Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars

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Introducing these creamy vegan lemon bars that are basically a bougier, healthier and dare I say better version of the Starbucks lemon bars. 

These healthy vegan lemon bars are a combo of buttery sweet shortbread crust and creamy lemony filling. 

Plus, this lemon bar recipe uses every single component of the lemons (juice, zest and extract). Making these bars extra flavorful! 

Did I mention that these easy vegan lemon bars are packed with nutrition and healthy enough to have for breakfast?? 

Ok, enough said, let’s get into the recipe. And if you want to skip all the reading, click here. 

Vegan Lemon Bar Ingredients 

Listing out everything you’ll need to make these vegan meyer lemon bars, along with brands I recommend. And fun fact, unlike other recipes, these vegan lemon bars don’t use any butter! 

• Rolled oats – Bob’s Red Mill and One Degree Organics both have GF rolled oats if you are gluten-free
• Almond flour 
• Coconut sugar – I usually get the coconut sugar from Big Tree Farms
• Tahini – you can use any runny nut butter here, but tahini will make the shortbread crust buttery 
• Cashew milk – linking my cashew milk recipe here
• Coconut cream – if you want a lighter option here, feel free to use the same amount of silken tofu. One other note, make sure you’re using organic unsweetened coconut cream and scraping it off the top of the jar (you may need to refrigerate the coconut cream overnight so the cream and liquid separate).
• Arrowroot powder – this is similar to cornstarch but much healthier and helps thicken the lemon filling 
• Meyer lemons – I personally love this lemon variety as the flavor is unparalleled 
• Honey – if you want to keep these bars fully vegan, use maple syrup instead 
• Lemon extract 
• Salt
• Baking powder
• Turmeric – this is completely optional, I like to add it as it turns the bars a pretty light yellow color 

Tips and Tricks for Perfect Vegan Lemon Bars

• Pack the filling down with a cup. Once you add the shortbread crust into your pan, make sure to firmly pack it down into the pan. I like using the bottom of a measuring cup to ensure the crust is firmly packed down. 
• Don’t blend the filling too much. I don’t recommend blending the lemon filling longer than 3 minutes, as the filling will start to heat up and activate the arrowroot powder before it has even baked. 
• Let the bars cool down in the oven. I know that this might seem super annoying to do, but trust me, this is how you’ll avoid having cracks in your lemon bars. Once the 20 minutes are up, turn the oven off and crack open the oven door. Let the lemon bars sit in the oven until the oven temp inside is room temperature. 
• Use a sharp hot knife to cut the bars. Cutting any type of bar (whether that’s a brownie or granola bar) is always super nerve-racing for me because the bars never cut clean and I’m left with an endless amount of crumbs on the counter. That said, I have finally figured out how to get a super clean cut bar. Make sure you’re using a large, super sharp knife. Before you cut the bars, run the knife under hot water so it can easily slice into the bars. Additionally, when you cut the bars, cut the bar in one sharp downward motion (no sawing back and forth). After every cut you make, clean the knife off with a warm damp cloth. And that’s the trick to getting perfectly cut lemon bars! 

Even More Dessert Recipes 

• Healthy Bounty Balls 
• Rich Vegan Chocolate Pudding

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