Home » Desserts » Bars and Brownies » Grapefruit Bars + Video

Grapefruit Bars + Video

Grapefruit Bars are just like your favorite lemon bars with a shortbread crust and citrus curd, but with the sweeter flavor of pink or ruby red grapefruit.

Grapefruit bars (like lemon bars) stacked on top of each other with a dusting of powdered sugar.

There’s lemon bars and lime bars, so why not grapefruit bars?!

When I originally made this recipe in February 2012, I used ruby red grapefruit. As I tested this recipe again, I realized that it’s not quite as tart as I like my citrus desserts to be.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Grapefruit bars (just like lemon bars) cut into squares with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Types of Grapefruit

Depending on the type of grapefruit used, it may not be as tart as its citrus counterparts (i.e. lemons or limes). You can spike up the tangy flavor by swapping some of the grapefruit juice with lemon juice. (See notes in the recipe card.)

FYI: Pink or white grapefruit is more tart than ruby red grapefruit, which is more sweet. Keep that in mind as you make this recipe. Both will work fine as far as the chemistry goes while baking.

Grapefruit bars (just like lemon bars) cut into squares with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Crust to Filling Ratio

I prefer my citrus bars to have almost equal parts of crust to filling. More like 1/3 crust, and 2/3 filling. The crust is merely to hold that luscious citrus layer, because if I had it my way, I’d eat the curd with a spoon.

The shortbread crust is still good though. A classic and sturdy base for a softer set fruit curd topping. You can always double the crust portion of the recipe if you would like a ratio of equal crust to filling.

A little dusting of powdered sugar on top with a fine mesh sieve is the icing on the cake, and oh so pretty.

Grapefruit bars (like lemon bars) stacked on top of each other with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Grapefruit Bars

These grapefruit bars are fashioned after the recipes for my lemon and lime bars with just a little more zest and juice. Since grapefruits are naturally more mild, they need just a little extra oomph.

If you’re a citrus fan like I am, I’m sure you will enjoy these pretty pink dessert bars. Happy Baking!

Grapefruit bars (just like lemon bars) cut into squares with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.
Grapefruit Bars are just like your favorite lemon bars with a shortbread crust and citrus curd, but with the sweeter flavor of pink grapefruit.
4.38 from 261 ratings

Grapefruit Bars

Created by Amber Brady
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Chill Time 2 hours
Total: 2 hours 50 minutes
Grapefruit Bars are just like your favorite lemon bars with a shortbread crust and citrus curd, but with the sweeter flavor of pink or ruby red grapefruit.
Yields12 bars

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup (113 g) butter, room temperature (cut into 8 pieces)

Filling:

  • 1 ½ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon grapefruit zest
  • 1 cup (237 ml) grapefruit juice, (or combination or grapefruit + lemon juice*)
  • pink food coloring, optional

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease or line an 11×7-inch baking dish with parchment paper that overhangs 2-inches on both sides. (Do not overdo it on the cooking spray; just a very light coating.)
  • CRUST: Combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor or stand mixer. Pulse/mix until mixture resembles fine crumbs that start to clump together. Press onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake at 350˚F for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
  • FILLING: Prepare filling when crust is just about done. Whisk together the sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the zest, juice, and 3 drops or so of food coloring (if desired). Whisk together.
  • Pour filling over HOT crust and bake an additional 20 minutes or until filling no longer jiggles, and edges brown.
  • Let cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour. Then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours until cold. Lift bars out of pan with parchment paper for easy cutting and serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Video

Notes

  • NOTE: Grapefruits are a very mild citrus fruit compared to tangy lemons or limes. Consider using 3/4 cup of grapefruit juice and 1/4 cup lemon juice to help boost the flavor and/or use more zest (up to 1 Tbsp more).
  • FYI: Pink or White Grapefruit is more tart than Ruby Red Grapefruit
  • This can be made in a 9×9-inch square baking dish, but would be best made with less filling. The crust measurements can remain the same.
  • To reduce the filling for a 9×9-inch pan, I would do: 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, 3 large eggs, 2 tsp grapefruit zest, and 2/3 cup grapefruit juice.
  • This recipe can be made in a 13×9-inch pan, but you may want to 1.5x the crust recipe, or the crust will be very thin.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 bar | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 134mg | Sugar: 27g
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
Course Bars and Brownies
Sharing this recipe with a link is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.

Did you make this?

Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!

*Originally published 2/7/12. Updated 3/25/20.

