Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars with Almond Flour (no corn starch)

These lemon bars are the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Made with citrusy sweet lemon meringue filling and a gluten-free crust of almond flour and oats. The recipe uses arrowroot flour instead of cornstarch for a perfectly thick and jelly-like lemon curd.

Course Dessert, Snack, Sweets

Cuisine gluten-free, soy-free

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Chill time 2

Total Time 2 40

Servings bars

Calories 191kcal

Author Hannah Sunderani

Ingredients

Crispy Crust

3/4 cup gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp agave
3 tbsp coconut oil , melted

Lemon Filling

3/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp arrowroot flour
1 1/4 cup coconut milk (thick white portion only), or coconut cream
1/8 tsp turmeric (for colour)
1/8 tsp fine sea salt

For serving:

powdered sugar , optional for dusting

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper to fit snug along the bottom with flaps up the side.
Make the crispy crust: Pulse the oats in a high-speed blender until flour-like consistency. Add to a small mixing bowl, with the almond flour, sea salt, agave and melted coconut oil. Mix to combine.
Transfer the cookie crust to the baking tray and flatten with a spatula to make an even, solid base. Bake in the oven until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Keep the oven on.
Make the lemon filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, and arrowroot flour. Scoop 1 1/4 cup of the canned coconut milk into your saucepan using the thick white portion only (avoiding using the coconut water). Add a pinch of turmeric and sea salt and bring to medium heat. Cook the mixture, stirring often, until smooth and thickened into a custard consistency and gelatinous texture, 10 minutes.
Transfer the lemon filling to the baking pan and smoothen evenly with a spatula. Bake until the edges are slightly browned, 15 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. Then transfer the bake to the fridge to chill entirely, at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
Lift the dessert out of the dish using the parchment flaps, and dust with powdered sugar. Cut into 16 squares.

Notes

Filling takes about 2 hours to chill completely, but it's preferable to leave overnight to ensure they're entirely cool before cutting.

Lemon bars will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. Store in an air-tight container. They can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Reserve the coconut water from the canned coconut milk for smoothies.

Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

Nutrition