Vegan Lemon Bars

Sweet and zesty, creamy vegan lemon bars that are easy to make and perfect for any special occasion.

These delicious eggless lemon bars feature a buttery shortbread crust and creamy lemon curd made from soaked raw cashews and coconut cream, with a pinch of turmeric for colour! f you love lemon, these bars are perfect combination of tart and sweet.

They’re relatively easy to make, though you’ll need to plan in advance to soak the cashews. First, you’ll create the 3-ingredient dough for the crust and bake it until golden brown. The next step is to blend up the lemon cream, pour over the crust and bake the bars a second time.

Finally, the hardest part, waiting for them to cool before slicing and enjoying your delicious vegan lemon bars.

Recipe Features

• Dietary: This lemon bars are made without eggs and are completely dairy-free.
• Amazing creamy texture and fresh, tangy lemon flavour that’s not overly sweet.
• Crispy, crumbly, buttery shortbread crust that’s perfect with the tart creamy filling.
• Perfect for holidays! Try them for Christmas, Mother’s Day or Easter.

What You’ll Need

A complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the printable recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.

• Cashews: Use plain, raw cashews with no added oil or salt.
• Coconut Cream: You can use canned coconut cream or make your own coconut cream using a can of full-fat coconut milk (see FAQ section).
• Cornstarch: This can be substituted with arrowroot powder if needed.
• Lemon: You’ll need a few lemons to make 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp plus 3 teaspoons of lemon zest (see FAQ section for how to make lemon zest).
• Maple Syrup: Any variety works (dark, amber, light, etc). but be sure to use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. It can be substituted with agave syrup if needed.
• Turmeric: This is used to add yellow colour to the filling. Use about 1/8-1/4 tsp.
• All-Purpose Flour: This recipe has not been tested with a gluten-free flour. If you’re experienced with gluten-free flour substitutions, go ahead and give it a try, however, I can’t guarantee how they’ll turn out.
• Sugar: You can use coconut sugar, cane sugar or any other granulated sugar.
• Vegan Butter: For a dairy-free recipe, I used Earth Balance but any brand of vegan butter works. I have not tested the recipe with coconut oil. If you’re not vegan, regular butter works as a substitution.

How to Make Lemon Bars

Before You Start: This recipe requires soaked cashews, so you’ll need to plan ahead for that. If you have a high-speed blender, you can soak for 4 hours. If you have a regular blender, I’d suggest soaking overnight or for 12 hours.

Step One: Make the crust.

When you’re ready to begin, preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking dish with 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper so it sticks out over at least two of the edges.

Add the crust ingredients to a mixing bowl or food processor and mix into a uniform consistency that you can shape into a ball. If the mixture seems to dry or crumbly, you can add an additional 1-2 tbsp of butter.

Use your hands to press the dough into the baking dish in an even layer, working it firmly into all the corners.

Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes until golden brown, then let cool completely before proceeding with the lemon filling.

Step 2: Make the lemon cream filling.

If you turned the oven oven off, preheat again to 350 F.

When you’re ready, drain and rinse the cashews then add them to a blender with the rest of the filling ingredients. Start blending on low then slowly increase the speed to high and blend until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy.

Give it a quick taste and see if you’d more lemon flavour or extra turmeric for colour.

Pour the lemon cream over the cooled crust in the pan.

Bake the bars in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the centre is set.

Let the bars cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to the fridge for at least one hour before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Storing & Freezing

Store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for 3-4 months. Frozen bars can be thawed at room temperature or in the fridge until serving.

Related Recipes

• Vegan Pecan Pie Bars: Amazing gluten-free and vegan pecan bars that are a must for holidays.
• Vegan Lemon Loaf: Love lemon? Get this moist and fluffy lemon loaf on your list.
• No-Bake Lemon Pie Bars: Healthy, no-bake energy bars made with just a few simple ingredients.
• No-Bake Vegan Cheesecake: A zesty no-bake lemon cheesecake that’s always a hit.
• Raw Vegan Carrot Cake: A no-bake carrot cake that tastes incredible!

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