These delicious Lemon Bars are sponsored by ALDI and all opinions are my own as always.
These tart, sweet, lemon bars have a sugar cookie crust and creamy cashew based lemon layer. This healthy dessert is totally dairy free, paleo, egg free with a vegan option, and irresistible!
Once spring hits there is really nothing I crave more than a good lemon dessert! Lots of fresh sweet + tart flavor is the perfect way to welcome spring.
I’ve made more traditional paleo versions of lemon bars in the past – with a custard filling, but wanted to test out an egg free vegan version this year.
These creamy lemon bars definitely did not disappoint! The lemon layer itself is no-bake, but the crust is a baked sugar cookie! Sugar cookie + silky lemony filling = spring dessert heaven!
These bars are great whenever you feel like baking up an easy, healthy sweet treat.
What You Need To Make Lemon Bars with Cookie Crust
These lemon bars are filled with real food, good for you ingredients, with no refined sugar, grains, or dairy. Here’s what you’ll need to prepare them:
Crust:
- Baker’s Corner Almond Flour
- Fine sea salt
- Simply Nature Organic Coconut Oil
- Raw honey, or pure maple syrup (for vegan version)
- Vanilla extract
Lemon Filling:
- Raw cashews
- Coconut cream
- Raw honey, or pure maple syrup (for vegan version)
- Lemons
- Coconut oil
- Fine sea salt
I love that you can buy so many essentials for paleo baking at ALDI for such affordable prices.
With paleo friendly baking staples like blanched almond flour, coconut oil, and sweeteners like raw honey, pure maple syrup and coconut sugar, it’s easy to get started with paleo baking.
Whether it’s cookies, breads, or these lemon bars, ALDI provides great options to make paleo baking affordable for you.
How to Make Lemon Bars with Cookie Crust
Begin by preparing the crust. Stir together all ingredients in a mixing bowl and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line an 8 x 8” baking pan with parchment paper on the bottom and an inch up the sides. Press the chilled dough into the bottom of the lined baking pan.
Bake for 10 minutes or until set and just beginning to turn light brown. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool. After cooling for about 20 minutes, you can place the pan in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling, if desired.
For the lemon layer, place all the ingredients in a large high speed blender or food processor (I used a Vitamix blender) and blend until completely smooth – this might take several minutes depending on your blender. Stop to scrape down the sides periodically if needed.
Once the crust has mostly cooled, pour the cashew mixture over the crust and spread evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, or freeze for at least 4 hours to set.
Before serving, use a very sharp knife to cut into squares. Garnish with additional lemon zest or slices if you like.
Tips for a Super Creamy Lemon Layer
It helps to use a powerful blender to get the lemon cashew layer very creamy.
If your blender or food processor isn’t high powered, just make sure you soak your cashews in warm or hot water for longer – up to overnight. This will soften them more to make blending easier.
You might need to blend, pulse, and scrape down the sides over the course of several minutes to get the mixture nice and creamy. Be patient – even if it’s not completely silky i will still be super delicious!
How to Store Lemon Bars
These lemon bars need to be stored either in the refrigerator or freezer to keep their shape and texture.
The freezer will make them solid, so you’ll need to thaw them for about an hour in the refrigerator before serving.
Keep them tightly covered in plastic wrap while stored. They should last in the refrigerator for about one week and up to a month or longer in the freezer.
I hope you’re ready for the creamiest paleo lemon bars you’ll ever make! Grab your ingredients and preheat your oven, it’s time to bake – let’s go!
Lemon Bars with Cookie Crust {Paleo, Vegan}
Lemon Bars with Cookie Crust {Paleo, Vegan}
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups Baker’s Corner Almond Flour
- 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup Simply Nature Organic Coconut Oil melted
- 3 tablespoons raw honey or pure maple syrup for vegan
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Lemon Layer:
- 2 3/4 cups raw cashews soaked in warm water for at least an hour, and drained
- 3/4 cup coconut cream chilled - (this is the thick part only of a can of coconut milk that’s been separated)
- 2/3 cup raw honey or pure maple syrup for vegan
- Grated zest of 2 lemons
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup organic coconut oil soft
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
Crust:
-
Begin by preparing the crust. Stir together all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
-
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line an 8 x 8” baking pan with parchment paper on the bottom and an inch up the sides. Press the chilled dough into the bottom of the lined baking pan.
