Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Bars - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

Last updated - February 19, 2024; Published - October 13, 2019 By Rhian Williams 11 Comments

These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Bars have a rich and "buttery" shortbread base topped with a creamy, sweet and tangy lemon custard! They're fresh and fruity, and refined sugar free too. They're perfect for sharing and make an excellent easy make-ahead dessert.

I experimented with so many different ways to make these Lemon Bars, using a whole range of different ingredients, from a base made using walnuts and dates to a lemon custard made using blended cashews.

It was definitely a challenge to get the right taste and texture, but I found the best result was to use a shortbread base inspired by my Shortbread Cookies recipe and a lemon custard inspired by my Lemon Curd recipe.

The shortbread base

The shortbread base is made using a combination of ground almonds (almond meal) and brown rice flour. The ground almonds create a crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture, whilst the brown rice flour creates a crispy, crunchy texture.

You need to use brown rice flour, not white rice flour, which creates a soft cookie (like my Sugar Cookies) rather than a crunchy one.

If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.

The lemon custard

The lemon custard is made using shop-bought custard powder.

This is my favouritecustard powder - it's vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free, and contains just 4 simple ingredients!

Not only does this custard powder act as a thickener, making the lemon custard extra creamy, but it also adds a lovely colour without having to use something like turmeric.

How to make the shortbread base

Scroll down to thebottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Mix together the ingredients for the dough in aglass mixing bowl.

• Transfer into asquare baking tin.

Tip:Line the tin with greasedbaking paperto make it easier to remove the bars after.

• Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.

• Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.

• Leave to cool as you make the custard, although it doesn't matter if it hasn’t cooled completely before pouring on the custard.

How to make the lemon custard

• Measure out the rice milk in a measuring jug.
• Pour the milk into a pan, leaving behind a few tablespoons of milk in the jug.
• Heat up the milk.
• Add the custard powder to the remaining milk in the jug and mix well, ensuring it has dissolved completely.
• Once the milk in the pan is steaming, add approximately half of the hot milk to the bowl with the dissolved custard powder, mix well and transfer the custard powder mixture to the pan.
• Mix well and keep stirring on a low heat for around 5 minutes, until thickened.
• Add the lemon juice and maple syrup.

How to assemble

• Pour the lemon custard over the shortbread base until it’s completely evenly covered and make sure the surface is smooth.

Tip: Tap the dish gently on the counter a few times to get rid of the air bubbles.

• Leave to cool then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours until it firms up - may take slightly longer depending on the type of custard powder you use, the temperature of your fridge etc.
• Cut into squares once it’s completely firmed up.

How long do these Lemon Bars keep for?

They keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days. They make an excellent make-ahead dessert for entertaining and parties!

Substitutions you can make

• You can replace thecoconut oilwithcoconut butter.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• The ground almonds (almond meal) can be substituted with ground walnuts.
• For a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds and use a nut-free milk.

Substitutions to be careful of

• The brown rice flour CANNOT be substitutedwithwhite rice flour or any other gluten-free flour - it is essential for the shortbread base to keep its shape and texture.
• If you can't get hold of a shop-bought custard powder, you can replace it with the same amount of cornflour (cornstarch) or arrowroot, which will result in a similar texture, though the colour will be considerably less yellow.
• If not using custard powder, I would suggest adding a tiny pinch of saffron for yellow colour. I much prefer using saffron to turmeric, as it has a much milder flavour.
• You can use any type of plant-based milk for the custard, though results do vary depending on which you choose: cashew, oat or coconut milk make the creamiest and thickest custard, whilst almond milk will be less creamy. I personally prefer to use rice milk as it creates a just-set lemon curd-like consistency which I love.

More vegan dessert recipes

• Chocolate Lava Cake
• Apple Crumble Bars
• Coconut Macaroons
• Strawberry Trifle
• Sugar Cookies
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Yule Log
• Blueberry Crumble Bars
• Lemon Crumble Bars
• Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
• Vegan Baked Cheesecake
• Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars
• Churros
• Raspberry Madeleines

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog,I’d really love to hear anyfeedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes onInstagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make it

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