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.
I don’t post that many dessert recipes, and when I do, I’m usually inclined to include chocolate, as you might have noticed! But lemon bars have a special place in my heart. At some point when I was growing up, my mom came across an awesome lemon bar recipe and it went into regular rotation. There was always a batch of her lemon bars at spring and summer gatherings.
Spring is just about to start, so I thought it’d be a good time to come up with a recipe for vegan lemon bars, especially since veganism is slowly taking over my family.
No, I didn’t end up including chocolate, but these were so delicious, I didn’t miss it!
The Crust
Classic lemon bars are made with a shortbread crust. This one is a bit lighter and fluffier than your typical shortbread crust, and I think it’s perfect for a light and springy dessert like these lemon bars.
Start by beating some vegan butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Next, add some non-dairy milk. Beat everything until creamy, and slowly start adding flour, in 3 or 4 increments.
By the time you get to the last flour addition, you’ll need to switch to a spoon. You’ll end up with a fluffy dough. Mix everything up and spread the dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Bake just until the edges of the crust start to pull away from the pan.
The Filling
While the crust bakes, make the filling. Regular old lemon bars use lots of eggs. To replace the eggs, I used coconut cream and cornstarch. Coconut cream supplies richness (it’s very fatty, like eggs), while the cornstarch works as a thickener that enables the filling to set.
To start, whisk your cornstarch together with lemon juice. You’ll need the lemon juice to be cool in order for the cornstarch to dissolve.
Set that aside and begin heating your coconut cream in a pot, along with some sugar, lemon zest and extract, salt and, optionally, a pinch of turmeric for color.
Once the mixture starts bubbling, whisk in the cornstarch and lemon juice mixture. It should start to thicken up very quickly! Cook everything very briefly, then remove it from the heat and spread the filling over the crust.
Pop your pan back in the oven and bake everything for another 15 minutes.
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.
FAQ & Tips for Making Awesome Vegan Lemon Bars
- Can I substitute non-dairy milk for the coconut cream? Maybe! I haven’t tested this, but I think it would work, although the filling won’t be quite as rich and thick.
- What’s vegan butter and where can I find it? It’s essentially dairy-free margarine (not all margarine is dairy-free), and most supermarkets carry it. Look for brands like Earth Balance and Melt.
- Why does the sugar need to be organic? In the United States at least, conventional sugar is processed using animal bone char, so it’s not considered vegan. Organic sugar is processed differently, using no animal bones.
- For a fun twist, add a teaspoon or two of powdered ginger to the filling.
- The bars can be kept at room temperature for 1-2 days, or refrigerated for a week.
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Vegan Lemon bars
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.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 3/4 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unflavored non-dairy milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Filling
- 3/4 cup lemon juice, chilled
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream
- 1 1/4 cups organic granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch turmeric, optional, for color
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°.
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Begin by making the crust. Place the vegan butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat at high-speed with an electric mixer, until creamy.
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Beat in the milk, just until fully blended.
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Begin beating in the flour, adding about 1/2 cup at a time and beating until fully blended before adding more.
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Sprinkle the salt over the last addition of flour before mixing it in. At this point, the mixture will be very thick. Set aside the mixer and stir the dough together with a spoon.
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Spread the dough in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan*.
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Bake for about 20 minutes, just until the edges of the crust begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
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While the crust bakes, make the filling. Whisk the lemon juice and cornstarch together in a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup.
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Place the coconut cream, sugar, lemon zest, lemon extract, salt and turmeric, if using, into a medium saucepan and place it over medium heat.
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Slowly heat the mixture up, stirring frequently. After a few minutes the sugar should dissolve and the coconut cream should liquefy.
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When the coconut cream mixture comes to a simmer, stir in the lemon juice mixture and bring everything back up to a simmer. It should begin to thicken up very quickly.
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Continue cooking the mixture for about 1 minute, stirring frequently, until it becomes thick and glossy.
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When the crust comes out of the oven, spread the filling over it, using a spatula to smooth out the top surface.
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Return the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes more, until the filling becomes bubbly around the edges.
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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.
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Slice and serve or store at room temperature in a sealed container for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Recipe Notes
*I used a metal baking pan, and was able to easily remove the bars without them sticking. If you're using a pan made of another material or one that has a tendency for sticking, consider lining it with parchment paper.
Delicious! A nice afternoon pick-me-up snack to make my work day a bit sweeter!
I’m glad you like them!
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. :)
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.
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!
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!
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.
When making this do you discard the liquid from the can of coconut cream or do you use that also
Include the liquid. Enjoy!
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!
Used creamed coconut, not coconut cream…it was awful. Don’t confuse the 2😭💔 mine came out terrible.
Oh yes! The two definitely aren’t interchangeable! Sorry to hear that!
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. :)
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!
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.
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!
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!
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
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.
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!
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.