These creamy vegan lemon bars are the perfect summer dessert! With a classic gluten free shortbread crust and cashew and coconut based lemon filling, this simple recipe is sweet, tangy and perfect for any occasion.
I was originally planning on doing more of a classic lemon bar, with a lemon curd filling, but to be honest, I wasn’t really a big fan of the vegan/egg-free version.
Classic curd gets much of it’s texture from eggs, and doing a lemon curd without eggs just didn’t feel right!
So I decided on these creamy vegan lemon bars, which are just as good and incredibly easy to make.
They feature a classic shortbread crust that just happens to be dairy and gluten free, and a creamy cashew and coconut based lemon filling. You can make them with or without vegan butter and they’re made with no coconut and no agar.
These are done cooking in about 30 minutes, but do require a long set time before they can be eaten, so I suggest prepping these at night for best results.
They’ll be ready to go in the morning, I promise I won’t judge you if you eat them for breakfast. Like these lemon blueberry cookies, this recipe is perfect for Spring!
How to make lemon bars
One of the key ingredients in the lemon filling is cashews, which make the bars really rich and creamy. Instead of soaking the cashews overnight, all you have to do is boil them to soften first!
To do so, add the cashews to a pot and cover with water. Boil for about 20 minutes over medium/low heat.
To Make The Shortbread Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. First, add the butter to a mixing bowl and melt in the microwave. Once melted, add in all remaining crust ingredients and mix with a spoon or rubber spatula to combine.
The crust should be thick, but not dry. If it seems too wet, add an extra tablespoon or so of flour, too dry add a tablespoon of milk.
Add to an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
To Make The Vegan Lemon Filling: Once the cashews are done boiling (they should look kind of puffed up and be soft), drain and rinse and add to a high speed blender.
Take your can of coconut milk and scoop the white part into a measuring cup. Add the remaining water until you reach 1 cup. It helps to smoosh down the white part to measure accurately.
Add the coconut milk along with all remaining ingredients to the blender. Process until completely smooth, about 1 full minute.
Taste and adjust as desired. The sour from the lemon will fade slightly as the bars bake, but if it’s too sour for you, either add more sugar or a splash of maple syrup. If it’s too sweet, add more lemon juice.
The yellow color will seem very pale, but I promise it will deepen when it bakes, so avoid adding too much turmeric or these will have a very neon yellow color! 1/4 tsp max is the best amount.
Once the crust is done baking, add the filling to the crust and spread around until smooth. Bake for 18-24 minutes, depending on your oven. After about 20 minutes, the center should still be kind of jiggly and not completely set, but also not raw.
Once done, let cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight to set. If you cut them prematurely, the filling won’t hold it’s shape well, so try to be patient!
Top with powdered sugar and lemon zest and slice into 16 bars. Enjoy!
What if you undercook the filling?
Since there are no eggs in this recipe, you don’t need to worry too much about the possibility of an undercooked filling.
Traditional lemon bars have lemon in the filling, so undercooking can be risky, but here, that is not a problem!
20 minutes in the oven should be plenty to thicken it up, but much of the “work” will happen in the fridge as the bars set.
Do they keep well and can I freeze them?
These vegan lemon bars keep really well in either the fridge or the freezer! After the initial 4-hour set, this recipe will keep in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for 1 month.
If you’re keeping them in the freezer, allow them to defrost for about 20 minutes before eating.
Can I make these a day ahead?
Yes! In fact, I recommend it. These need several hours to set in the fridge, so making them a day ahead just ensures they’re really well set and will slice very easily.
Try these summer recipes next!
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Gluten Free Vegan Lemon Bars
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- ½ cup dairy free butter one stick, see notes for subs
- 1 cup all purpose flour I used gluten free
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 3 tbsp granulated cane sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Lemon Filling:
- 1 ½ cups cashews
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- ¾ cup lemon juice see notes
- ¾ cup granulated cane sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/8-1/4 tsp turmeric optional, for color
Instructions
- Add the cashews to a pot and cover with water. Boil for about 20 minutes over low heat to soften.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the cashews are boiling, we'll make the shortbread crust. First, add the butter to a mixing bowl and melt in the microwave. This usually takes about 40-45 seconds on high.
- Once melted, add in all remaining crust ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flours, don't scoop from the bag.
- Mix with a wooden spoon to combine. The crust should be thick, but not dry. If it seems too wet, add an extra tablespoon or so of flour, too dry add a tablespoon of milk.
- Add to an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Press down with your fingers to spread evenly in the pan. It'll seem like there isn't enough crust, but I promise there is!
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
- Once the cashews are done boiling (they should look kind of puffed up and be soft), drain and rinse and add to a high speed blender.
- Take your can of coconut milk and scoop the white part into a measuring cup. Add the remaining water until you reach 1 cup. It helps to smoosh down the white part to measure accurately.
- Add the coconut milk along with all remaining ingredients to the blender.
- Process until completely smooth, about 1 full minute.
- Taste and adjust as desired. The sour from the lemon will fade slightly as the bars bake, but if it's too sour for you, either add more sugar or a splash of maple syrup. If it's too sweet, add more lemon juice.
- Once the crust is done baking, add the filling to the crust and spread around until smooth.
- Bake for 18-24 minutes, depending on your oven. After about 20 minutes, the center should still be kind of jiggly and not completely set, but also not raw.
- Once done, let cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight to set. If you cut them prematurely, the filling won't hold it's shape well, so try to be patient!
- Top with powdered sugar and lemon zest and slice into 16 bars. Enjoy!
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