The most incredible Vegan Lemon Bars, made with just 8 ingredients and lots of tangy lemon flavor! The buttery shortbread crust is absolutely perfect.
Classic lemon bars without any eggs? Yup! Today I’m sharing what I think are the best vegan lemon bars, with the perfect balance of shortbread crust to tart lemon filling. And of course, a generous dusting of powdered sugar on top!
If you are a lemon dessert fan, you will love these little squares of sunshine. And while you’re at it, you might want to try my vegan lemon cake, lemon loaf or 1 bowl lemon cupcakes.
How to make Vegan Lemon Bars:
First, make the crust. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted vegan butter, sugar and salt. Add the flour and stir to combine. It will be thick. Press it into the prepared pan (lined with parchment paper) evenly and smoothly. Bake for 16-18 minutes at 350 degrees F until lightly golden on the edges.
While the crust bakes, make the lemon filling. In a medium saucepan, add the lemon juice, lemon zest if using, sugar, coconut milk and cornstarch (+tiny pinch of turmeric if desired for color). Whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch, and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens. It should look like the photos below, and can take 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat, and spread lemon mixture over the crust, evenly, using a spatula if needed. Bake for 15 minutes. Let the bars cool for about 30 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool another 1-2 hours, or overnight.
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Can I make these lemon bars gluten free?
I haven’t personally tried these gluten free, but I think it would work with a quality all purpose gluten free flour mix, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour.
How long will vegan lemon bars keep?
They will keep for about a week in a covered container in the refrigerator. They also freeze really well! The powdered sugar will melt into the bars though, so add some fresh when you want to eat or serve them.
Can you make these a day ahead?
Yes, these are the perfect dessert to make a day in advance, as they slice better when they have a lot of time to cool. That being said, they can also be ready in an hour or 2, but they may not be as firm as if you left them overnight.
I hope you LOVE these easy Vegan Lemon Bars! If you are looking for more delicious vegan dessert recipes with a Summer vibe, check these out:
- Vegan Lemon Loaf
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- 1 Bowl Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Pie
- Vegan Smores Cookie Bars
Vegan Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread crust:
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Lemon filling:
- 3/4 cup lemon juice from about 4 large lemons
- optional: 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups full fat coconut milk, using mostly the white part
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- tiny pinch of turmeric, optional for color (1/8th teaspoon)
For serving:
- powdered sugar, for dusting the tops
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8 by 8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal.
- Make the crust: In a medium bowl, add the mix together the melted vegan butter, sugar and salt. Add the flour and stir until combined. The dough will be thick. Press it into the pan with your hands, evenly and firmly. Bake for 16-18 minutes until the edges are very lightly browned. Set aside.
- Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, add the lemon juice, lemon zest if using for even more lemon flavor, sugar, coconut milk and cornstarch + tiny pinch of turmeric for color, if desired. Whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens. (see photos in post above for reference)
- Spread the filling over the crust evenly, using a spatula if needed to smooth. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator for an additional 1-2 hours, or overnight, until set.
- Lift the bars out of the pan with the parchment paper, dust generously with powdered sugar and cut into 16 squares.
- Leftover bars will keep for up to 1 week in a covered container in the refrigerator. They freeze well, too. Enjoy!
Notes
- For gluten free vegan lemon bars, use an all purpose gluten free flour, such as Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour.
Nutrition
Hi Nora!
I just made these and when the pan came out of the oven the filling still looked very liquidy after the 15 minutes. Did your filling move around in the pan like this? I’m worried that they won’t set. 🙁
That sounds right, they will firm up as they cool in the fridge.
These tasted amazing! They were not complicated to make – the hardest part was waiting for them to cool so we could taste them. I cut out half a cup of sugar from the lemon curd and subbed coconut oil for vegan butter since I don’t tend to have vegan butter on hand. My whole family loved them and I can’t wait to make them again!
That’s so great! Thanks for the comment!
I never leave reviews on recipes, but these were out of this world amazing! They were really easy to make, even though I was afraid that I was messing up every step of the lemon filling. I will be making these over and over again! My husband is a lemon-lover and thinks that these are my best baking creation yet. I served them to my neighbors and they couldn’t believe that they were gluten free and vegan. Thank you!
I’m so happy they were such a hit! Yay!
Is it possible to substitute coconut milk with whipping cream (we are not vegan but love your recipe)? Will it set?
I’m so glad you love my recipes, thank you! I really have no idea if whipping cream would work as I don’t bake with it. It’s possible, but I’m not sure, sorry!
Thank you I tried with full fat milk and it worked. But it needed a little more time and a little more cornstarch to thicken. However,I found it difficult to get clean slices with sharp edges. ?
These came together exactly as the recipe describes, even if it doesn’t seem like they will! I used more lemon juice, didn’t have lemon extract, and the recipe is so forgiving. These are a wonderful lemon dessert in their own right, different than lemon bars made with egg custard. They reminded my family of pie filling.
Glad they were good!
Nora, thank you. From my heart and my belly.
You’re welcome!
Can I use another non dairy milk instead of coconut milk?
It would probably work pretty well, but I haven’t tried it.
Nora, thank you so much. These were a hit with my fellow self-quarantined neighbors here in my building on Capitol Hill in Seattle. I followed the recipe exactly. One thing I found–I don’t know if anyone else has–is that it took around fifteen minutes of stirring to get the filling to stiffen sufficiently. I was worried I’d done something wrong, but just kept stirring and suddenly it all came together. I look forward to making another of your great desserts.
