Vegan strawberry lemon bars are the PERFECT summer treat! Made healthy with an almond flour crust and SUPER easy vegan strawberry lemon filling.
Every feel like you always need a better vehicle to get strawberry AND lemon into your life more?! I know, ME TOO. These healthy vegan strawberry lemon bars were born out of a desire to make a twist on my lemon bar recipe, with a little extra pop of summer. Plus, they’re kind of healthy? YES, please.Â
The filling on these strawberry lemon bars is a perfect combination of strawberries, lemon juice and zest, and cashews! Why cashews? Because it’s the perfect ingredient for thickening the lemon bar filling, without adding in lots of heavy ingredients.Â
Let’s talk crust! I usually go for a shortbread crust, but I wanted to give this version of strawberry lemon bars a little twist with an almond flour crust. It’s kind of like making the crust a little heartier, without being too heavy or filling. I find that sometimes nut-based crusts can be a bit too heavy and feel too filling, but this version is the perfect combo of light, filling, and holds up to the strawberry lemon filling perfectly.Â
Ready to make these sweet squares of perfection? You’re in luck because it’s SO EASY. Mix together all your crust ingredients, bake it for 12-15 minutes, and then top it with the super easy filling.Â
I usually blitz up the strawberry lemon filling while the crust is baking, so as soon as you pop the crust out of the oven you can top them and get them back in the oven. Bake the bars for a bit longer and now you’re to the hardest part…waiting! These healthy strawberry lemon bars need time to cool and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, so if you’re planning on taking these to a cookout or party, be sure to bake them the night before.
Voila, you’re done! I like to top these with a healthy sprinkle of powdered sugar, which does take away some of the healthy factor of them but is also SO GOOD. Life is all about balance, right?Â
Are strawberry lemon bars healthy?
I wouldn’t say these are straight up HEALTHY, but they are a healthier version of a classic vegan strawberry lemon bar recipe! The almond flour cuts down on the amount of processed flour in the crust and the filling uses banana as the thickener (I promise you won’t even taste it!). There is still sugar in these, but they’re a little less guilty with the lightened up crust and secretly healthy lemon bar filling.
Can strawberry lemon bars be made gluten-free?
Yes! I would swap out the flour in the crust for a gluten-free flour blend. Since the crust already has almond flour in it, it’s already halfway to being gluten-free already.Â
How long do strawberry lemon bars last?
Strawberry lemon bars will last 5-7 days in the fridge. I would recommend eating them within 5 days, after that, they start to get a weird texture on top and won’t taste quite the same. I would recommend storing them covered, in the refrigerator. Since they have lots of fresh fruit in the filling, I wouldn’t recommend storing these at room temperature.Â
Can you freeze lemon bars?
Yes! Cut the bars into squares and freeze them layered with wax paper in a container. They can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. The texture may be a bit different when you defrost them, but they will still be really delicious!
How long does almond flour last?
Almond flour can last up to a year if stored properly. Make sure to store almond flour in a sealed bag or jar in a cool, dark place (aka your cabinets). If your kitchen tends to get hot during the summer like mine, I would recommend storing your bag of almond flour in the freezer to maintain peak freshness.Â
More vegan lemon dessert recipes:
Vegan Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
Mini Lemon Cakes with Coconut Whipped Cream and Berries
Healthy Vegan Strawberry Lemon Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Vegan strawberry lemon bars are the PERFECT summer treat! Made healthy with an almond flour crust and SUPER easy vegan strawberry lemon filling.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup agave syrup
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4–6 hours and drained, if you dont have a high powered blender)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line and grease an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.Â
- In a medium bowl, mix togehter the almond flour, all-purpose flour, olive oil, and agave syrup. Stir together until the crust starts to come together.
- Press the mixture into the prepared square pan, ensuring the mixture is distributed evenly into the bottom of the pan.Â
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is firm to the touch.
- While the crust is baking, make the filling by combining the lemon juice, zest, strawberries, cashews, almond milk, vanilla, sugar, and olive oil in a high-speed blender. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy.Â
- Pour the filling mixture over the baked crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the filling is set.
- Allow the bars to cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then move them to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.Â
Keywords: vegan dessert, vegan lemon bars, vegan strawberry dessert
2pots2cook says
Honestly, love everything. fruits, photos, nuts…. keeper definitely ! Thank you very much 🙂
Rajith Skysong says
I made this today for my son and his family for Father’s Day dessert.
The raspberry lemon cashew mixture was truly delicious in taste – the texture never firmed up even after 50 min of baking – it was a mousse texture that I was not expecting. I only put it in fridge for 2 hrs and that may not have been enough – however – I doubt the texture would have changed much. The left over ones are in my fridge & gifted for take home – so we will see tomorrow on texture It seemed like too much filling was available for the size of the pan for the bars. I will play around with quantity if the next batch does not fair better.
I am wondering if the olive oil is the best choice of oils as I could really taste it in the lemon filling.
The crust was a nice texture. Several people noticed the olive oil taste — I think I will use avocado oil or other oil more neutral in taste or soften up the vegan butter sticks for use.
Want to experiment with the texture on this and wondering if using tapioca starch or arrowroot could help it solidify more so it could be eaten as a bar instead of with a spoon or fork. Any ideas?
Very creative recipe that I will work on one more time.
★★★
Rajith says
hI Abby – love all your recipe ideas – our family is going to try most of them as they are finally switching to vegan diets. I would love to have you respond to the above comments on the strawberry lemon bar issues. We love the taste of the filling and really want them to work and would love your expert opinion on how to resolve this. We did cool them overnight and they are still to runny more like mousse!
Heart of a Baker says
Hi there! So sorry to hear these didn’t work for you. To firm up, they must be refrigerated for at least 4 hours, so that may be the issue!
Lisa says
I made these twice now and used coconut oil both times – both for crust and the filling. They are wonderful! But definitely need the full 4 hours in the fridge. Also wonder if raspberries would have made a difference. Seems like they are more juicy than strawberries…
★★★★★