Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars combine a sweet citrus ‘cream’ with a ‘buttery’ crust. As rich in protein as they are decadent, these bars are a dessert force to be reckoned with!
Many of my recipes are inspired by childhood favorites. I find myself longing for them desperately but they don’t fit into a gluten-free, plant-based and refined sugar-free diet. This recipe is no different. I’ve loved my mother’s lemon bars since I was a little girl. I have nailed crusts that would seamlessly replace the one in her lemon bars like my Pure Piña Colada Bars, or Berry Bliss Bars. But the first ingredient for my mother’s lemon cream is sweetened condensed milk–that pretty much stopped me in my tracks!
Meyer Lemons (L) and Regular Lemons (R)
If At First You Don’t Succeed!
But I did!! One day I mustered up my determination (aka desperation) and decided I was going to find a way to make a plant-based/vegan and refined sugar-free version of the heavenly nectar that is a blend of sweetened condensed milk and fresh lemon juice. I was prepared to go all day if I had to. Fortunately that was not the case! After breaking down what I believed to be the fundamental components of the nectar I rebuilt it with my healthier ingredients–better, stronger, faster–the six million dollar lemon bars?! Nostalgia does strange things to you, doesn’t it? The final piece of the puzzle.
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars – Crust Mixture
Pesky Parchment
If you have read my post for my Mexican Vegan Loaf recipe, you saw the hack I shared on “training your parchment” paper to stay down in a loaf pan. I didn’t have a large enough rubber band this time so I came up with yet another hack to keep the parchment paper from popping up and sliding around while you try to press crust into a pan.
Securing Parchment Paper
Timing Is Everything
Coincidence or influence? Who knows?! I happened to develop this recipe during Meyer lemon season. Meyer lemons are delightful. Brought to the United States in the early 1900’s from their native China by agricultural explorer Frank Meyer. Often described as a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange, Meyer lemons really are a blend of the two. Outwardly it is shaped like a lemon yet has the color of an orange. The flavor is also an amazing combination of the tempered tartness of lemon with light flavor of orange. I really enjoyed the confluence of flavor the Meyer lemon added to the traditional lemon bar. But if you are really hankering for that bold lemon flavor, please feel free to substitute with the juice of ‘true’ lemon.
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars – Meyer Lemon Cream
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars – Lemon Cream on Crust
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars – Ready to Bake
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars
Thanks to cashews, almond flour and oats. these bars are packin’ protein aplenty. I used an 8×8 inch pan to bake these bars and 1/16th of the pan contains roughly 3.5 grams of protein. The healthy fats are from sources like raw cashews, coconut butter and coconut oil. All the sweetness is made possible by unrefined sugars (coconut nectar and/or maple syrup and coconut palm sugar). If you have a low sugar diet and your palate is very sensitive to sugar–I have not tried it–I think you could cut back a tablespoon or two of the sweetener in the lemon cream.
Enjoy!
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars
Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars combine a sweet citrus 'cream' with a 'buttery' crust. As rich in protein as they are decadent, these bars are a dessert force to be reckoned with!
Ingredients
- Crust
- 1 cup almond meal flour
- 1 cup gluten-free quick cooking oats
- 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 3 tablespoons refined coconut oil melted
- 2 tablespoons room temperature cashew milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Meyer Lemon Cream
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup coconut nectar or maple syrup (I used 1/4 cup of each)
- 1/4 cup coconut butter (there will be no coconut flavor in the bars)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh Meyer lemon juice, approximately juice from two med. lemons (or use regular lemons for a stronger lemon flavor)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon arrowroot
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Crust
- 1) Mix together almond flour, oats, coconut palm sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine melted coconut oil, room temperature cashew milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl and then add to dry mixture. Cut wet ingredients into dry with a wooden spoon, pastry cutter or two butter knives. Should be small crumbs (see picture in post).
- 2) Reserve 2/3 cup of crumb mixture and pour the rest into lined pan. Using clean hands press crust firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan. Cover pan with small towel to prevent drying out while preparing lemon cream.
- Meyer Lemon Cream
- 1) If using a regular blender soak cashews in very hot water until soft (about 45 minutes) then rinse, drain, and blot off excess water. If using a high speed blender there is no need to soak the cashews.
- 2) Add first six ingredients to blender and mix until smooth while periodically stopping to scrape sides (about 3 to 4 minutes depending on blender). Add arrowroot, blend in thoroughly. Scrape sides of blender to assure that all arrowroot has been mixed in. Pour one cup of lemon cream on crust and spread evenly with spatula. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup of crumbs evenly on top (see picture in post).
- Bake 32 to 35 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place on cooling rack until cool. Refrigerate until chilled before serving. These bars are best stored chilled in an airtight container but may be served at room temperature if desired.
Notes
Lemon Juice If you are really hankering for that bold lemon flavor that a traditional lemon, please feel free to substitute with the juice of 'true' lemon.
Sweetness If you have a low sugar diet and your palate is very sensitive to sugar--I have not tried it--I think you could cut back a tablespoon or two of the sweetener in the lemon cream.
Prep Time does not include soaking cashews if necessary.
I just made these (only substitutes were almond butter for the coconut butter and almond milk for the cashew milk) and I have to say they were outstanding! More delicious than I even imagined. I love the subtle lemon flavor. Thank you for the recipe!! I can’t wait to make them again.
Hi Rachel, Thanks so much! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. Also, thanks for sharing your substitutions! 🙂
I made these with vegan honey but used a third of a cup and they came out good. Not too sweet with a hint of tanginess.
That sounds great! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!! 🙂
I made these today for my family and they loved. I used regular lemons and cacao butter instead of Meyer lemons and coconut butter. They were good. I think when I make again I would add more lemon juice. It was very simple to put together and cooked exactly 32mins. I have been searching for a simple lemon bar recipe. Thank you
Hi Stefania! I’m so glad you liked the lemon bar recipe!! I’m really happy with it myself. The Meyer lemons really make a nice subtle lemony flavor but using regular lemon is great when you’re flavin’ for a little lemon zip! 🙂
Hi there!
I just Love your recipes and would Love to have all of them! How do I get them?
Thanks so much Cheryl! I am currently working on developing a cookbook! In the meantime if you go to the recipes page https://www.nutritionicity.com/recipes/ this will show you all of the recipes posted in order of most recent to oldest. Or you can search on specific categories in the Recipes sub-menus, or you can use the search field to search for a specific recipe or ingredient. I hope this helps! 🙂