Cool, creamy, and refreshing lemon blueberry tart comes together with 10 ingredients. The simple lemon filling sits in a flaky shortbread crust and is swirled with homemade blueberry sauce. After the first bite of this sweet, tangy, and buttery tart, it’s impossible to put your fork down. Enjoy this beautiful dessert for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, spring or summer celebrations, and more.
I knew a tart or pie version of our beloved lemon blueberry cake would be a hit in my household AND with many of you reading this. I’m always dreaming up ways to use this unbeatable flavor combination such as lemon blueberry muffins or lemon blueberry cupcakes. A beautiful tart with tons of fresh flavor was definitely my imagination’s top choice. I cannot wait for you to try this one.
Lemon Blueberry Tart Details
- Texture: I went back and forth about which type of crust to use for this lemon tart, but shortbread seemed most fitting. It’s pleasantly crumbly with a flaky texture that melts in your mouth. The crust contrasts perfectly with the creamy and lush filling on top, making this one of our favorite spring dessert recipes and Easter brunch recipes.
- Flavor: If I were to describe the taste of pure sunshine, it would definitely be this lemon blueberry tart. The lemon flavor is delightfully fresh and bright, and there’s just enough tang to complement all the sweetness. You really only need a small slice since there’s such a strong punch of flavor, but honestly I’ve never witnessed anyone stopping at 1 serving. (HA!)
- Ease: There are 3 components to the tart and each must be prepared separately, but there’s nothing really complicated about the entire process. Take your time and read through the recipe before you start.
- Time: It only takes about an hour to prep and bake the tart. But you’ll want to cool and chill it before serving, so set aside a few hours to complete the entire recipe. It’s wonderful when made the day ahead, too! Oatmeal lemon crumble bars are another excellent option for an even quicker lemony treat.
3 Parts to This Recipe
- Buttery Shortbread Crust: I make this shortbread crust with a lot of different desserts and it always reminds me of pie crust, but it’s so much easier. There’s no food processor or pastry cutter needed—instead simply combine melted butter with sugar, vanilla, salt, and flour and press into a tart pan or pie dish. You don’t even need to chill the dough before using. You’ll notice we use the same crust for our raspberry streusel bars, apple pie bars, and we double the recipe for our lemon bars. Keep in mind that these other desserts may require different oven temperatures and that’s because the desserts take longer, overall, to bake through. We bake the crust at 350°F (177°C) for this particular tart recipe.
- Lemon Filling: A lot of lemon tarts are prepared with a curd filling, but this one is thick, creamy, and rich. I use a similar lemon filling for our creamy lemon pie. I halved it for this tart, then cut down on the egg yolks. The egg yolks help the filling set, but I wanted the finished tart to remain soft. I think you’ll really love it. We’ll use only 1 egg yolk.
- Blueberry Sauce Swirl: You’ll enjoy pure blueberries without much else in the way. We hardly add any sugar to the blueberry sauce (some is needed to help them break down), so the natural flavor can really shine. Cook it on the stovetop for a few minutes, let it cool a little bit, then swirl some into the lemon filling. Feel free to strain it if you don’t want any blueberry lumps. You can use a toothpick or knife to swirl.
Can I Use a Graham Cracker Crust Instead?
A graham cracker crust will fall apart and crumble under this wet filling, so I suggest sticking with the shortbread crust for this recipe. If you wish to use a graham cracker crust, make these lemon blueberry cheesecake bars instead.
The shortbread crust dough is thick and a little greasy—don’t be nervous if it looks a little wet. Press it tightly into your pan and pre-bake it before adding the filling.
Creamy Lemon Tart Filling
You need one 14 ounce (weight) can of full-fat sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and zest, and 1 egg yolk. That’s it. Fresh lemon juice is best. Here is a wonderful juicer if you don’t have one and if you need a recommendation for a zester, I use and love this one.
Spread the filling into the pre-baked crust.
I recommend making the blueberry sauce first so it’s ready when you need it. The recipe moves pretty quickly once you begin pre-baking the crust.
