Fudgy Lemon Brownies are big, thick, gooey lemon bars loaded with cream cheese filling, white chocolate chips, and lemon Oreos. It's the perfect dessert for a lemon lover and a fast, easy cake mix recipe that takes just minutes to make.
Be sure to try my creamy Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust and Lemon Blackberry Bread with the most delicious lemon glaze.
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If you love traditional lemon bars, these delicious lemon brownies will be your new favorite dessert! They have the gooey texture of a fudgy brownie, the bright, fresh lemon flavor of a lemon bar, and are filled with tons of yummy stuff -- tangy cream cheese filling, creamy white chocolate chips, and Lemon Oreos.
It's a fast and easy lemon brownie recipe that starts with a simple box of cake mix, so you don't even need to measure flour or squeeze lemons!
For more delicious twists on a classic brownie, check out my Strawberry Brownies and Blueberry Cheesecake Brownies next.
🍋Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Oil. Oil gives brownies that dense, fudgy texture. I use canola oil for the neutral flavor.
- Eggs. You're going to divide 2 of the eggs, using just the whites in the cream cheese filling to keep it nice and bright white.
- Vanilla extract. Adding vanilla to a box cake mix helps it taste a little less like it came from a box.
- Cream cheese. Soften the cream cheese at room temperature so it whips up easily without lumps.
- White chocolate chips. For the creamiest texture, use good-quality white chocolate chips. You can also chop up a white chocolate bar.
🧈Variations or Substitutions
- Cake mix. You can make these delicious cake mix brownies with any flavor of cake mix like red velvet, strawberry, spice cake, or, of course, chocolate!
- Butter. Add rich buttery flavor and swap out the oil for melted butter.
- Fresh lemons. Amp up the zesty lemon flavor by adding a little fresh lemon juice and/or fresh lemon zest to the cake batter or cream cheese filling.
- Cookies. Instead of Lemon Creme Oreos or other lemon sandwich cookies, try Golden Oreos or vanilla sandwich cookies. Or leave them out.
🥣How to Make Lemon Brownies
Step 1: Separate 2 eggs, placing the whites in a medium bowl and the yolks in a large bowl. To the egg whites, add the cream cheese and granulated sugar and mix until creamy.
Step 2: To the egg yolks, add one whole egg, cake mix, oil, and vanilla. Mix into a soft dough. Mix in the white chocolate chips -- you'll probably need to use your hands.
Step 3: With your hands or a rubber spatula, press ½ of the lemon dough into the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch pan lined with parchment paper.
Step 4: Place 4 broken cookies on top of the brownie dough. Dollop the cream cheese on top of that. Drop blobs of cake batter between the cream cheese blobs. Break the remaining Oreos and nestle the pieces between the cream cheese and cake mix blobs.
Step 5: Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until the cream cheese mixture is set and a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the sides of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.
Step 6: Cool 30 minutes at room temperature, then cool the rest of the way in the refrigerator.
👉Helpful Hint: Use binder clips to secure the parchment to the pan. They will keep the parchment paper from slipping when patting the batter into the pan.
✅Top Tips
- If the cream cheese is still a little cold, it will be lumpy. Keep mixing until it's smooth.
- The best way to mix the white chocolate chips into the dough is with clean hands.
- Be careful not to overbake or the brownies will be hard and dry. I bake them to an internal temperature of around 180 degrees for soft, fudgy lemon brownies.
🎁Storage
- Store lemon cake mix brownies with cream cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- To freeze lemon brownies, wrap them in a double layer of plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe container or zip-top freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator.
🍰More of Our Favorite Lemon Desserts
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 oz. box lemon cake mix
- ½ cup oil
- 3 eggs, divided 1 whole, 2 separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- 8 lemon Oreo cookies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line an 8- or 9-inch square pan with parchment paper or foil with an overhang.
- Separate 2 eggs, letting the egg whites fall into a medium bowl, and placing the egg yolks into a large mixing bowl.
- To the egg whites, add the cream cheese and sugar. Mix on medium to medium-high until completely smooth.
- To the egg yolks, add a whole egg, cake mix, oil, and vanilla. Mix on medium to medium-high until it forms a soft dough. Mix in the white chocolate chips -- you might need to use your hands.
- Pat ½ of the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Break up 4 Oreos and place them on top of the cake batter. Dollop the cream cheese mixture over the cake batter layer. Drop spoonfuls of the remaining cake batter between the cream cheese blobs, covering the entire bottom layer. Break up 4 more Oreos and place the pieces between the cream cheese and cake mix dollops.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the cream cheese is set and a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the sides comes out clean. The center should read around 180 degrees on an instant read thermometer for soft, fudgy brownies. Do not overbake or they will be dry and crumbly.
- Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then for about an hour in the refrigerator. Store cooled lemon brownies covered in the refrigerator for about one week.
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