These vegan lemon bars are easy to make from simple ingredients! Bursting with zippy flavor, perfect for snacking or a light dessert, and a must-have at spring and summer gatherings.
Lemon bars are one of those must-have treats during the warmer months of the year. They're so delicious and always a hit.
One of the best things about lemon bars, if you ask me, is that they're a dessert-snack. You know what I mean?
Say you're having a cookout. You could leave a plate of them out for guests to nibble on through the whole event. Or you could wait until after dinner and bust a plate of them out for dessert, perhaps accompanied by some vegan vanilla ice cream. This wonderful truth basically applies to bars across the board, whether you're talking about vegan brownies, vegan rice Krispie treats, or vegan peanut butter bars. Bars rule!
Being delicious and versatile as they are, I decided to come up with a recipe for vegan lemon bars. I used a simple press and bake shortbread crust, and adapted my vegan lemon curd recipe for the filling. They were just as scrumptious as the lemon bars I enjoyed while growing up!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan butter. You should be able to find this near the regular butter at the grocery store. I used Earth Balance brand.
- Flour. We're using all-purpose wheat flour, also known as white flour. Other flours may work, but I haven't tested the recipe with any of them, so I can't say for sure.
- Sugar. Be sure to use organic sugar. Conventional sugar is often processed using animal bone char, so it may not be vegan.
- Vanilla extract.
- Salt.
- Lemon juice. This is the star flavor of our recipe, so only freshly squeezed lemon juice will do. Bottled just can't compare in terms of flavor.
- Cornstarch.
- Coconut cream. This is usually sold in cans at the grocery store, right near the coconut milk.
- Lemon zest.
- Lemon extract.
- Turmeric. We're just using this for yellow color, so skip it if you don't care about that. You could alternatively use a few drops of yellow food coloring.
- Powdered sugar. This is also optional, but a sprinkle of powdered sugar makes a beautiful topping for vegan lemon bars. As with the granulated sugar, this needs to be organic.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
To make the crust, first stir melted vegan butter, flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients just until combined and avoid overworking the dough.
Now press the dough into the bottom of a parchment paper-lined baking pan. Get it nice and level, then pop the whole thing into the oven. Bake the crust until it's golden brown.
Tip: To get your crust nice and flat, place a sheet of parchment paper over it, then gently press on it with a book or similar flat object.
Make the filling while the bars bake. Begin by stirring the lemon juice and cornstarch together in a small container.
Now begin heating the coconut cream and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk the mixture the entire time.
Add the lemon juice mixture to the pot as soon as the coconut cream mixture comes to a simmer. Make sure to get all of the cornstarch in there, as this is your thickener.
Continue whisking the mixture as you bring it back up to a simmer. It should start to thicken up very quickly. You can take it off of heat as soon as it does.
Now whisk in the lemon zest, lemon extract, salt, and turmeric or yellow coloring, if you're using it. The mixture should be thick and glossy.
Pour the filling over your crust, getting it nice and smooth. You can use a spatula or gently wiggle the pan to even it out. Pop the pan back in to the oven.
Troubleshooting: Bars not setting up fully? This is either due to not using enough cornstarch (measure carefully!), or not fully cooking the filling on the stove top. It should get about as thick as pudding. Refer to the last two photos above for a visual idea of what it should look like when it's finished cooking.
Let the bars cool completely before you slice and serve them. The filling will still be pretty wobbly when you take it out of the oven, but it will set by the time your bars cool.
Optionally, you can top them with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Tip: Powdered sugar sinks into these bars over time, so I like to sprinkle them right before serving.
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan lemon bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two or three days, or in the fridge for about a week.
More Vegan Lemon Desserts
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon bars
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 cup vegan butter, melted
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Filling
- 1 cup lemon juice, chilled (about 8 to 10 lemons worth)
- â…” cup cornstarch
- 1 (13.5 ounce/400 gram) can coconut cream
- 1 ¾ cups organic granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch turmeric, or a few drops of yellow food coloring, optional, for color
- Organic powdered sugar, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang along the long sides of the pan. You'll use this later to lift the bars from the pan.
- Stir the crust ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, just until combined.
- Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking pan (Note 1).
- Place the pan into the oven and bake the crust for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack when it's done. Leave the oven on.
- While the crust bakes, make the filling. Stir the lemon juice and cornstarch together in a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Make sure to fully dissolve the cornstarch.
- Place the coconut cream and sugar into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Heat the mixture while whisking. After a few minutes the coconut cream will liquefy and the sugar will dissolve.
- Once the coconut cream mixture comes to a simmer, whisk in the lemon juice mixture, then bring everything just back up to a simmer. It should begin to thicken up very quickly.
- Remove the pot from heat as soon as the mixture begins to simmer and reaches the consistency of pudding.
- Whisk in the lemon zest, lemon extract, salt, and turmeric or food coloring, if using.
- Pour the filling over the crust when it comes out of the oven, spreading it out evenly.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake the bars for 15 minutes more, until the filling becomes bubbly around the edges.Â
- Remove the pan from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Allow the bars to cool completely. The filling will continue to thicken up as it cools.
- Remove the bars from the pan by carefully lifting the edges of the parchment paper. If you find the bars are sticking to the exposed sides of the pan, run a knife along these edges to loosen them.
- Slice and optionally sprinkle the bars with powdered sugar (Note 2). Serve or store at room temperature in a sealed container for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (Note 3).
