These vegan lemon bars have a simple shortbread crust and a tangy-sweet lemon layer topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. This pretty spring and summer dessert is quick and easy to make. They need just 45 minutes of active cooking time (plus time to chill).
A typical non-vegan lemon bar recipe uses eggs to thicken and colour the lemon layer. In this vegan version, cornstarch thickens and sets the filling and a touch of turmeric adds the lemon yellow colour.
A bit of coconut milk in the lemon layer rounds out the flavour and makes the filling an opaque, creamy yellow. It offsets turmeric's slightly greenish-yellow colour and cornstarch’s translucency as a thickener. The bars end up looking like lemon bars (that happen to be vegan) rather than vegan lemon bars. This is great when you’re serving someone who's skeptical of vegan baking.
(If you want to, you can swap out the canned coconut milk and use non-dairy milk instead. I prefer using coconut milk but oat, cashew, or soy milk will work too.)
Most lemon bars are baked twice - first to cook the crust, and second to set the lemon filling. In this recipe you bake the crust while you make the filling on your stove top - like lemon meringue pie filling. Making the filling on your stove top saves time, ensures you don't over bake the crust, and prevents the lemon layer from soaking into the crust. The lemon layer sets as the bars cool.
Preparation Tips
- The lemon bars will absorb the dusting of powdered sugar as they sit. Cool the bars uncovered to prevent condensation from forming on top and wait to dust them until you're ready to serve them.
- For sharp, clean edges, chill the bars before slicing and wipe your knife clean between each cut.
- Thoroughly clean the lemons before you zest them.
- When adding the turmeric, less is more. The colour will strengthen as the filling cooks.
Vegan Lemon Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes + chilling time
- Yield: 1 (9x13) pan 1x
- Category: Desserts and Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
These vegan lemon bars have a simple shortbread crust and a tangy-sweet lemon layer topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Ingredients
- Approximately 3 lemons, zested and juiced, divided
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup (230 grams) vegan butter
- ½ cup (60 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
Lemon Layer
- ½ cup (125 ml) fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup (35 grams) cornstarch
- ¾ cup (185 ml) canned coconut cream or full fat coconut milk*
- 1 cup (215 grams) sugar
- ½ cup (115 grams) vegan butter (like Earth Balance or Melt)
- 3 tbsp lemon zest
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Pinch turmeric
Instructions
Shortbread Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Cream together vegan butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Gradually mix in the flour to create a soft dough. Do not over mix.
- Press the dough into the bottom of your baking dish.
- Bake the crust for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Prepare the filling as the crust bakes.
Lemon Layer
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice and cornstarch to make a slurry. Make sure there are no lumps. Whisk in the coconut milk and add the sugar, vegan butter, lemon zest, and salt.
- Turn heat to medium and stir until the sugar and butter melts. Whisk in the turmeric, adding a small pinch at a time, until you achieve a light yellow colour.
- Cook the filling, whisking constantly. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to prevent lumps. Cook the filling until it’s thick and slightly translucent (about 15 minutes total). Once the filling begins to bubble, test it for doneness by stirring it and quickly removing your whisk - once the lines from your whisk stay visible for 7-10 seconds after pulling it out, the filling is thick enough.
- Pour the lemon filling over the shortbread crust. Set bars aside to cool slightly before chilling, uncovered. Once chilled, slice lemon bars. Dust with powdered sugar just prior to serving.
Notes
- *Canned coconut milk can be substituted with creamy non-dairy milks such as oat, cashew, soy, (or light canned coconut milk/coconut milk in a carton that's intended for drinking).
Keywords: vegan lemon bars, vegan lemon squares
sofia
anyone have cornstarch replacement suggestions?
Sam
arrowroot powder, potato starch
melisa
made this with Oatly brand oat milk + a mix of miyokos and earth balance butters. it came out looking + tasting sooo good!!! thanks for sharing it!
★★★★★
Brittany
Yay!! I’m so glad that you liked them! Thanks for including the ingredients you used, that’ll be helpful for other people. I really appreciate you for taking the time to leave a comment and a review ☺️
Brianna
I am looking forward to making this. One question though. Should you use sweetened or non sweetened coconut milk?
Tashia
I wish the author had more specifics. I made this with canned coconut cream, and scooped out the more solid part, leaving more of the liquid behind (most vegan recipes that I make do this, so I went with what has worked for me, historically). I think I should have used a blend as the filling coagulated and seemed too thick to last the entire cook time (maybe too much fat?).