How to Make Mini Lemon Blueberry Tarts
Try using this recipe for about 10 mini tarts in mini tart pans. I don’t recommend a muffin pan for turning this recipe into mini tarts. Divide crust mixture between each mini tart pan (bake these in batches if you have less than 10), press firmly into the bottom, and bake for 8 minutes to help set the crust. It’s usually easiest to bake mini tart pans on a larger baking sheet. No need to poke holes in the crust before adding the filling as directed for the full size tart below. Pour filling into warm crusts, drop a few tiny spoonfuls of blueberry sauce on each, then swirl as directed below. Bake for 9-10 minutes or just until the centers no longer jiggle. Cool completely, then chill for at least 1 hour before removing from tart pans and serving. (Or serve in tart pans.)
Lemon Blueberry Tart Variations
If you want to switch up some flavors, be our guest! Here are the variations we tested. We’re unsure of the results outside of these listed changes, so let us know if you try anything else.
- Lime Tart: Switch the lemon juice and zest for lime juice and zest. Feel free to keep the blueberry swirl or skip it. You could also use the strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry swirl.
- Strawberry Swirl: Replace blueberries with 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen strawberries. You can’t really detect the strawberry seeds in the baked tart, but feel free to strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve before swirling into the filling.
- Raspberry or Blackberry Swirl: Replace blueberries with 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries or blackberries and add 1 more teaspoon of sugar to the sauce (for a total of 3 teaspoons). Strain the finished sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds before swirling into the filling.
- We haven’t tested other citrus besides lime or lemon. We do not recommend swapping the lemons for orange zest/juice because the tart will be very, very sweet. You really need the tang from lemons or limes. We haven’t tested this recipe with grapefruit.
See Your Lemon Blueberry Tarts!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
Print
Lemon Blueberry Tart
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes chilling)
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
There are 3 parts to this creamy lemon blueberry tart and each are prepared separately before bringing them all together. For best success, take your time and read through the recipe before starting.
Ingredients
Blueberry Sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (or water)
- 1 cup (140g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Shortbread Crust
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Filling
- 1 (14 ounce weight) can full-fat sweetened condensed milk
- 6 Tablespoons (90ml) lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (1 lemon)
- 1 large egg yolk
Optional Garnishes
- Lemon slices, blueberries, leftover blueberry sauce, whipped cream
Instructions
- Blueberry Sauce: Using a fork, mix the cornstarch and lemon juice together in a small bowl until the cornstarch has dissolved. Set aside. Warm the blueberries and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally for 3 minutes, mashing the blueberries as best you can against the bottom and sides of the pan to help break them up. Stir in the cornstarch mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes as the sauce thickens, stirring and mashing the blueberries to break them up as desired. Remove sauce from heat and set aside at room temperature until step 6. Makes about 1/2 – 2/3 cup blueberry sauce and you’ll use about half for the swirl. (Reserve extra for garnish/serving.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be a little greasy and very thick. Using a silicone spatula or your hands, press dough firmly into a 9-inch tart pan (no need to grease it), making sure the layer of crust is even on the bottom and all around the sides. It may seem like it won’t fit, but it will. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to pack the crust in too, but sometimes it sticks.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Using a fork, poke a few holes all over the top of the warm crust (not all the way through the crust). This helps the filling stick.
- Filling: Whisk all of the filling ingredients together until combined. Pour into warm crust. Stir up the blueberry sauce because it has likely thickened. It can still be warm when you use it in this step. If it’s too thick, warm it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. Drop spoonfuls of blueberry sauce all over the top, using about half of the sauce. Reserve the rest of the sauce for serving. Using a toothpick or knife, gently swirl the sauce and filling together. Shimmy the pan back and forth 2-3 times to let the sauce and filling settle down into the crust a bit.
- Bake for 17-19 minutes, just until the center of the tart no longer jiggles when you give the pan a light tap. It will still be a little sticky on top. Avoid over-baking because the tart will taste rubbery. (Tip: Err on the side of under-baking because the filling also has a chance to set up in the refrigerator. You want a creamy soft filling.)
- Remove tart from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool completely at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator uncovered for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. If chilling for longer than 2 hours, cover it. After chilling, remove the sides of the tart pan if your pan has removable sides.
- Slice and serve with optional garnishes including any leftover blueberry sauce.
