Pistachio-Lemon Bars Recipe (2024)

Pistachio is the best nutty match to lemon! This is now my favorite dessert of all time to make! A couple changes: 1) Used salted pistachios for the crust and filling. The saltiness adds extra complexity to the flavor 2) Omitted salt to prevent excessive saltiness in the crust- the pistachio was already salty 3) Added 5 minutes to baking time for the crust to get extra crisp 4) After adding the filling, lowered temp to 325 and baked 5 m extra. I will continue to make this recipe !

I'm a huge fan of lemon, and this recipe is probably my favorite ever! Super easy. Added 3 times the lemon though (a real fan of lemon, as I said), plus 1 tbsp of flour to compensate for the additional liquid. Came out perfect.

The crust instructions are to "stir in the chopped pistachios", but I think the crust is much improved by processing the pistachios thoroughly with the flour mixture so that the richness of the nuts is distributed evenly through the dough. I also used the zest of an entire lemon, which was rather more than a teaspoon.

These bars are absolutely delicious. I used a glass pan, so I reduced the temperature to 325 and added 5 minutes to the bake time for each part. I bake all the time, but I have to say this is my new favorite recipe. I wonder whether salted pistachios would add complexity--will have to try that next.

When Molly O'Neill's article first appeared in 1995, I made almost every recipe in it, including this one. All of them are good, but this one I've made in every one of the intervening 21 years for Oscar night (except for this year, prevented by a broken shoulder!), plus a few extra times for fun or for guests. This is a GREAT recipe. The Notes-writers' tinkerings are good--the recipe can take it. But just as it is, it's a WINNER!

Loved this recipe. I even have an excellent picture if you want it. My guests found it the best lemon bars ever: rich, lemony with the surprise of pistachios. They add a dimension to the crust that I really like. I did chop the nuts for the filling. And the final confectioner dusting makes a festive touch.

I agree with making 1-1/2 times the filling and with half the sugar and twice the lemon zest (proportionally); also using crushed salted pistachios. I processed the crust ingredients until almost a dough, then pulsed in the nuts. The crust baked up a bit crumbly but a better ratio between crust and filling. Also, after 24 hours the crust held together much better and the filling was more flavourful. I think that's the secret!

Crust: To mix pistachios, add the end to the crust mixture and pulse a couple of times to mix. Filling: Increase by 50%. Reduce sugar by 1/3. Add zest from 3 lemons (about 1 Tbsp). Medium chop pistachios that go into filling. Dough can be in advance. Press into pan, cover and refrigerate. When ready, bake crust and proceed. Increase baking to 27 minutes. Note: next time add the filling pistachios to the top of the curd after about 15 minutes of baking to retain crunchiness.

I like lemon-bar filling that's firmly custardy like a baked Egg Custard or my favorite Crème Brûlée custard. An idea: several cooks said the filling was too sweet, and I remember that, in pastry class, they told us to think of sugar as a LIQUID when baking. So ... maybe decreasing the sugar by 2 T or 1/4 cup would help in two ways--firmer AND more lemony.

A little too delicious! I used salted pistachios with the same salt per recipe and it is a nice contrast to the sweet and sour. I ended up throwing some blueberries on top which was nice. I doubled it and put it in a 9x11 pan, so the layers were a little thicker - baking time slightly longer for the crust, maybe 4-5 extra minutes. Very good!

They will weep and become soggy in the fridge....Do not leave in the hot sun, but on an indoor buffet for a couple of hours, if they last, they will be fine. Make and enjoy the same day....
Tip: Cut the sugar by a teasoon or so in the recipe and sprinkle the top w/sanding sugar (crystals) before popping in the oven...the baked bars will glisten, and the sugar adds an extra crunch.
And, don't overbake....as soon as they are set, they are done.....you want them a bit custardy in the middle.

My hack - instead of the crust, I just put down plain graham crackers (sometimes I don't even bother to break them up too much - lay them down like lasagne noodles to fit into the bottom of the pan). Sprinkle with the nuts, then follow the directions for the lemon filling and pour over. Bake 20-25 minutes as instructed. Too easy.

