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3-INGREDIENT LEMON CRUMBLE BARS

June 7, 2019 by Brandie @ The Country Cook

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These Easy Lemon Crumble Bars only have 3 ingredients! This summertime dessert recipe only needs cake mix, butter and lemon pie filling!

EASY LEMON CRUMBLE BARS

You never know where a recipe will take you. I love the story of how this particular recipe plopped into my lap. While hanging out on facebook, answering some questions, I got a question from a reader named Toni (hi Toni!). She had a couple of cans of lemon pie filling in her pantry and she wanted some ideas on how to use them up. I suggested a recipe I had on the site here called LEMON DREAM CAKE. But I also decided to ask folks on facebook if they had any recipe suggestions. Well, someone did! Sandi G. (Hi Sandi!), shared a crazy-easy recipe to use up a can of lemon pie filling.

CAKE MIX RECIPE IDEAS

Well folks, that is what this recipe will do. It will surprise you in it's simplicity and flavor. Don't try to make it more complicated. It really is only just 3 ingredients. So thank you Toni for asking that question and thank you to Sandi for sharing her recipe with the rest of us. Here it is...don't blink, you might miss it.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

yellow cake mix
salted butter
lemon pie filling

yellow cake mix, stick butter, lemon pie filling

HOW TO MAKE 3-INGREDIENT LEMON CRUMBLE BARS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. If you've followed my blog for a while, y'all know I'm a big fan of Baker's Joy nonstick spray. It has flour in it. It is so awesome for baking. In a bowl, combine softened butter with dry cake mix.

softened butter and yellow cake mix combined in a bowl with an electric mixer

Mix until crumbly. Now at this point, you might think to yourself, this stuff is so crumbly, how is it going to pack into the baking dish and make a crust? Well, I thought the same thing. But it all pushes together nicely and bakes up so well. Just make sure you are using real butter for this, I'm not so sure margarine would hold up in this recipe. But if anyone tries it, let me know. Before you go any further, you'll need to set aside ½ cup of this crumbly mixture.

crumble topping

Take the rest of the crust mixture and press it into a 9x13 baking dish. Spread it out evenly and then just go around and pack it down in there with your hands. Spoon lemon pie filling onto crust. Do your best to spread it out as evenly as possible.

spreading lemon pie filling over cake mix/butter mixture pressed into a 9x13 baking dish

Then take the ½ cup of crust mixture that you set aside earlier and sprinkle all over lemon pie filling. This is going to give you a nice little crumble topping.

sprinkle crumble topping over lemon pie filling

Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes. The crumble on top will just start to turn a very light golden brown. Then slice up and serve. This crust slices up very nicely. I like to eat it while it is still a little warm but it was really good nice and cold from being stored in the refrigerator. I bet that would be delicious during the hot summer months.

Easy Lemon Crumble Bars, cake mix, butter, lemon pie filling

WANT MORE TASTY RECIPES LIKE THIS ONE? GIVE THESE A TRY!

LEMON BARS WITH NILLA WAFER CRUST
LEMON DREAM CAKE
LEMON DROP CAKE
CHERRY CRUMBLE BARS
LEMON COOKIE SALAD
WARM LEMON PUDDING POKE
HOMEMADE LEMON CUPCAKES
LEMON BLUEBERRY BARS

Easy 3-Ingredient Lemon Crumble Bars

3-INGREDIENT LEMON CRUMBLE BARS

These Easy Lemon Crumble Bars only have 3 ingredients! No one will guess how easy this dessert recipe is to make. Cake mix, butter and lemon pie filling!

4.72 from 35 votes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Easy Lemon Crumble Bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 158kcal

Author: Brandie @ The Country Cook

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick salted butter (½ cup) softened to room temperature
1 (22 oz) can lemon pie filling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a bowl, combine softened butter with dry cake mix.
Mix until crumbly.
Set aside ½ cup of this crumbly mixture for the topping.
Take the rest of the crust mixture and press it into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Spread it out evenly and then just go around and pack it down in there with your hands.
Spoon lemon pie filling onto crust.
Then take the ½ cup of crust mixture that you set aside earlier and sprinkle all over lemon pie filling.
Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes.
The crumble on top will just start to turn a very light golden brown.
Slice up and serve.

