These totally vegan and nut-free lemon bars are a DREAM! Thick, custard-y filling, buttery crust, bright citrus flavor; need I say more?

Now, I had a friend ask me if I had some recipes that used A LOT of lemon juice, since she had gotten almost 30 lemons from a (very kind!!!) mutual friend. Short of suggesting that she make limoncello, I poked around on the blog for recipes using lemon. Boozy Mint Strawberry Lemonade was an obvious one, but she was looking for some baking ideas as well.

I thought back to the blood orange bars I made for a VegNews and sent the recipe over to her thinking the orange juice could probably be swapped out for lemon in a pinch? But, then, I sent myself down a lemon bar rabbit hole and ended up making three versions, changing the cooking style as well, until I formed this LUSH, vegan lemon bar recipe.

Though I personally love an almost 1:1 crust to filling ratio, I know that won’t fly for the masses. So, here, I aimed for 2.5:1 filling to crust, where the filling is like a vegan custard-curd love child. As I mentioned, I’d describe it as lush, as it’s smooth and thick but not too firm. And it definitely packs a lemony punch! Though you can adjust that to your preferences a lil’ bit.

Substitutions and tips:

• Vegan butter – this is used in the crust for a *duh* buttery flavor and fat source, but you’re welcome to use vegetable shortening or refined coconut oil if that’s what you have on hand. I’d add a pinch more salt if you use either of those instead.
• Cane sugar – this is used in both the crust and filling, and I wouldn’t suggest replacing it with something else. Coconut sugar may turn this into the ugliest dessert you’ve ever seen.
• Meyer lemons – if you can’t find these, standard lemons will work but it will likely be more tart, so taste and adjust after blending filling mixture.
• Unbleached all-purpose flour – again, this is used in both the crust and filling. You could likely replace the portion in the crust with a 1:1 Gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. But in the filling, I think replacing it with 2 tablespoons tapioca starch would be a better alternative, since it’s for thickening.
• Full-fat coconut milk – typically a recipe like this has eggs in it, so here I’ve used full-fat coconut milk for the fattiness and tofu for the protein that would be there. You can use vegan half & half instead if you hate coconut flavor of any kind.
• Silken tofu – as mentioned this is for protein. You may be able to replace this with vegan liquid egg substitute like Just Egg, but I have not tried it, so I can’t whole-heartedly recommend it.
• Corn starch – I found that even with the tofu, this still needed some help firming up while still being a very smooth custard. You can use tapioca starch instead but it will be a little looser in thickness.
• Vanilla bean paste – you can use an equal amount of vanilla extract to replace it if you don’t have this on hand.
• Lemon extract – I love the extra punch this gives the filling, but if you don’t have it and don’t want to buy it just for this, you can add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar which I learned from the Pancake Princess’s lemon bar bake-off! (Which is a great read, if you’re curious) Or if you like a more sweet lemon bar, just omit it.

I think that just about covers it, but of course, if you have any inquiries about ingredients, just leave a comment or email me! And as a reminder, if you try the recipe and love it, it helps so much when you leave a star rating on the recipe form below (you don’t even have to type anything out!). <3

And here are some more treats that you may enjoy!

• Lemon Berry Cheezecake Parfait
• Gluten-free Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Bars
• Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones