Creamy vegan lemon bars… simple and delicious, with no refined sugar & NO crazy ingredients.
This time, there is no tofu, no cauliflower, and they’re even nut-free!
They are light, soft, & extra lemony – One taste and you will swear they must be made up of heavy cream, butter, and a week’s worth of sugar… but shockingly, these bars call for none of those ingredients! These really are the lemon bars of dreams.
When I posted a preview on Instagram a few weeks ago, the bars quickly got over 3,000 likes and requests for the recipe, with more buzz and excitement than even some of my chocolate posts get!
The inspiration was another lemony recipe – Healthy Lemon Squares made with tofu.
Over the years, so many people have asked me if I could come up with a soy-free version of those tofu-based lemon bars, and finally I decided to try it out. This recipe for healthy lemon bars is not only soy-free but can also be raw, gluten-free, vegan, paleo, and no-bake.
If you love lemony desserts, you will love these too!
Vegan Lemon Bars Of Dreams
Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars!
Print This Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut butter OR Greek Yogurt – such as dairy-free Homemade Greek Yogurt (120g)
- 2 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup or honey (37g)
- 2 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil (26g)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (15g)
- zest of one lemon
- optional, pinch turmeric for color
Instructions
Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper. For a crust, you can either use half of my gluten free pie crust recipe OR take 4 full graham cracker sheets and process into fine crumbs, then press very firmly into the bottom of the loaf pan. Gently melt the coconut butter, if using. In a bowl, evenly stir together all lemon bar ingredients except the coconut oil, and let sit until no longer cold. (This is so the coconut oil doesn’t harden upon hitting the cold yogurt.) Stir in the melted coconut oil, then spread on top of your crust. Freeze 3-4 hours, or until firm enough to slice but not rock hard. Store leftovers in the fridge, or freeze and thaw a little before serving.
More Lemon Desserts:
Marina @ A says
I can’t believe these are only 4 ingredients minus the crust!! They look absolutely lovely Katie 🙂 By the way, I’ll be in DC on Friday 🙂
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Chocolate Covered Katie says
Aw I hope you have so much fun! Go to Raisika and Daikaya and Union Market if you have time. My favorites! 🙂
a cat typing for her owne says
Aaaa these sound perfect! Thanks so much for posting!
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Katie Sue says
Wow, these look amazing. I love lemon desserts, especially in the spring. But I was wondering if regular homemade yogurt would work instead of Greek??? Definitely plan on trying these ASAP.
Alexa says
The recipe has a link if you click the pink Homemade Greek Yogurt that tells you how to use regular yogurt.
Katie Sue says
Thanks so much!
Kate says
I’m curious; how much does using coconut butter vs. Greek yogurt change the texture and flavor? Those have pretty different consistencies/tastes/fat amounts.
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Oh they will definitely be different. But both work, and both taste delicious in their own right. The photos are of bars made with the yogurt.
Alexa says
These literally just went to the very top of my to do list! 🙂 🙂
Bianca Phillips says
Ooh, lemon is my fave. These look amazing!
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Jasmine says
Katie would I melt the coconut butter too?
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Chocolate Covered Katie says
Yes, mine was already melted when I made them because of the heat and humidity, but if it’s hard then melt it gently until stir-able so you can easily mix it with the other ingredients.
Edith says
This looks amazing!!! Love lemon 🙂
http://thehappyvegangirl.com
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Bites for Foodies says
These sound DIVINE! I used to be all about chocolate desserts but lately my new fave is lemon. I make some amazing lemon coconut energy bars and they surpass my chocolate ones by far, in terms of flavour and texture!
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Cassie says
There’s nothing wrong with tofu, but I always love a good alternative recipe! I love the delicious crust recipe!
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Chloe says
These look amazing! Finding your blog, and seeing that you publish healthy deserts was like a dream come true for me! Love it!