Video

Notes

This crust slices up very nicely. I like to eat it while it is still a little warm but it was really good nice and cold from being stored in the refrigerator. This should be covered and stored in the fridge. I found if I just covered it and left it out that the crust would soften up a bit so put in the refrigerator if not eating it all the same day it's made.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 313mg | Potassium: 20mg | Sugar: 18g | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 0.9mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

Did you make this recipe?Share it on Instagram @thecountrycook and mention us #thecountrycook!

Originally published: February 2013
Updated & Republished: June 2019

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About Brandie @ The Country Cook

I’m a regular home cook, like most of you, doing my best to get a good meal on the table for my family. I like to say the recipes on here are recipes for the busy cook (you know who you are). You can still get a good meal on the table, with a few shortcuts to help you along the way. I hope you’ll find lots of recipes here that you’ll love and hopefully will become family favorites. Read more...

Comments

Casey

April 01, 2021 at 3:18 pm

Can I use lemon jello pudding mix for the pie filling? No stores around here carry the lemon pie filling.

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  April 02, 2021 at 1:15 pm
  
  I'll be honest, I don't know. All. you can do is give it a whirl and see if it works. 🙂
  
  Reply
Darcy

February 06, 2021 at 7:27 pm

Could you use lemon cake mix?

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  February 06, 2021 at 9:47 pm
  
  You certainly could. It may make it overwhelmingly lemon-y but that’s just a matter of personal preference
  
  Reply
Dee

October 01, 2020 at 5:01 pm

Super easy ! I substituted the yellow cake with lemon cake and used strawberry rhubarb pie filling.

Reply
Frankie Browning

July 08, 2020 at 5:54 pm

These are so easy to make .... They are DELISH. The 9X13 pan was eaten in 1 hour ..... Thank you for a fabulous receipe ...

Reply
MotherNugget

May 20, 2020 at 12:27 pm

I love lemon and blueberries together so I did a lemon cake and blueberry pie filling! Not only was it yummy, it was BEAUTIFUL!!! I added some lemon zest to the top and wowza! Thanks!

Reply
Rosanne Jackson

February 01, 2020 at 1:59 am

Love your site

Reply
Jilly

January 28, 2020 at 6:49 pm

These sound really good. I can not stand up and cook that long - and so many of the lemon bar recipes you have to cook the crust first - more steps. I have been wanting to make lemon bars for so long - thank you!

Reply
Deb

January 28, 2020 at 2:15 pm

Hi Brandi,
Can't wait to try these! Married to a lemon freak. Right now, however, I have a box of Spice cake mix and a can of apple pie filling. Think that might work? Thanks!

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  January 28, 2020 at 3:25 pm
  
  Hmmm...good question. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. If you try it, I'd love to know how it turns out for you!
  
  Reply
Patricia

November 12, 2019 at 4:24 pm

5 STAR

Reply
Pamela

July 18, 2019 at 1:49 pm

What size can of the lemon pie filling? I've found both an almost 16 oz can and a 22 oz can. Thanks!

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  July 19, 2019 at 9:40 am
  
  Hi Pamela, I'm not sure if you can see in my ingredient picture above but it is the 22 oz can. 🙂
  
  Reply
  - Pamela
    
    July 19, 2019 at 11:23 am
    
    Oh, gosh. I didn't think to zoom in on the can. Thanks!
Lisa

July 09, 2019 at 1:20 pm

I’m about to make this! I will try to let you know how it turns out!

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  July 10, 2019 at 8:50 am
  
  Hope you love it!
  
  Reply
Angela Rusch

June 12, 2019 at 7:52 am

Easy and delicious was a nice summertime desert ,and something new to try. Thanks for the recipe you never disappoint!!

Reply
Marianne Wink

January 06, 2019 at 11:24 am

Anyone tried this with lemon cake mix and lemon pie filling? Would it be too strong of lemon?

Reply
- H.B
  
  May 09, 2019 at 5:22 pm
  
  I have lemon cake mix and lemon pie filling in the oven right now! Never tried it before though.
  
  Reply
  - Brandie @ The Country Cook
    
    May 09, 2019 at 9:32 pm
    
    Hope you love it!
Kimberly

September 28, 2018 at 10:29 am

I am going to try this. I have a can of Lemon Creme to use before it expires. I love 3-5 ingredient recipes.

