Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars (GF)

I made this using substitutions since I didn’t have what I thought I did. I substituted Organic Rolled Oats with Ancient Grains & Seeds instead of the oatmeal and Blanched Almond Flour instead of almonds (3/4 c flour rather than 1 c almonds, had to guess about that). Figured they were going to get ground up anyway so the flour should work. These two substitutions resulted in a crust that was drier than I would have liked (the cereal mix had chia seeds which could definitely have sucked up moisture) but they worked in that I achieved a crust that was tolerably crumbly and held together. I am OK with the flavor but sure the straight oatmeal would be better and ditto with the almonds. The flour is a less flavorful.

When I blended the lemon mixture I did double the zest trying to increase the lemon flavor. It’s there, but it’s definitely not what you expect in a lemon bar… something I have to lay at the feet of the cashews and coconut cream. Those ingredients will mellow whatever you put with them.

I did do something with my blender that I often do making vegan sour cream etc. and that is to blend on soup mode which both blends and heats the mixture. That gives me a very smooth, thick mixture which cooked up beautifully.

Frankly, I like these bars but I’d be tempted to rename them because calling them ‘lemon bars’ sets expectations. They’re more of a ‘lemon custard bar’ perhaps?

This was a huge hit with my omni family. I ended up zesting all the lemons since we love tart desserts and used pecans instead of almonds since we had those on hand. So good!!

Thanks for this recipe! I made it today and liked it but didn’t love it (yet). I will make it again. I’ll make less crust or will use some of it for another dessert. It was a bit too thick for me but has a good taste. It could be a bar by itself! I wasn’t 100% thrilled with the lemon mixture. There was something missing but I can’t put my finger on what it was. I added more lemon juice and zest. I still needed a bit more of something… I’ll make it again. Perhaps the lemons weren’t as ripe as needed or a bit bland instead of more sour. It was good but not great. The consistency was very much like cheesecake, which was exciting! I’m glad I made it. I also loved that it was easy. Thanks!

This recipe was ok… I used tapioca starch (turns out that what they call “arrowroot starch” is tapioca starch here in Australia and is the only one available), and i don’t really love the texture of the filling. It actually lacked the creaminess and “airiness” that was appealing to me about the recipe and photos, and the flavours weren’t very bright or particularly tasty after baking even though i added more zest (looks like another reviewer experienced this too- i think i saw on the youtube comments). Unfortunately i would not try this recipe again and do not recommend it. Was not worth it especially because i buy nuts organic and this recipe uses a whole 2 cups of 2 nuts and just ended up feeling like a waste. Also, the base for me was very crumbly and didn’t hold together well.

This is a delicious healthy treat! You can tweak it to your taste — sweeter or more lemony and tart.

The crust reminded me of graham crackers and was easy to make.

I didn’t sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on it but it isn’t necessary.

This would make a great dessert menu item for a vegan restaurant or shop.

Used a different crust recipe because I made the bars into a 10″ tart and upped the ingredients for the filling a bit. Came out AWESOME. So luscious and flavorful. I would up the zest next time, but that’s small potatoes in terms of tweaks. Just a wonderful recipe. Thank you so much. Oh! And for those of you out there feeding people of all different food preferences and allowances, this was an across the board pleaser no matter if the crowd is vegan, gluten free, cane sugar free or not. The lemon flavor is so bright and dominant. I will say that my child wasn’t a big fan because he said it was too tart. I prefer a dessert that is slightly sweet but not cloying, however for kids, the maple could be upped.

Hello community! I have made this with meyer lemons and loved it. Has anyone tried using lime juice instead of lemon? Our lime tree is loaded and literally dropping delicious fruit on the ground. Thanks!

Love this recipe so much. Easy to make and incredibly delicious to eat. Just doubled the recipe for a function tomorrow. Can’t wait to bite into one! Cheers

Made this for NYE and it was a hit!!! Thanks for another great one!!

Love this recipe! The bars are delicious! I love it so much I’ve tried a number of times to make it into a full cheesecake, but never had success. 😩 Would looove to have a full size cheesecake like this! Any tips? I’ve tried reducing the temp and baking longer, water bath, glass and metal pans.. nothing seems to work to make it a round cake. I’m stumped!

I have made this dessert 3 times in the past month. I made it first for a vegan family member who loves lemon desserts. It was a big hit and I keep making it!!