Vegan Lemon Bars

4.97 from 31 votes

The best vegan lemon bars are tangy, sweet and lemony with a buttery shortbread crust and a filling that tastes like lemon meringue pie!

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 240kcal

Author: Alison Andrews

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust:

2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
½ teaspoon Salt
1 cup Vegan Butter (225g)

Lemon Filling:

1 cup Lemon Juice (240ml) Freshly Squeezed, about 4 Large Lemons
2 cups White Granulated Sugar (400g)
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract
¼ teaspoon Salt
14 ounces Canned Coconut Cream (400ml, 1 can) Unsweetened
½ cup Cornstarch (64g)
⅛ teaspoon Turmeric

Decorating:

Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and prepare a 9x13 baking dish by spraying it with non stick spray and lining it with parchment paper so that there is a parchment paper overhang on each side. Set aside.
Add the all purpose flour, white sugar and salt for your shortbread crust to a mixing bowl and mix together. Then add in the vegan butter.
Use your hands to break up the butter with the flour until it reaches a crumbly texture, then gradually start to form it into a big ball of dough.
Place the dough into the prepared dish and use your hands to smooth it down across the bottom of the dish into a smooth even layer.
Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. When it's done, remove from the oven, leaving the oven on, and let it sit on the countertop while you prepare the lemon filling.
Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar, lemon extract, salt, coconut cream, cornstarch and turmeric to a saucepan and whisk as it heats until the ingredients are well combined. Then switch to a wooden spoon and keep stirring. It will suddenly start to thicken dramatically and you'll know it's done.
Pour the lemon filling out over the top of the shortbread crust and smooth down.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F.
Remove from the oven and place the dish onto a a wire cooling rack on the countertop for an hour to cool down before placing the whole dish into the fridge to chill completely.
Let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until completely chilled before slicing into squares. It's even more ideal if you can leave it overnight to really firm up before slicing.
When chilled, remove it from the fridge and lift the dessert out of the dish using the parchment paper overhang. Place onto a wooden board and cut into 24 squares.
Then sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top and you're ready to serve!

Notes

Weigh your flour for the most accurate results. If you're using only a cup measure then make sure you use the spoon and level method for the best accuracy.
Coconut cream can be replaced with canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
Turmeric is just for color and can be omitted if you prefer.
Gluten free: You can likely make these gluten-free if you use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour. I have not tested this so far, but I think it would work.
Make ahead: This is the perfect make ahead dessert because the bars get to the perfect consistency if they have a chance to chill overnight in the fridge, so it's perfect to make this the day before.
Storing: They keep perfectly in the fridge in a covered container for around a week.
Freezing: Place the squares into a freezer safe container and freeze. When you're ready for them, just place them into the fridge to thaw and serve straight from the fridge.
Prep time does not include time spent chilling in the fridge.

Nutrition