Reply
Cathy

February 24, 2018 at 5:15 pm

Love this recipe. It's in the oven right now. I am also avid calorie counter. I noticed you had calculated 500 calories for 1/12th of recipe. How come my calorie count is 275? Were you calculating in the nonstick baking spray? I used 0 calorie Pam for greasing. If it comes out, I've cut the calories, right? Let me know if you can, if your calculation was just a courtesy estimate or if I missed something.. (For my calculations, I used the figures on the ingredients themselves.) Thanks again for the inspiration!

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  February 25, 2018 at 10:35 am
  
  Hey Cathy! The recipe card system I used put that in as a default. Weird. I definitely encourage anyone who counts calories and nutrition facts to use their own trusted calculators (which you did) 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
  
  Reply
Jess

July 27, 2017 at 11:54 am

Never seen nonstick spray with flour in it. Might just be that I haven't bought nonstick spray in years or could just be that it is not a Canadian thing? Sounds good though.

Reply
Marie Cassista

July 07, 2017 at 3:10 pm

Any body know if it freezes well

Reply
Rita Zepper

June 10, 2017 at 7:46 am

You could use lemon cake mix....also, any canned pie filling works....I've made several of these and they turn out yummy.

Reply
Maria Harden

June 02, 2017 at 6:39 pm

Not sure if it is because I live in Canada, or what, but I cannot find cans of lemon pie filling anywhere. I can, however, find the packages of lemon pie filling that you cook. Would this work just as well, do you think?

Reply
- Cathy
  
  June 04, 2018 at 1:55 pm
  
  I live in Canada also and cannot find canned so I tried the Shirriff pie filling that you cook first and turned out fine. I baked the cake mix first for about 15 min. while doing the lemon and I let the lemon cool for about 10 min. before pouring over cake mix then back in the oven for about 15- 20 min.
  
  Reply
Haley W.

February 26, 2017 at 12:22 pm

I have some leftover lemon pie filling that I made for lemon meringue, I'm gonna use this recipe for the leftovers. Thanks! 🙂

Reply
Terri

January 30, 2017 at 3:52 pm

No canned lemon pie filling here. Could I use the lemon pudding mix in the box....cook it and let it cool before using in this recipe?

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  January 31, 2017 at 6:31 am
  
  Hi Terri! I'm sorry, I have only tried it with the lemon pie filling. :/
  
  Reply
Bridget Gratton

January 15, 2017 at 3:14 pm

It's that 1 stick butter or 1 cup butter ?

Reply
- Brandie @ The Country Cook
  
  January 15, 2017 at 7:05 pm
  
  Hi Bridget, it is 1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter.
  
  Reply
Anonymous

September 03, 2016 at 5:15 pm

This recipe turned out great. It came together in a snap & clean up was minimal. Greatest of all.......it tastes great:)

Reply
Anonymous

July 02, 2016 at 6:19 pm

Brandi! These are the only lemon bars I have gotten to turn out so nicely, thank you for the recipe. My hubby loves lemon bars and I felt like a failure before I found your recipe lol. All of your recipes are my "secret" recipes...I hope no one that I know finds them HAHA! love you!

Reply
- Brandie (The Country Cook)
  
  July 06, 2016 at 3:46 am
  
  We will keep it our little secret! So glad you are enjoying them.
  
  Reply
  - Diane
    
    February 08, 2020 at 9:58 pm
    
    Can these be frozen?
Unknown

July 01, 2016 at 7:36 pm

Hi Brandie! I LOVE your blog! I have made several recipes from it and get rave reviews everywhere I take one of your dishes (especially the Crock-pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta & the Coconut Cream Poke Cake!) and this was no exception! I first made it with lemon and it was fabulous! Then my husband asked if I could do the same thing with apple; it was just as good! Now I've made these with just about every kind of pie filling I can find an they always turn out perfect!
The only thing I do different is I make it in an 8x8 pan so it is thicker.

Reply
- Bobbi Priddy
  
  August 18, 2019 at 11:36 pm
  
  Unknown, thank you for the great suggestion about using various pie fillings.
  I always have assorted canned pie fillings on hand !
  
  Reply

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