- Cover leftovers tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can bake, cool, and chill the tart 1 day in advance. See step 7. The filling must be poured on a warm crust so it will stick, so I don’t recommend pre-baking the crust ahead of time. You can prepare the filling and blueberry sauce in advance though. Cover both and refrigerate until ready to use. The blueberry filling will be quite solid after refrigerating, so warm it up on the stove or in the microwave until thinned out again. (It can be warm when you swirl it into the filling.) Baked and cooled tart freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | 9-inch Tart Pan | Cooling Rack
- Tart Pan: A 9-inch tart pan with or without removable sides (it doesn’t matter) is ideal for this recipe. If you use other size tart pans, the bake times and thickness of the tart will differ. You can also use a 9-inch pie dish, but slicing the tart isn’t quite as neat. The bake times are the same. For mini tart pans, see post above. I don’t recommend a springform pan because the crust leaks. We haven’t tested this recipe in a round cake pan or as bars.
- Blueberry Sauce: If you don’t want blueberry lumps in your tart, feel free to run the blueberry sauce through a fine mesh sieve.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Make sure you are using sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk. There are no successful replacements for sweetened condensed milk in this particular recipe– it’s really the key ingredient. (Sometimes half-and-half or heavy cream works as a substitution, but then you’ll have to test with varying amounts of sugar since both are unsweetened.) Use one 14 ounce can full-fat sweetened condensed milk. Do not use fat free because the tart will not set. Keep in mind that 14 ounces is the listed weight on the can. 1 standard 14 ounce can is a little over 1 liquid cup.
Do you have a video of the process of this? And when you say melted butter you been completely melted? First timer here..
Hi Kurby, yes; the video tutorial is above the Recipe Notes. You want to use butter that has been fully melted.
Loved this recipe. It was creamy, tangy, and not too sweet. The shortbread crust was easy to make and came out perfectly. Looks fancy, even though it is a pretty easy recipe. I loved the extra blueberry sauce so I will make extra next time. Definitely a keeper!
I need to make 60 mini pies, Is there any way to make the crust dough rollable so I can cut circles for my mini pie tins to expedite the process? Alternately, can I use a pâte sucrée recipe that has egg yolk in it instead?
Thank you
Hi Shell, while this dough is a bit too tricky to roll, you could dough balls like we do for maple walnut tassies and press them into the mini pie tins. We haven’t tested this recipe with a pâte sucrée crust, but you can certainly give it a try.
I would love to try this shortbread crust with your Apple crumble pie filling. Would you suggest I pre cook the apples, par bake the tart then finish them off together, or could I still cook the apples as per the recipe in either a blind baked or raw tart?
I asked a question yesterday about using a regular pie crust, after you answered I made the one in your recipe, I’m so glad, it was delicious. It came out perfect but next time I will take your suggestion and refrigerate it before baking, maybe the crust won’t slide as much. I think I am making this for our clubhouse bake-off next week.
This sounds delicious. Can I make a regular pie crust and use a tart pan or does it need to be a sweeter crust?
Hi Charlotte, This simple shortbread crust is definitely worth a try and goes beautifully with this lemon blueberry filling. You could certainly try using a pre-made pie crust instead, but the bake times will be a little different and you will likely need to use pie weights while you partially par-bake the crust. Let us know if you give it a try!
This Lemon Blueberry was an absolute delight! The tart’s crust was perfectly buttery and crisp, providing a wonderful contrast to the smooth and tangy lemon filling. The balance of flavors was spot was a perfect combination.
Can this be made with blueberry jam/jelly instead of the blueberries
Hi Adrienneadr, We haven’t tested it, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Jam is sweeter than this blueberry mixture, so the sweetness will change.
This is now my go to recipe for dinner parties!
However I do struggle in keeping the crust on the side of the tart pan… Once it comes out of the oven it slids down the walls. Any tips?
Hi Elizabeth, we’re so glad you love this one! A little shrinking is totally normal due to the amount of butter in shortbread. If you wish to make it again, try refrigerating the crust dough for 30 minutes after pressing it into the tart to help it “set” in that shape. Then pre-bake it as directed.
Did anyone find the dough to be limited in amount ? I made it and there wasn’t enough to make a crust
Yes same here. But my pan was slightly larger by a half inch but the crust was very thin. I should have made two batches then I think it would have came out thicker like her video. Recipe calls for a 9″ but even at 9 inches feels like it might not be thick enough. I’ll try one more time with two batches of crust. Was very hard to cut it, it fell apart and didn’t have a very clean cut. Tastes great though but I think would be better with more crust for sure.
