Vegan Lemon Bars
Posted: 04/03/25
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If you don’t tell someone these lemon bars are vegan, they simply wouldn’t know! With a “buttery” shortbread crust, perfectly sweet-tart creamy filling, and topped with powdered sugar, these vegan lemon bars are just delicious.
What We Love About This Recipe
- Every flavor and texture you expect from a traditional lemon bar, without any eggs, dairy, or other non-vegan ingredients. I know, it sounds too good to be true, and yet – here we are!
- The filling is gooey and creamy, with the perfect amount of tart lemony flavor. You have the fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to thank for that. Unbeatable!
- Not only are vegan lemon squares delicious, but these bars are beautiful, too! Include them on your Easter or Mother’s Day table, bring them out at a baby or wedding shower, or show off in front of your coworkers at the next office potluck. Of course, there’s no rule that says you have to save them for a special occasion. Vegan lemon bars on a random Tuesday? I’m all in.
Cheryl’s Tips
- It’s really important that the crust layer is completely even, all the way across the pan. If you have any thin spots, those areas will bake much faster than the rest of the crust. Along those same lines, extra-thick areas will take longer to bake.
- When you’re simmering the filling mixture, make sure you’re stirring it constantly. If you don’t, it can stick or burn, and you’d have to start over. Also, the lemon filling will suddenly thicken up pretty dramatically – that’s how you know it’s ready to come off the stove.
- To get really nice, clean edges, use a sharp chef’s knife with a straight edge. Warm it under hot running water, then dry it completely and immediately make a slice in the sheet of lemon bars. Apply even pressure as you press the knife into the lemon bars, and remove the knife by lifting it straight up rather than pulling it out toward you and dragging it through the lemon bars. Wipe off any filling or crust that stuck to the blade, warm it again under hot water if needed, and repeat until you’ve got as many individual lemon squares as you want.
More Vegan Desserts You’ll Absolutely Love
- Vegan Banana Pudding
- Easy Vegan Lemon Curd (Dairy Free, Egg Free)
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
- Creamy Vegan Coconut Cream Pie
- Vegan Apple Pie
- Vegan Key Lime Pie
- Perfect Vegan Pound Cake
- Easy Vegan Thin Mints
- No-Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
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Vegan Lemon Bars
Almost too good to be vegan – but they are! Complete with a shortbread crust, a creamy filling, and a dusting of powdered sugar.
squares
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan butter melted but not bubbling
For the Lemon Filling
- 1 14-ounce can unsweetened, full-fat coconut cream at room temperature
- ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice juice from approximately 4 large lemons
- ¼ cup lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
To Serve
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
Equipment
- Oven
- 9×13 baking dish
- neutral-flavored spray oil
- Parchment paper
- Large mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- stove
- medium saucepan
- whisk
- large wooden spoon
- Wire cooling rack
- sharp chef's knife
- flour sifter or fine mesh sieve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Arrange oven racks so baking pan will sit in center of oven.
- Lightly spray bottom and sides of 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, then line baking dish with parchment paper. Leave excess parchment paper slightly overhanging sides of dish for easy removal.
- Add 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup granulated white sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 cup vegan butter to large mixing bowl. Stir ingredients together until fully incorporated into thick dough. Use hands to mix ingredients if needed to ensure ingredients are well incorporated.
- Transfer dough to prepared baking dish. Use hands to gently flatten dough into even layer covering entire bottom of dish.
- Place baking dish in preheated oven. Bake crust 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are just lightly browned.
- Once edges have browned lightly, remove baking dish from oven and set aside.
- Place saucepan on stovetop over medium-low heat. Add 1 14-ounce can unsweetened, full-fat coconut cream, ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice, ¼ cup lemon zest, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup cornstarch, and ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric to saucepan.
- Whisk ingredients together until fully combined and mixture is warm. Once warm, replace whisk with wooden spoon and stir mixture constantly until mixture thickens suddenly.
- Once mixture has thickened, pour mixture over cooled shortbread crust. Spread lemon filling mixture out evenly over top of shortbread crust, covering crust completely.
- Return baking dish to preheated oven. Bake lemon bars 15 minutes or until lemon filling is set.
- Carefully remove baking dish from oven and place on top of wire cooling rack. Allow lemon bars to cool at room temperature 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, moove room-temperature baking dish to refrigerator. Chill lemon bars 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, remove baking dish from refrigerator. Use excess parchment paper as "handles" to carefully lift sheet of lemon bars out of baking dish. Place parchment paper on flat work surface.
- Use sharp chef's knife to carefully slice sheet of lemon bars into squares, creating 9 to 18 individual lemon bars depending on size of squares.
- Add ⅓ cup powdered sugar to flour sifter or fine mesh sieve. Dust tops of lemon bars with powdered sugar then serve bars as desired.
Notes
- Storage: Refrigerate leftover lemon bars in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1 square | Calories: 310kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Total Carbs: 43g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Added Sugars: 0g | Net Carbs: 42g | Vitamin C: 6mg | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 36mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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