If you love a rich fruity bar loaded with strawberry and lemon flavors, have I got a treat for you! These come together in minutes and they’re delicious. Best of all, they start with a simple box of cake mix!
Can I Use a Cake Mix to Make Bars?
I’ve made plenty of bars over the years. My Blackberry Crumble Bars are great. So are my Easy Seven Layer Bars.
I have a great lemon bar already. But when I saw my good friend Debby, over at Southern Home Express post a lemon bar that started with a box of cake mix, I knew I had to give it a try.
This is “Out of the Box” Baking, you know. We specialize in cake mixes here!
The Best Desserts Start with a Box!
I took a look at her recipe for lemon bars and knew I had to give them a try, but I decided to mix things up a little.
She used a yellow cake mix. I happened to have a box of strawberry cake on hand.
I also had a jar of lemon pie filling, something you’ll often find in my house.
That said, I knew I had the makings for a delicious treat!
Do Strawberry and Lemon Taste Good Together?
When I thought of those two flavors together, I was instantly reminded of my Strawberry Lemonade Cake.
And that, my friends, is how I came to call these bars “Strawberry Lemonade” because they merge two of my favorite flavors into one simple bar.
This is a simplerecipe but you don’t have to stop there! You could sprinkle the top with powdered sugar (as Debby did on her lemon bars).
For now, though, let’s just take a quick peek at what you’ll need to make these luscious strawberry Lemonade bars.
Strawberry Lemonade Bar Ingredients
You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. For now, here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need. You can be flexible with the ingredients, making the filling and cake flavors whatever you like.
- strawberry cake mix, any brand
- butter, melted
- large room temperature egg
- lemon pie filling
How to Make Strawberry Lemonade Bars
These came together so quickly, as I said.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prep a 9×13-inch baking dish. Spray with baking spray and place a piece of parchment paper inside, for easy lifting of the bars.
Spray the parchment paper with a thin layer of baking spray. I use Baker’s Joy.
Set baking dish aside.
Start by putting your dry strawberry cake mix into a large bowl of the bowl of your stand mixer.(Alternatively, you can do this in your food processor.)
Add the melted butter and egg.
Mix with paddle attachment until dough comes together. It will be the consistence of cookie dough.
Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan.
Press down until there are no holes. If you look at the picture it’s easy to see I used my hands for this! (Hey, that’s why God gave them to me, to use!)
Place dish into oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Pour the lemon pie filling over the partially baked crust.
Sprinkle on the remaining crust dough.
Place back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until done.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Once bars are completely cooled place dish in refrigerator for an hour to firm up. Once fully chilled you can slice them.
Serve and enjoy!
Store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 – 4 days.
What to Expect from These Delicious Lemon Strawberry Bars
This is like a classic tart lemon bar, but with an additional punch of flavor and sweetness from the strawberry cake mix! (I don’t know about you but I absolutely love these two flavors together. Talk about the perfect combination!)
I wasn’t completely sure this would come together because it still looked so soft when it came out of the oven. I couldn’t envision slicing the bars.
But, guess what? Allowing them to cool and then fully chill was just the ticket for this summer dessert!
I highly recommend these for an event where you have a lot of people to serve. I plan to take mine up to the school tomorrow. My daughter and the other teachers will love them!
Trust me when I say this is going to be one of those delicious desserts you’ll make again and again, and not just in the summertime!
Variations on this Strawberry Lemon Bars Recipe
I’m already thinking of flavor combinations that might work. Here are a few that come to mind.
Lemon zest: Add the zest of one lemon to the cake mix. You can also add more lemony flavor by adding a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to the pie filling to thin it out.
Fresh strawberries or strawberry puree: Slice and add fresh berries on top of the pie filling layer (underneath the top crumble). Juicy strawberries would be luscious!
Carrot Cake with cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk mixture on top. (This is the one I just put in the oven. I’ll probably write it up as a second post, since I put all of the cake part on bottom and the filling on top.)
Lemon cake with cream of coconut filling and two cups of coconut flakes. This sounds divine! I’m going to have to try it soon!
Lemon cake with blueberry, blackberry, or cherry pie filling. I mean. . .yum!
German chocolate cake with a tub of coconut pecan frosting baked on top. I have no idea how the frosting will bake up but I suspect it will work just fine. I can’t wait to try it!
Yellow cake with pumpkin pie filling on top. (I would add some pumpkin pie spice to the cake mix before mixing.) I can’t actually eat this one because I’m allergic to pumpkin, but I’m guessing it would be a great combination!
Other Bars from Out of the Box Baking
Easy Seven Layer Bars: If you love luscious gooey bars, filled with the crunch of coconut and the sweetness of chocolate and condensed milk, you’ve come to the right place! This is the traditional recipe and incredibly easy to make.
Easy Blackberry Crumble Bars: If you love a crunchy breakfast bar, loaded with the flavor of blackberries, this is the recipe for you. A rich crumbly crust, a sticky middle, and a lovely streusel topping. . .all in one luscious bite. Best of all, it’s not overly sweet!
Cherry Pie Bars (Cherry Cobbler Bars): If you’re looking for a bar with a soft sugar cookie crust, cake-like in texture, with a rich almond and cherry flavor, have I got a treat for you! These Simple Cherry Pie Bars (Cherry Cobbler Bars) are gooey, soft, and absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
German Chocolate Bars from Scratch: If you love German Chocolate cake but want the ease of a tender, flaky cookie bar, this is the recipe for you! The cookie crust has a light chocolate flavor and the rich gooey filling is loaded with coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips.
Luscious Lemon Bars: They’re tart, sweet, crisp and creamy. These luscious lemon bars are all of the above. . .and then some!
Simple Pecan Pie Bars: If you love the ease of a cookie bar but the luscious richness of pecan pie you’re going to flip over this simple pecan pie bar recipe! It merges both of those worlds into one dreamy bite, loaded with flavor and crunch!
Easy Cherry Almond Bars: If you love the flavor of a traditional cherry pie but prefer the simplicity of a cookie bar, then this is the recipe for you! This luscious sweet treat has a shortbread base, cherry preserves in the center, and sliced almonds on top. Best of all, it’s incredibly easy to bake!
Learn more about doctored cake mixes, the theme of this blog.
For the master list of all doctored cake mix recipes on this site, visit Doctored Cake Mix Recipes, Master List.
That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe.
See this recipe at
About the Author
Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.
Strawberry Lemonade Bars
Yield: 24
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
If you love a rich fruity bar loaded with strawberry and lemon flavors, have I got a treat for you! These come together in minutes and they’re delicious. Best of all, they start with a simple box of cake mix!
Ingredients
- Box of strawberry cake mix
- 1 stick (half cup) butter, melted
- 1 egg (optional, not pictured)
- 1 can lemon filling
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prep a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spray with baking spray and place a piece of parchment paper inside, for easy lifting of the bars.
Spray the parchment paper with a thin layer of baking spray. I use Baker’s Joy.
Set baking dish aside.
Start by putting your dry cake mix into your mixer.
Add the melted butter and egg.
Mix with whisk attachment (or paddle attachment) until dough comes together.
Spread 2/3 of the crust dough into the prepared dish.
Press down until there are no holes. I used my fondant smoother but you can use the bottom of a measuring cup or even your palms.
Place dish into oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove and add the can of pie filling. Smooth it out as best you can.
It’s time to sprinkle the rest of the dough on top. I didn’t worry about getting mine smooth or level. The egg made the batter too thick to spread evenly, so I just added it in little clumps.
Place back in the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until done.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Once completely cooled, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar, if you like.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigertor up to four days.