Just made this and WOW!! Immediately became one of our favorite desserts. Tangy, creamy, not too sweet… this makes an excellent summer (or anytime) recipe. We added freshly sliced strawberries and kiwi to the top.
We have tried several of your recipes and every single one of them is incredible. Thank you!
We’re so glad it was a hit, Amanda!
Do you think I could use gluten free flour in the crust? Do I have to add any extra accomodations to support a GF flour (like do I need anything else with it)?
Hi Lauri, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you do decide to try it.
Can I use this short bread crust with your lemon meringue pie? I’m not good at making pie crust.
Hi Liz, we haven’t tested it, although a few readers have reported success doing so. Let us know if you try it!
Is there a nutrition facts page for this?
Hi Alyssa, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Can i try this recipe with strawberries instead?
Hi Mary, absolutely! See the section of the blog post titled “Lemon Blueberry Tart Variations” just above the recipe and reader photos for details.
Hi, thanks for this recipe!! I don’t have a tart pan/dish. Can I use a spring form pan or regular pie dish? Thank you!
Hi Christie, you can use a 9-inch pie dish, but slicing the tart isn’t quite as neat. The bake times are the same. Or try our creamy lemon pie recipe instead.
Thank you, Lexi!!
Super easy recipe and is a perfect summer dinner party dessert
This recipe looks amazing,anddelicious!
My blueberry bush produces giant blueberries and I wanted to use them in a recipe. This turned out so good! I was a little nervous about the crust, as it was very greasy, but it baked really well. I may need to leave it in the oven for a minute longer next time, just to make sure the middle is more set. I used most of the blueberry sauce in the bake. It is so tart and sweet and tasty!!!
Love this pie! We actually won our village’s 4th of July pie baking contest with this recipe. About 50 pies were entered and my daughters and I won the grand champion award!
This tart is fabulous! So delicious and easy. The first time is came out perfectly. The second, my crust shrunk terribly and I could use all of my filling. Any suggestions for why that would happen? I followed it exactly and always weigh my ingredients. TIA!
Hi Brenna, we’re so glad that you tried this tart recipe! A little shrinking is totally normal due to the amount of butter in shortbread. If you wish to make it again, try refrigerating the crust dough for 30 minutes after pressing it into the tart to help it “set” in that shape. Then pre-bake it as directed.
Great recipe, it’s similar to a key lime pie, so don’t expect something like lemon curd. It’s more of a sweet but tart filling.
I’ve made it without the blueberry sauce and it’s great still.
I do have problems with the shortbread sticking to the glass, next time I think I’ll cut a parchment paper circle.
I just assembled all my ingredients to start making this and found that my tart pan is 11”…. Will this be okay?
Hi Alison, a 9-inch pan is ideal for this recipe. If you use other size tart pans, the bake times and thickness of the tart will differ.
Outstanding! My first attempt (with Lexi’s guidance). I made it Monday, served it Tuesday, have frozen a slice and sauce for a friend, and just finished the last sliver today at lunch. All I can say is “WOW!” FYI, I looked for more ‘tart’ recipes for individual tarts and only found the “s’mores tartlets” and have ordered the individual tart pans on the link. As someone who has not done much hostessing, Sally has opened a new era for me. Thanks so much,
Hi, how can i substitute the condensed milk for dairy free?
May i use coconut cream and ad one more egg yolk ?
Hi Tereza, unfortunately, there are no successful replacements for sweetened condensed milk in this particular recipe– it’s really the key ingredient. If you do give any dairy-free alterations a try, we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
Kroger stores [& their affiliates, depending where you live] all carry a product which is Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk. I have personally found it to work perfectly as a swap for Sweetened Condensed cow’s milk anytime it’s called for in a recipe. I have not, however, made this
particular recipe yet. I’m planning on it for my husband’s bday in September.
This is now my favorite dessert! Thank you so much for the recipie. I noticed if the butter is very warm when you mix it in and you bake the crust an extra few minutes it comes out crispy and everyone liked it that way ! Also I didn’t want to use the corn starch and it really made no diffrence at all to me, you can always add a touch of flour if you want it thicker too. I hate how corn is in everything!! Lol
Could you make with raspberries as well?
Hi Nancy, certainly! Many readers have reported having success with using raspberries. Enjoy!
I have made this recipe a few times. I used individual tart pans and served it to company. It has a great presentation and wonderful flavor. And it’s easy to make!