white chocolate filling! EVERYONE loves these!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Total Time: 36 minutes
Servings: 16 bars
Lemon gooey bar stack on parchment paper with title
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Ingredients

  • 1 (approx 15 ounce) box lemon cake mix
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, , softened
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup (170g) white chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line a metal 9×9 baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
  • Mix butter, cake mix and egg; beat until combined. Note: if you use a hand mixer it will take a long time to come together. Just keep on mixing until you get a thick cookie dough.
  • Press ½-⅔ of the cake mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top then sprinkle white chocolate chips.
  • Break up the remaining dough and crumble it over the top of the bars. I find it easiest to take small pieces and press them flat between my fingers and lay them on top. Do the edges first to seal in the sweetened condensed milk so it doesn't bubble up around the sides of the pan. The dough won't completely cover the top, that's ok.
  • Bake for 28-33 minutes, until slightly browned. Cool completely before cutting.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 0.02g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 223IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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A glass bowl containing flour, a cracked egg, and a piece of butter sits on a white countertop, ready for mixing.
A clear glass bowl containing a mixture of crumbled yellow dough sits on a white marble surface.
A baking pan lined with aluminum foil holds an unbaked, evenly spread yellow dough or crust on a white marble surface.
A square baking pan lined with foil holds an unbaked dessert topped with white chocolate chips and a creamy layer, placed on a white marble surface.
A square baking pan lined with aluminum foil, filled with an unbaked mixture that appears to be a yellow crumbly dough, sitting on a white marble surface.

Step-by-Step Photos

  1. Add the cake mix, softened butter, and large egg to a large bowl. Mix on medium speed until combined – this will take awhile but it will be come the texture of cookie dough.
  2. Line a square pan with foil or parchment and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  3. Press half the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. It’ll be a thin crust.
  4. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the layer, trying to avoid the edges. Sprinkle with white chocolate chips.
  5. Take small pieces of remaining dough and press around the edges to seal, then top the rest of the bars. It won’t completely cover.
  6. Bake until light golden brown on top. Cool completely before cutting.

Variations

You can use any flavor box of cake mix to make a new flavor of sweet treat. They’re the perfect quick dessert because they’re so easy with only 3 main ingredients. Here are some of my favorites:

Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.70 from 13 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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128 Comments

  1. I have a friend who is an art teacher, and her favorite flavor is lemon. I have made several lemon recipes, but I will be trying this lemon bar recipe tomorrow. Thanks!

    Reply

  2. I told myself I wasn’t going to make any other gooey bars, but this recipe was a must. And my god. So. Good. I used two cake mixes so each layer was a complete layer (I did this with your peanut butter gooey bars too, but not on the funfetti – the funfetti didn’t turn out right).

    Reply

  3. Do you think an 8*8 would work? I don’t want to go the 9*13/sacrifice top crust route….
    Thanks!

    Reply

  4. I accidently bought lemon bar mix not lemon cake. Do you think i can mix crust and filling together and sub it for the yellow cake? 

    Reply

    1. I’m not sure…I haven’t ever tried that. Theoretically…yes. I haven’t ever made those bars before (is it the Krusteaz mix?) so I’m not familar with how they work. I say go for it and see what happens!

      Reply

  5. Just discovered your website today and soooo glad I did! I came across your recipe for Gooey Lemon Bars and decided to make them right away. I didn’t have any white chocolate chips so I went with your suggestion to use a 1/2 cup of coconut. OMG these are so delicious!!! moist, gooey and oh so yummy. Thank you for posting such an easy and great recipe. This is a keeper!!! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.

    Reply