I said I was going to make healthy lemon bars this summer and I finally did it! Vegan and naturally sweet!
2 years ago I gave Ina Garten’s lemon bar recipe a natural makeover. I thought I had conquered the world of traditional desserts because they were a perfect replica. To be more specific, my husband couldn’t tell the difference and everyone I tested them on adored them. A real feat because her lemon bar recipe is the best, right?
Now a couple of years later, with a little more knowledge and experience, I wasn’t going to stop there. I was going to make lemon bars without a pound of butter, sugar or eggs! So without the traditional ingredients, these healthy lemon squares are better for you. They still have that famous shortbread base and thick lemon filling. And contain that divine sweet to tart ratio flavor that is found in Ina Garten’s recipe.
So how on earth did I make lemon bars without butter, sugar or eggs that still tasted delicious? There’s a secret ingredient! It’s brilliant!
It’s agar-agar!. Agar-agar (or sometimes just called agar) is made from seaweed and is often used as a gelatin substitute. (If you didn’t know, gelatin is made from boiled animal ligaments and sinews so that’s not vegan-friendly either.) It can be a little expensive, but you never need much! For a 9″ by 13″ pan of these healthy lemon bars that are also super thick and filling – you’ll only need a tablespoon of agar! So your vegan investment will last a long time. That is, if you can resist making these lemon bars every other week!
Agar-agar is wonderful because when we add it to lemon juice and natural sugars, it will become deliciously thick and will take on the flavor of citrus. It holds a wonderful shape, so you get perfect lemon squares every time. The texture is a bit different from traditional bars, but they will feed any custardy craving! All this without refined sugar or unhealthy dairy products. Yep, the best of both worlds – these are a taste of vegan goodness to the max!
Healthy Vegan Lemon Bars
Crust:
2 1/3 cups White Spelt Flour or Organic White Flour
3/4 cup Xylitol, Powdered Honey, Maple Sugar, Raw Sugar (powdered honey is my fav for this part)
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon Sea or Pink Salt
1 1/3 cups Earth Balance Butter
1/2 teaspoon Natural Butter Extract (optional)
Filling:
2 cups Water
1 Tablespoon Agar-Agar Powder (not Agar-Agar Flakes)
3/4 cup Xylitol + 1/2 cup Powdered Honey/Maple Sugar/Raw Sugar
1 Tablespoon Liquid Stevia
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch (decrease to 1 1/2 Tablespoons if using powdered honey)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Zest (about 6 Large Lemons)
2-3 drops Natural Yellow Food Coloring (optional, but recommended for a true yellow color)
2 Tablespoons Powdered Xylitol
1/2 teaspoon White Flour
Prepare the crust:
In a large bowl combine the flour, sweetener, baking powder and salt. Mix well to combine. Cut in the earth balance butter in to the mixture until it looks like almost like a moist pie dough. Scoop out the mixture and press into a slightly greased 9 by 13 or 11 by 7 pan for thicker bars (like pictured). Press gently around the edges to create a crust so the filling will hold well. Place in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool. Next, start on your filling.
In a saucepan, soak the agar and water in a sauce pan for 2 minutes.
After the agar has mostly dissolved, turn on the heat to high and boil for about 2-3 minutes until the agar is completely dissolved. The mixture will boil and bubble up, so just lift the pan up from the heat if it rises too much. Mix in dry sweetener and stevia. Turn down the heat to medium and add the cornstarch, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk constantly over a low simmer until the mixture thickens slightly and everything is dissolved, about 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla extract and the food coloring, if desired.
When everything has dissolved, pour over the crust. Don’t worry that the mixture isn’t very thick at this point, it will stiffen up in the fridge! Allow to refrigerate for about an hour, until the filling is slightly wiggly but firm and has set. Sprinkle or sift some powdered xylitol over bars. Slice into bars and devour! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
NOTE:
* The dusted sweeteners on top of the lemon filling dissolves really quickly unless adding a bit of flour to it. Because of this, dust with sweeteners immediately before serving.
Recipe inspired from nomeatathelete.com, who sourced recipe from Veganomicon
Based on 3 Review(s)
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Jessica says
I couldn’t believe these lemon bars were vegan. They taste amazing. Thanks for the great recipe!
Natural Sweet Recipes says
Jessica, I’m happy you loved these lemon bars! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kara says
YUM!!!
Tara Zeitoun says
Could I use coconut sugar or maple syrup?