Notes
- To get your crust nice and even, you can cover the top surface with a sheet of parchment paper, then place a cookbook on top and gently press the dough flat.
- The powdered sugar tends to sink into the bars over time, so I recommend sprinkling them right before serving.
- I prefer the texture and appearance of the bars when they're stored in the fridge. The filling becomes more opaque and firm when chilled.
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Just looking at recipe. Have everything except lemon extract. Will it turn out ok without?
It will, but they won't taste quite as lemony.
Mine is very liquidy when pouring into the crust after dissolving the sugar mixture well, usually taking at least 5 minutes for it to simmer on medium, then adding the lemon juice/cornstarch mixture. I've even tried to up the cooking time after adding lemon juice mixture but that forms clumps. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Hmmm...it could be that the mixture isn't hot enough. Make sure it comes back to a simmer after you stir in the cornstarch mixture - I just updated the recipe to clarify that!
Hi there!! Unfortunately my lemon curd isn’t setting properly. Is there anything I can do to save it??
Sorry to hear that! Can you tell me what stage you're at? Are the bars out of the oven? And has it thickened at all? They may just need to sit - the curd won't fully set until they're completely cool. If it's warm in your house you could try putting them in the fridge.
These were amazing and while they did take longer then expected, it was worth it. I accidentally mixed all of the filling ingredients together before putting it in the saucepan and it still worked beautifully. my lemon bars came out of the oven with the filling looking almost exactly how i put it in and i was worried that it wouldn't set but i popped them in the freezer, said a little prayer and they set beautifully! thank you Alissa!
Great idea Delia! I just popped it in the freezer as well. By chance I’d you see this in the next 4 minutes, how long did you keep it in the freezer? I want to eat it NOW, and I do not want to wait.
Thanks,
Kyle
Can I use a can of condensed coconut milk instead of coconut cream and sugar?
I'm not sure, as I haven't tried that myself, but my instinct tells me it would work. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try!
Hi Alissa, thanks for this lovely recipe. My lemon topping isn't setting, I've had it cooling for a few hours so have popped it in to the fridge to see if that helps. Do you think maybe I didn't let it get thick enough before I poured it?
Thanks again, Ramona
Oh no! It can take a while, but if it doesn't set it's probably either that you didn't cook it enough or mismeasured something. I hope it works out!
Has anyone tried making these gluten free by subbing the all-purpose flour for a gluten free ready 1-1 mixture?
Did you end up trying the recipe with gluten free flour? Interested because I want to do the same
I did - and it turned out really well actually!!
So good! It worked really well with the Bob’s Red Mill 1-1.
Wonderful recipe.....absolutely delicious. But prep time is inaccurate unless you have a sous chef juicing & zesting the lemons! It took me an hour to prep. Lemon curd didn’t set up right away; that took about 10 mins of constant stirring. Otherwise great!
Do you think I could use a bit less sugar? Lots of lemon bars I have tasted are way too sweet-- I love the sourness and tang of lemons.
I think that would be fine. :)
Used creamed coconut, not coconut cream...it was awful. Don't confuse the 2ðŸ˜ðŸ’” mine came out terrible.
Oh yes! The two definitely aren't interchangeable! Sorry to hear that!
These look like the perfect thing to make for my wedding! I'm wondering if you think I could make these and then freeze them? Thanks!
Yup! I've frozen them and they kept just fine. I hope you enjoy them!
When making this do you discard the liquid from the can of coconut cream or do you use that also
Include the liquid. Enjoy!
Could the lemon zest be replaced with something? Thank you!
You can leave it out if needed, or even just use a smidge extra lemon extract.
I'm 15 years old and I love lemon desserts more than any other flavor. I usually see the words "vegan" on a recipe and instantly click away. But this time I had no milk or eggs, and wanted some lemon bars. This was really really good tbh. And it has a lot of wiggle room. I used a butter-oil mixture instead of just butter, and I didn't have nearly enough cocunut cream. These were still the best bars I've ever jad. And this is coming from a non-vegan.
That's awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you so much Cole!
Is the "coconut cream" canned coconut milk or canned cream of coconut? Thanks!
You want to look for something specifically labeled coconut cream, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Kitchen-Coconut-Cream-13-66/dp/B016F7GB2C/ Your other option is to chill some canned coconut milk until it separates (usually 24 hours or more). You can then discard the liquid and use the solid, which is the coconut cream. You'll probably need about 2 cans of coconut milk to get the equivalent to 1 can of coconut cream (about 1 3/4 cups).
Thank you for the response! I ended up using the clan of full fat coconut milk, and it came out just fine -- absolutely delicious! Next time I will look for your suggested cream, and it will probably be even richer and more decadent! Thanks for a great recipe!
Awesome! I'm glad it worked out and you enjoyed them!
Can I cook It without the crust?
You can make the filling and use it as lemon curd, but I don't think you'd be able to get it to hold it's shape as bars without the crust.
Recipe did not say anything about preparing pan, so I didn't. Was extremely difficult to remove bars neatly without leaving part of the crust in the pan. They were completely cool and I used a glass baking dish. Any suggestions to avoid this problem ? Otherwise, the bars are delicious.
Oh no! Sorry to hear that! I've made these a few times and not had that problem, but I've always used a metal pan. You could line it with parchment paper to avoid having that happen in the future. I've added a note to the recipe. :)
Delicious! A nice afternoon pick-me-up snack to make my work day a bit sweeter!
I'm glad you like them!