I’m glad they came together and that you enjoyed them!
Hey! getting ready to test this recipe out but unfortunately do not have coconut milk, do you think soaked raw cashews blended into cashew cream could work as a substitute?
I’m not sure as I haven’t tested it, but cashew cream is much thicker, it might not work quite the same. You could try it, or even just use another non-dairy milk. Won’t be quite the same, but it should work!
Hi! My sister is gluten free, vegan, and sugar free for heath reasons. Can we substitute stevia in for the sugar? Since, Stevia is generally a 1 tsp : 1 cup ratio. Is the 1 1/2 cup of sugar integral for the consistency of the lemon bar? Thanks!
You could try it, but I can’t be sure it will work as I haven’t tested it without the sugar. My best guess is that it will probably still work, though of course they will taste quite different. I hope you and your sister enjoy them!
Can I use normal nut milk instead of coconut milk or coconut cream and stevia in place of white sugar?
Another milk won’t work as well as coconut milk or cream, the coconut helps them to become firm in the refrigerator. That said, it might work ok. I suppose you could use stevia instead of sugar, but they will taste much different of course.
Another excellent recipe. These were easy to make and so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and they are so yellow and lemony, buttery and perfect. Thank you for this!
You’re welcome! So glad they’re good!
I made these for a work party a few weeks ago and they were a hit! I made a quick olive oil crust and I loved the very Mediterranean combination of olive oil and lemons. I might go a little crazy this weekend and use this recipe as a base for key lime squares…
Sounds intriguing. And delicious!
I already left a comment about brown sugar working just fine, but I have to leave another because these were just so damn good.
There are many famous bakeries in and near Winnipeg, that I miss dearly since moving to BC. Even though I essentially made a deep-dish pie because I misplaced my stack of square pans, these bars turned out perfectly and were better than any I remember in those bakeries.
I only made them last night and I’m already thinking of trying them out again with every type of citrus fruit that I can get my hands on.
That’s so great! Thanks for the great comment!
Hi Nora. How do you get 1 1/4 cups of coconut milk if using mostly the white part? I do have a 14 oz can of coconut cream by Thai. Also, I just want the lemon curd. Would I just let it thicken and cool? obviously no baking I assume?
Thanks,
Lisa
If I have regular full fat coconut milk (instead of coconut cream), I will use as much of the white part as possible, then some of the liquid. Or use two cans if there isn’t much thick white part in 1 can. Most often, I like to just use coconut cream since there is more thick white cream. But the recipe will still work with more liquid than white part, so use what you have. Coconut cream is perfect. Yes, for lemon curd, just let it thicken, then cool. No need to bake it further.
I’ve made these before and they were awesome! I’d like to make them today with my plethora of lemons but I only have brown sugar. Do you think that would work instead of regular sugar? Thanks!
It will probably work, though the bars will be dark in color instead of bright.
I’ll give it a try! Thank you!
I just made these with half white sugar and half brown sugar. The uncooked mix was brown, but as soon as it thickened over the stove with a bit of turmeric, it turned a beautiful, clear yellow.
They were amazing! I added zest to the crust, a bit of vanilla to the filling and topped them with shredded coconut because that’s how they were always served in Winnipeg. They came out perfect and brought back a lot of memories. ?
Soooo good! I cooked the crust a tad too long so was a bit hard but still absolutely delicious. Dang, I think I’ll go eat another one (my third today). Thanks!
So glad you like them!
Could I put yellow food coloring in the filling to make the color stronger, or would that ruin the taste?
No food coloring shouldn’t affect the taste at all. Thanks!
Would it be better to use canned coconut milk (such as Thai kitchen unsweetened coconut milk) or canned coconut cream? Will it affect the moisture or baking process?
Either one is fine, I try to use almost entirely the creamy white part anyhow (which is coconut cream), and it will make no difference in the recipe. I have used both and haven’t noticed a difference.
I’m not a fan of coconut, can you taste it a lot in this recipe? And if so can it be substituted?
The lemon overpowers the coconut in my opinion, but I suppose if you really hate it the taste might come through. You could sub another non-dairy milk, like unsweetened almond or something, but it won’t be the same, and they won’t get as solid.
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Thanks!!
Does the coconut taste come through? I’m looking for a recipe that only tastes like lemon.
I think the lemon really overpowers the coconut here, but I suppose if you are really sensitive to coconut you might be able to taste it. I can’t though.
Hi, I want to make these soon. My daughter has an egg allergy but we aren’t vegan, so dairy is ok. Can I use regular dairy milk in place of coconut milk?
I actually don’t think regular milk would work in place of the coconut milk here, but I guess it might. It helps with the fact that there are no eggs in the lemon mixture and is thicker/richer than regular milk.
What is vegan butter? Can I use Earth Balance?
Yes, Earth Balance is a kind of vegan butter.
Best lemon bars! Thanks for a great, easy, recipe! Love that you used simple ingredients that most people have on hand!!
Thanks so much for the comment!
LOVE how these turned out!! I used a shark cookie cutter (because… Sharktopia) and made the best looking (and tasting) lemony dessert! I shared the end result online and tagged you (@caitirose22 is my foodie acct on Instagram – but I shared the result in my IG stories as well at @sharktopia). Hope you liked seeing your citrus treat as a Lemon Shark! XD
That’s so great! I did see the Instagram post. Looks great!
I followed the receipe and they didn’t turn out well. Plus I think the receioe calls for too much sugar. Is there away to cut the sugar?