-
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until set and just beginning to turn light brown. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool. After cooling for about 20 minutes, you can place the pan in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling, if desired.
Lemon Layer:
-
Place all the ingredients for the lemon layer in a large high speed blender or food processor (I used a Vitamix blender). Blend until completely smooth - this might take several minutes depending on your blender. Stop to scrape down the sides periodically if needed.
-
Once the crust has mostly cooled, pour the lemon cashew mixture over the crust and spread evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, or freeze for at least 4 hours to set.
-
Before serving, use a very sharp knife to cut into squares. Garnish with additional lemon zest if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Want More Paleo + Vegan Dessert Recipes? Try One of These!
Vanilla Cheesecake with Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust
Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Strawberry Lemon No Bake Cheesecake
Espresso Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
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Hi will cashew butter work for this recipe? Thanks so much!
I was going to ask the same thing lol can we use cashew butter? If so how much? Thank you?
Amazing lemon bars!!
These look SO GOOD! Definitly gonna grab some lemons on my next store trio to try these out!! ??
These were so good! The lemon filling is so creamy. I can’t wait to make these for the next family get together and then surprise everybody when I tell them that they’re made with cashews. Thank you for another great recipe!
These were delicious! I bit of work to get to the final product, but worth the wait. I’d make these again, they’d go well on a hot summer day for a refreshing lemon treat.
Is there a honey/maple syrup substitute to make it low carb perhaps?
I was glad to see this dairy/egg free lemon bar recipe. I followed the recipe but used part honey, part agave. The crust was so jiggly soft while baking I had to bake it an extra 15 min and it separates easily away from the lemon filling. The lemon filling I also used part honey and part agave and it was pretty soft even in the fridge, kind of like banana pudding. Next time I’ll reduce the syrups by half – the crust and the filling were too sweet. And I’d reduce the oil possibly by half in the crust, it was so oily. Otherwise good flavor and kind of like cheesecake texture out of the freezer.
Amazing!! Made for a friend’s birthday and everyone loved them. Worth the wait!!
oh and I added a touch of rosemary to the crust. So perfect!!
Did you add fresh rosemary or a rosemary oil?
I only made the crust while following a different recipe for the lemon meringue topping and it turned out delicious! I loved the cookie dough crust which tasted just like sugar cookies!
Hi,
I’m allergic to almonds, can I use coconut flour?
These are SO amazing! The crust is just as satisfying as the old graham cracker/butter/sugar recipe I used to make, and the lemon filling is wonderfully creamy. I used a few drops of lemon essential oil instead of the lemon rind (easier and organic). My husband, who basically has no dietary restrictions (unlike me), loves them too. Thank you for sharing such a delicious, healthy, allergy-friendly recipe!
Never seen almond flour in Aldi, so what else can I use instead please?
After reading the comments, I made a few changes to this recipe. In the crust I used 1/4 c. coconut oil, 1 tbsp of honey and 1 tbsp. of coconut flour along with the almond flour and vanilla. Refrigerated for 10 minutes. In the filling, I used 1/3 c. coconut oil (instead of 2/3) and a 5.4 oz. can of Native Forest coconut cream instead of separating the cream from the milk. They came out great and I will make them again! If I had any True Lemon packets in the house, I would have added a couple to give the lemon flavor more depth.
This recipe is absolutely perfect. I used the Native Forest brand of canned coconut milk and it did not separate at all so I used 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and it turned out amazing! No need for changing the recipe for me. I’m posting this review on Pinterest too cause it is SO DANG GOOD