This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, read my disclosure policy.

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.

SAVE THIS RECIPE

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

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.
Lemon gooey bar stack on parchment paper with title

Lemon Gooey Bars Recipe

4.67 from 12 votes
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!

Recipe Video

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 36 minutes
Yield 16 bars
Serving Size 1 bar
Save RecipeRate RecipePrint Recipe

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.
Save this recipe!
Get this recipe emailed to you – plus get all recipes sent straight to your email!

Recipe 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
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

Did you try this recipe? Click the stars to rate the recipe below

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.

Learn More About Me
4.67 from 12 votes (12 ratings without comment)

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




124 Comments

  1. If I wanted to make these key lime flavoured, how would I do that? White cake mix with lime jello/lime pudding and the rest of your ingredients?

    Reply

  2. How long do I bake in a 9X13 pyrex? My want let me waste condensed milk. No throwing out sweetened condensed milk and nothing else to put it in. so I have to use it up by doing 9×13. Estimated Cook time please. Thank you

    Reply