Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Low-Fat Lemon Bars
Lemon Bars are one of my all-time favorite sweet treats, so when I saw a recipe for Low Fat Lemon Bars in the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, Fifth Edition (affiliate link), I knew I wanted to try them.
I baked a double batch in a 9x13-inch baking pan to bring to my friend, Beth's party. They were a huge hit!
Easy Low-Fat Lemon Bars - 5 WW Freestyle SmartPoints
Rod devoured two at home before the party and was surprised to hear they were a Weight Watchers recipe. I loved them too.
More tart than sweet, tangy and refreshing, these are definitely my go-to lemon bars from now on. Nobody will ever guess they're low fat.
Low-Fat Lemon Bars Recipe Notes
They take some work, but are worth it if you love homemade lemon bars. Baking them is a two-step process. First you make the crust.
Making Lemon Bars
And while it's baking, you prepare the filling, pour it over the hot crust and bake them again until set.
These WW Low Fat Lemon Bars would be perfect whenever you want a special light and luscious dessert.
Low-Fat Lemon Dessert Bar
How Many Calories and WW Points in these Lemon Bars?
According to my calculations, each serving has 113 calories and:
5 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
3 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
If you like these WW Low-Fat Lemon Bars, be sure to check out my other easy, healthy Weight Watchers friendly recipes: Lemon Coconut Tea Cake, Low Fat Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins, Lightened Up Lemon Cream Cheesecake Bars, Savory Lemon Rosemary Blueberry Bread, Skinny No Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake, Pink Lemonade Bundt Cake, Slow Cooker Lemon Cake and Slow Cooker Lemon Poppyseed Cake
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Weight Watchers Low Fat Lemon Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided use
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided use
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ cup lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 350F degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing the foil to extend over the rim by 2 inches. Spray the foil with non-stick spray.
To make the crust:
- In a small bowl (affiliate link), whisk together ⅔ cup of the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt until well blended; then set it aside.
- In another small bowl (affiliate link), beat together the eggs and egg white.
- Take 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture and place it in a cup, along with the teaspoon of water, and stir it together. Set aside both egg mixtures.
- With an electric mixer (affiliate link) on low speed, beat the butter in a medium bowl until creamy. Add ¼ cup of the granulated sugar and beat until blended. Beat in the egg-water mixture. Add the flour mixture and beat until blended. (The dough will be crumbly.)
- Press the dough mixture evenly onto the bottom and ¼-inch up the sides of the foil-lined pan. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
Make the filling while the crust bakes:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ⅓ cup flour and ¾ cup granulated sugar. Whisk in the remaining egg mixture until blended. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk until well blended.
- Remove the crust from the oven and place on a rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F degrees. Pour the lemon mixture over the hot crust. Bake until the filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle the chilled bars with confectioners' sugar. Use the foil to lift the slab of bars from the pan. Cut into 16 even squares.
Recipe Notes
Source: Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, Fifth Edition (affiliate link)
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
For a quicker, easier option, check out this healthy lightened up 5-ingredient lemon bars video from Mind Over Munch:
More Weight Watchers Friendly Lemon Recipes:
- Skinny Honey Lemon Bars (SkinnyTaste)
- Blueberry Lemon Cannolis (DrizzleMeSkinny)
- Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes (EmilyBites)
- Lemon Blueberry Blender Muffins (EatYourselfSkinny)
- Lemon Cheesecake Yogurt Cups (SkinnyTaste)
- Lightened Up Lemon Squares (DrizzleMeSkinny)
- Skinny Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake (SkinnyKitchen)
- Raspberry Lemon Muffins (DrizzleMeSkinny)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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sabine
Hi Martha
Thank you for sharing. Love to make this recipe. Just one question, could I use Lemon Curd for the topping of the base?
Many thanks
Sabine
Martha McKinnon
Hi Sabine,
I've never tried it with lemon curd. Since it's already cooked, I think you might be able to bake the crust and then spread it with the lemon curd and let it cool, no second bake required. This is only a thought. Let me know how it works, if you try it. - Martha
Barb
not certain if the added teaspoon of water should be put in the cup or the bowl.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Barb, You add the teaspoon of water into the cup with the tablespoon of egg, which ultimately gets added to the crust mixture. I've updated the instructions so hopefully they are more clear. Hope this helps.
Clara
Oh dear I did it the other way around for the crust! Just caught it and am adding extra egg to the top.
Laura S.
I punched the stats into the Weight Watcher's calculator and come up with 5 Smart points per square if anyone is interested. I do love lemon bars!
Martha McKinnon
Thanks Laura!
Jeannie Mello
Any idea what the calories and carbs drop to by using Splenda instead of sugar? Thanks!
Star
These lemon bars are absolutely delicious, nice and tart! I did add about a teaspoon of additional water and the left over egg yolk to the crust so that it would be more moist and pressable.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Star, Thanks for letting us know!
Pat
Has anyone ever tried a sugar free or reduced sugar like Truvia or Stevia baking mix? I love lemon bars but am diabetic and was just wondering.
Rhonda
I used Splenda and it works fine.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks for letting us know Rhonda. ~Martha
Debby Sumwalt
Hello Martha-I have to say I was skeptical. I have tried making reduced fat/sugar lemon bars in the past with horrible results. Not the case with your recipe! YUM a perfect tartness, easy to assemble, great texture and flavor. I will be making these again and again. Wondering if anyone has tried freezing the bars, and if so, their results? Thank you
Martha McKinnon
Hi Debby, Glad you liked them! I felt the same way when I first made them 🙂 Haven't tried freezing. If you do would love to have you let us know how it works! - Martha
Debby
Wanted to let you know I finally had some lemon bars to freeze (froze some before we ate them all this time). They tasted just fine after being frozen.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks for letting by know Debby. ~M
Nimisha
Hi
I wanted to know if these could be made in a slow cooker ? If so how much time do you think the crust n second time with filling would take?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Nimisha, I've never tried them in the slow cooker so I can't really advise you about time. ~Martha
Audrey
Thank you, Martha for this reduced fat lemon bar recipe. Lemon is one food item that I really love so I look forward to making this recipe.
sharon
Instead of foil, can I use baking parchment?
Martha McKinnon
Sure, parchment should work fine.
Di M.
Oh my goodness!!!!!! These look and sound Delicious. I look forward to trying them. I love just about anything Lemon and these I think will hit the spot. Thank you for this recipe.
Diane M.
SusieMA
Haven’t made these yet but sure want to! Question I had about using Splenda to reduce points has been answered but what about using egg beaters instead of eggs? It would reduce points -I think?
Martha McKinnon
Haven't used egg beaters, but should work fine.
Helen Tsang
I made this for the first time and absolutely love the low fat option. The taste and texture did not disappoint. I liked the cornmeal in the crust for some additional chew. The lemon layer turned out much thinner than the photos but I actually prefer it this way. It’s a keeper.