Michelle says
Made these today and yet another success! I doubled the recipe and made it an 8×8 because the kids had friends coming over after school. Worked equally well in the bigger size.
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Chocolate Covered Katie says
Thank you so much for making them!!
Paige says
Oh my goodness, how have I only just come across your website. These look delicious, cant wait to try them.
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Sarah says
This filling is delish but I made your crust recipe but there is wayyyyyy too much for the amount of filling. I took some out of the loaf pan since it seemed too thick. And even half of the crust recipe still seems like too much. Did I follow something wrong? Thanks!
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Hi, sorry for the confusion! I realize now that the way I’d worded that was very confusing. (I’d just meant to use it as a base, not those proportions.) I went back and fixed the post – you’ll need about half of that crust recipe for these bars, as a full recipe will cover the bottom of an 8×8 pan.
Diana says
I made these yesterday. I think they taste delicious with the crust I used (graham cracker crumbs + melted Smart Balance + Splenda), but I think they would taste better with more filling, as they are rather flat.
Kate says
I made the Greek yogurt version, and my whole family loved them! I actually liked eating them pretty much straight out of the freezer–kind of like a tart lemon sorbet, which was perfect for the hot weather. I’ve been looking for a lemon bar that wasn’t too sweet, and this was it! The only problem was that my graham cracker crust was very crumbly; next time I will definitely add a tablespoon or so of coconut oil to it.
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christie pellow says
Katie, I am absolutely obsessed with everything you make (so is my boyfriend)! You are my hero and so sweet from your posts. I can’t wait to make these tomorrow! Citrus desserts are my favorite. I was wondering if I could also use this recipe but substitute limes for lemons to make a “key lime pie” rendition? If not I would love for you to eventually publish a key lime pie healthy alternative. <3
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Unofficial CCK Helper says
Sure you can definitely do that!
Dalila says
Made this today for 4th of July 2016. It was pretty good but not like AMAZING. I used agave with yogurt instead of coconut butter.
Also added some coconut flakes into it and made my own crust.
I plan to try some other of the lemon recipes u have. It was pretty good though, i enjoy cold lemony things 🙂
Josie sidleck says
Hi, these sound great but I was wondering can you use full fat coconut milk instead of the yogurt or coconut butter?
Chocolate Covered Katie says
You can definitely experiment! Be sure to report back if you do try 🙂
E I says
What is the difference between coconut butter and coconut oil?
Gina says
Sounds delicious, but I was wondering what coconut butter is?
Thank you!
Jason Sanford says
https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/06/30/coconut-butter-and-coconut-oil/
Katherine says
Hi Katie,
Your Vegan Lemon Bars recipe is fantastic.
I would love to feature this in our website, Greenthickies. I will not be posting the actual recipe but will use only one image from this post and a small quote and link back here.
Is that okay?
Thanks 🙂
Katherine,
Greenthickies
p.s. I did read your FAQ, but I just thought I’d let you know anyway 🙂
Jason Sanford says
Please feel free!
Jason (media relations)
Bavneet says
Thanks for sharing the recipe. This really looks amazing. I will surely try to make it.
Teresa says
Katie, thanks so much for this spectacular blog! It’s really everything I’ve always wanted in a food blog. I really appreciate how you share recipes that aren’t just vegan, but don’t include or rely on cane sugar as well. I am vegan and also have an intolerance of cane sugar, so it exasperates me sometimes when I’m trying to look up vegan recipes on other blogs and just see cane sugar everywhere, even though it’s usually relatively easy to swap out for something I can eat. It’s really refreshing to come to your blog and not see cane sugar as the first option for sweetener in a recipe. 🙂 I also really appreciate your knack for veganizing classic favorites and how you don’t shy away from desserts, because I firmly believe in healthily indulging my sweet tooth. There are so many recipes on this blog that I’m excited to try (including this one) and I wish you all the best in your future culinary endeavors!
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Thank you so incredibly much for such a sweet comment 🙂