4.38 from 261 votes (260 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
I reserve the right to remove comments or reviews at my discretion. For more details, refer to my disclosure statement.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

55 Comments

  1. quakingbakes says:

    I don’t know what I did wrong but this was a DISASTER LOL! definitely a learning experience hahaha. I took the word of the other comments and opted for a smaller pan, 9×9 to be precise, baked the crust and it was a nice thickness…then came the filling! it ended up being way too much and much too liquid when I put poured it on top of the crust. So much so, that my crust floated to the top it was hilarious. I still popped it in the oven – as long as it’s edible I’m gna eat it. Excited for the results regardless!

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      I’m so sorry for the trouble, but I really appreciate your feedback. I went ahead and added an adjustment to the filling measurements for a 9×9-inch pan in the notes. Hope this helps in the future!

    2. I had the same issue :/ the crust floated to the top

      1. That’s not good, I’m sorry. I’m a little bit baffled by why this is happening, because it’s never happened to me and I use basically the same recipe for my other citrus bars (lemon and lime.) I’m trying to figure out how this can happen. Were you making the full size (11×7″) or did you make it in a 9×9″ pan? The filling should be adjusted for a 9×9 pan and those measurements are in the notes. Other tips are that the pan should be just ever so lightly greased with cooking spray. You could also skip the cooking spray altogether and when you pour the filling make sure you’re pouring it evenly and not just in one spot or near the edges.

      2. Same thing for me! It’s still baking, so we’ll see how they turn out, lol.

  2. This looks delicious! Will these freeze well? I’m looking for desserts I can make ahead for a large tea party.

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      They should freeze similarly to lemon bars. Don’t dust them with powdered sugar. And place parchment paper between any layers.

  3. I used one 9×9 pan and one 8×8 pan, crust worked really well in both, however it hat to be baked almost 45 minutes to set and the top was cracked all over so I couldn’t cut them to put them on a tray. I had to leave them in the baking pans so it wouldn’t fall apart.

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      I’m sorry you’re having a hard time with this recipe. It is ideal to use a 11×7-inch pan. You might have better luck doing it in a 13×9-inch pan, but you may want to 1.5x the crust recipe so it’s not too thin.

  4. Hello, I did as others had same problem with this recipe. The crust was too thin or not enough and the filling was too much and thin. The flavor was very good so I think the next time I will try doubling the crust and maybe cutting filling on half and use a smaller pan and see how it goes.  This time I did use a smaller pan but it had to be cooked much longer because the filling would not start getting  set so I had to bake it for a long time but it came out pretty good . 

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      An 11×7-inch pan is ideal for this recipe. A 9×13 is too big, and it will definitely take longer to bake in a 8×8 or 9×9 square. I’m glad the flavor was good and that you feel like you can adjust it to get it exactly how you like it.

  5. Hello!
    I found your recipe and post here from Pinterest and had to give it a try! I doubled it, used a 9×13 pan, and it turned out perfectly! Delightfully creamy, with that balance of sweet and tart and the crumbly shortbread crust, it was a hit after lunch today. I love grapefruit too so this was exciting for me to make.
    I did post about it over on my blog but didn’t include the recipe or any of your photos, so as not to infringe on your copywrite, and linked here to you.

    https://rabbitandcrown.com/2021/03/07/a-bag-of-grapefruit/

    Please let me know if you have any concerns with that and thank you very much for creating this delightful recipe!

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      I’m glad you had success doubling this recipe Stephanie! Your post looks great. Thanks for linking to me as the original source.

  6. This recipe does not have enough crust for a 9×13 pan, and too much filling for an 8×8.

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      The crust does seem really thin and almost impossible to cover the whole pan, but it puffs up nicely after it’s baked. I like to use a mini rolling pin to help flatten the dough to get all areas of the pan. You can definitely feel free to double or 1.5x the crust recipe if you still feel it’s too thin.

  7. The flavor and texture were great in this recipe, but the crust and custard turned out razor thin. I suspect a 8×8 dish would be the right size, not a 9×13? 

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      You can definitely switch to a smaller pan if you like a thicker crust and custard.

  8. I’m a pretty seasoned baker, but these were a big flop for me. The crust barely covered the bottom of the 13×9 pan and was so thin in some areas that it broke. The filling came out flat, it was not thick like in the pictures, it was just as thin as the crust. Flavor was good, but the filing came out a bit chewy (possibly because it was so thin) and not thick and creamy.

    1. Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later says:

      I’m really sorry you had a rough time with this recipe Jamie. You can try a smaller pan next time. Or double the ingredients for the crust and or filling. I’m not sure why everything seemed so thin as these are very similar measurements that I use for all my citrus bars. It definitely didn’t need to cook as long if it was so thin, but I’m perplexed.

      1. Thanks for the response. Maybe I didn’t whip the eggs in enough? The instructions didn’t sound like whipping in air was that important so I mostly just stirred them in with the whisk?

More You'll Love