Can this recipe be doubled and baked in an 9" x 13" pan?

So many good suggestions from other reviewers! I tried blitzing the pistachios into the flour mixture for the crust. It made the mixture a little too dry, so I added another 1/4 cup of butter, turned out great. Used the zest of one whole lemon and six tablespoons of juice, so added another 1/2 tablespoon of flour to the filling. The crust leaned salty, so I used the whole cup of sugar in the filling was a good contrast. Whole family asked for this in rotation.

Made in April ‘24. Delicious! Cut sugar by about a half, and used more almond meal —about half that and half flour —in crust. And tripled the lemon juice like others recommended. Zest of a whole lemon. Brought to Naomi & Matt’s for dinner with Matt & Sally & them & us. We’re a hit. But they don’t store very well—hydrophilic, so get a bit damp.

Made mostly as per recipe, but I couldn't find unsalted pistachios. I used the salted pistachios, so omitted the salt in the recipe. I used all the zest from one lemon (more than 1 tsp.) which produced the requisite 4 Tbsp. of juice. The tart, salt, and sweet all tasted perfectly balanced to me, but we do lean toward tartness. Absolutely delicious, but best (and easy!) to eat within 48 hours or crust gets slightly soggy.

Decrease sugar

March 2024. Definitely love the pistachio combination. I think I would make my own lemon Square recipe and then add pistachios?

Delicious!! Followed recipe except used salted pistachios. Everyone loved them. Recipe is a keeper!

Prep tip: I usually use a large off-set spatula to flatten shortbread when using a square pan. The rectangular spatula will fit into the corners to make an even surface.

The ingredient quantites taste delicious as written. I did blend the pistachios into the crust with the food processor which worked perfectly - gave it a nice nuttiness and there was still plenty of texture from the pistachios in the filling. Omitted the kosher salt as I only had roasted & salted nuts. I will be making these again!

Great combination of flavors! I followed the advice of my fellow chefs: ground the pistachio nuts into the dough for the crust; dropped the salt since I was using salted pistachios; increased the filling by half; cut the sugar in the filling down to 2/3s; added the chopped pistachios to the filling after cooking for 15 minutes; cooked the dough for 22 minutes and the filling for 30, and the results were excellent. Next time I might add some lemon extract to kick it up a notch.

Dropped the sugar to 2/3 cup and as per other notes made the rest of the filling at 1.5 x the recipe. Cooked the crust for 22 minutes, ground the nuts into the crust. Chopped the nuts to put on top of the filling after 15 minutes of cooking. Increasing the filling recipe meant it didn’t fit into the pan, of course so poured the left over into its own little pan. Next time don’t fill the crust pan to the top! Used salted pistachios so no kosher salt.

This was good but less amazing than we were expecting. I felt like the bottom was too dry. Perhaps I overcooked it. Next time I will try doubling the filling and adding considerably more lemon. I also put the pistachios on top towards the end as other commenters suggested and I’m not sure that was the best method for my oven. Just a lot of dry nuts on top… but I will try again and next I will buy pistachios already shelled!

This was amazing. I made them for the faculty on my dissertation lecture, and they loved them. One said they were just liked the ones his mom (who had just passed away) used to make. I added a bit more lemon zest, but that was the only change.

I had the perfect lemon bar recipe when I was growing up. It got lost during one of our moves and I have tried to find a dupe or replicate it to no avail. This recipe is it, except more grown up and made even more perfect with the addition of pistachios. I made it today and it was a huge hit with my teen and my picky husband. The only modification I made was to use half lemon and half calamansi juice instead of all lemon juice. Will definitely be making this many times over!

This recipe sounds delicious—I love lemon bars and the addition of pistachios sounds divine. But my heart sank when I got to the part with the food processor. I don’t have one. I do have a blender, but I imagine using it for dry ingredients would just be a mess. Any suggestions, short of buying a piece of equipment I don’t want?

So very good and so easy.