Natural Sweet Recipes says
Hi Tara, coconut sugar could work in this recipe, however, it will darken the appearance and change the taste slightly. If you wanted to use it in the crust, that would be okay, but I would not suggest using it in the filling. Since maple syrup is a liquid sweetener, it would change the recipe too much. You could experiment but we can’t vouch for the results. :) Good luck!
Paige says
Nice recipe, but honey is not a vegan product, so these would not be vegan if honey was used.
Annie says
Hi Paige! Glad you like the recipe. We give the option for honey because we know vegans who truly avoid all animal products except for eating honey, so saying they are vegan is an easier description than saying “dairy-free, egg-free, gelatin-free, leather-free”, etc. Thanks for your comment! :)
Linda O. says
One other substitution question: I can’t have Xylitol as it gives me headaches. (have no idea why) Would I substitute all powdered honey for the Xylitol in the filling recipe?
Appreciate your help.
janice says
Holy moly, these are delicious!! Wow. The texture is different, but the flavor is spot on. I will have to fight myself not to eat the whole pan before the husband comes home.
Annie says
Thanks for sharing, so glad you liked these!!
Susan says
I just had lemon bars the other day and they made me think of these! The ones I had were the ‘pound of butter’ type, but honestly, I couldn’t tell that much of a difference between those and these. Great pictures too!
Annie says
Thanks, Susan! The butter-filled ones are also delicious! :D
Meaghan Neave says
Those look amazing!!! Cant wait to try em!
P says
I have not eaten lemon bars for years, and my mom makes them the best. I must make these! Happy they are vegan.
Joyce says
I’m curious about powdered honey, because I’ve never heard of it before.
Is it actually dehydrated honey or is it a vegan honey-flavored product?
Chelsea says
Powdered honey is literally dehydrated honey. Many vegans we know accept honey in their diet so we tested this recipe out with it because it is one of our favorite sweeteners in lemon bars. If you want to learn more about powdered honey, you can read our post about it here: http://www.naturalsweetrecipes.com/all-about-powdered-honey/
Thanks!
Rasha says
It’s cool if you’re into powdered honey, but please don’t call these bars vegan if they contain animal products. I was so excited to see this recipe at first, until I realized I couldn’t eat it.
Chelsea says
Hi Rasha, We realize not all vegans eat honey, which is why xyltiol is offered as another option. If you don’t want to use the powdered honey, you can use the xylitol. Thanks!
Rachel says
I haven’t lemon bars is so long!!!! These look incredible!
Ann says
I’m really looking forward to trying these! I double checked to make sure but I’m not seeing cornstarch listed in the crust ingredients, but it looks like it’s supposed to be included. Is this wrong? If not, how much? Lemon bars have got to be one of the best foods on earth! YUM! Thanks in advance :)
Chelsea says
No cornstarch added to the crust. Thank you for clarifying on that! We updated it to be more clear. :) Thanks and hope you like these!
eselpee says
I love lemon bars, but I cannot tolerate stevia (yea, I know its all natural and all – but it leaves me with a very bad taste). Would you substitute with more honey powder?
Chelsea says
Stevia is not equal to powdered honey, so it does become a little tricky. You could try subbing with 1 tablespoon of powdered honey and then decrease the cornstarch by another tablespoon.
Annie says
Also, I would like to add that the stevia adds extra sweetness to combat the tartness of the lemons. If you use more powdered honey as a substitute, I would decrease the lemon zest by 1/2 a teaspoon just so you don’t have an overly tart lemon flavor. Good luck with those changes!
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
These look great! I’ve been wanting to try agar agar for ages now and lemon bars seem like the perfect thing to try it in. Love lemon bars!
Annie says
Agar agar is such an interesting product! I’m so glad I discovered it. It’s a vegan must-try. :)
Wes says
I am going to make these! My family loves lemon bars!
Jillienne @ ChasingRaspberries says
Lemon bars are probably my favorite dessert of allllll time! I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Julia {The Roasted Root} says
If the boyfriend weren’t still sleeping, I’d be jumping up and down and shouting Eureka! These are incredible! I had never heard of agar agar, but this opens the door for all sorts of amazing bar treats! Good going, ladies, I’m going to go to the natural food store and go shopping for lemon bar ingredients!!
Kelly @ hidden fruits and veggies says
Yes! This is amazing. I love lemon bars, but my go-to recipe is soooo terrible for you. I can’t wait to give these a try!
Annie says
Hi Hope, we haven’t made this recipe with eggs.
If you can’t have dairy but want a traditional egg custard lemon bar, the best thing would be to replace the regular butter for vegan Earth Balance Butter in these lemon bars: http://www.naturalsweetrecipes.com/ina-gartens-lemon-bars/
Good luck!