Also, an actual amount of turmeric would be helpful. Mine seems a little neon - I didn’t know how much the yellow would brighten.
Step one said to mix in a saucepan- I had it on the stove and it thickened immediately. I think the clarification that heat isn’t added to the mixture (maybe “in a mixing bowl, whisk cornstarch, lemon…., then transfer to saucepan k er medium heat”. Seems that others interpreted it correctly, but exact clarification is helpful.
Otherwise, they were easy to make! And since the ingredients are regular pantry staples (at least for me!) I really enjoyed that there were no special trips to the store!
Thank you- I’ll make this again and hopefully next time I’ll get it right!
★★★
kat
Hello! i made this recipe last night and it didn’t turn out:( mostly my fault i think. i ran out of earth balance butter and didn’t have enough so for the crust of the lemon bars i did part avocado oil + part of the earth balance butter, crust came out good. for the filling i followed the steps and it just wasn’t getting thick, for that i also used part avocado oil, part earth balance butter. after whisking for 20 minutes on medium heat, it still wasn’t thick :(( so i just poured it over the crust just to see if it would do anything, it sat over night in the fridge and i would say part of if is still liquid and part of it is eh, idk.. what did i do wrong 🙁
Tashia
What did you do wrong? You didn’t follow the recipe! 🙃 I’m making these now, so I’ll let you know if it was the recipe, or just the substitutions that you used that didn’t work.
JennyM
This sweet treat was a success as a b-day treat for my sister. I am okay with savory cooking but I am notoriously bad at baking. Therefore,I must give this an honorary sixth star. The tip on how to test the lemon filling for doneness was very, very helpful, so pay attention to the 'whisk test.' I found canned coconut cream on a low shelf in the Thai spice/cooking section of regular grocery store. Once chilled, sprinkled powdered sugar per receipe an also added dime-sized dollops of coconut cream and placed a blueberry. Garnished with mint sprigs in corners of pan.
★★★★★
Becky
Can I make these gluten free by using oat flour or gluten free flour in the crust?
Kelly
I made these for Easter the past weekend and my boyfriend and I were thrilled they came out so perfect. Taste and texture(my main concern) were perfect no one would know they were vegan! Thank you!
Olivia
Hi, I used agave instead of sugar in the lemon layer and it’s not set enough to slice. Would the agave have affected setting, or have I done something wrong with cooking the cornflour?
Brittany
Hi Olivia! I'm sorry the recipe didn't work out for you.
Substituting sugar with liquid sweeteners like agave or maple syrup can be a little finicky depending on the situation. Agave adds additional liquid, thinning out whatever it is you're making. Agave is also acidic. Acidity affects the thickening power of cornstarch. Another factor is that agave is about 3/4 as sweet as sugar. You need just the right amount of sugar and liquid (coconut milk) to balance the flavour/acidity of the lemon juice. So substituting sugar with agave changes a lot of factors.
I haven't tested this recipe with alternative sweeteners so I can't confidently make suggestions on how I'd change the recipe. Choosing a natural granulated sugar would be a safer choice than a liquid. You'd need to increase the amount of cornstarch too. If I were testing it, I'd probably start with an increase of around 25%.
If you decide to play around with it I'd love to hear how it turns out. Otherwise I'd look for a recipe that calls for agave instead. Thanks for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it! 🙂
Olivia
Hey Brittany!
Thank you so much for the detailed reply! I didn't even think about the acidity of the agave and changing the upping the amount of cornflour. It tasted delicious and I essentially just scooped it out of the tin, like lemon curd haha! However I'd love to slice them into neat squares next time.
I'll try again with changing the amount of agave and cornflour and do a few tests.
Thanks again!
Olivia
Cheryl
I'm going to try these this weekend- they look absolutely delicious☺
K
Will you be able to taste the turmeric?
Brittany
Nope, not at all! You'll barely use any, less than an 1/8th of a teaspoon. Use just enough to give it a light tint of yellow. You don't even need to make the bars as yellow as the ones pictured, just a little sprinkle will do.
Mori
I made lemon bars for my family last night and they loved them! ! I was surprised at how easy it is to make these and LOVE the fact the recipe is vegan! I'll be making these again soon! 😀
★★★★★
Brittany
Thank you so much Mori! You're the first person to offer feedback on these bars and I'm thrilled to hear that you'll be making them again. Thank you 😀
Adrienne Foster
OMG I made these last night. Amazing! Such an excellent recipe 😋
Jenny
Can anyone tell me if these are suitable to make ahead and freeze?