These Gluten-Free Lemon Bars with coconut are a lightened-up version of everyone’s favorite springtime dessert! A crunchy topping, soft custard-like filling, and crispy shortbread-inspired crust combine to create the perfect easy lemon bars for holidays, bake sales, and more! Dairy-free.
Lovin’ Lemons
Do you love lemon desserts? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a sucker for the taste. With recipes like Lemon Blueberry Cake, Lightened Up Lemon Pudding Cake, and Lemon Glazed Macadamia Nut Cookies, how could I not be?! It’s a seriously underrated flavor in my opinion. So, to help you join the lemon lovin’ side, I decided to whip up a classic dessert with this easy lemon bars recipe – with a Cotter twist of course!
Just like the classic version, these easy lemon bars are sweet, tangy, and totally irresistible. The only difference is, that I made a few simple swaps for a bit of a lightened-up gluten-free treat that’s just as delicious! What resulted was a crunchy coconut topping, a soft gooey center, and a crisp golden crust holding it all together.
Allergy-Friendly Lemon Bars
Traditionally, lemon bars are made with lemon, butter, sugar, and all-purpose flour, and although they’re tasty, they are not suitable for a wide variety of dietary needs. I knew I could do better! So, I made a few substitutions such as replacing all-purpose flour with almond flour. Then, I added in unsweetened coconut flakes. The result? A soft gooey lemon bar with less sugar, and even some healthy fats! Plus, they’re gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free! You can thank me later.
Simple Ingredients & Dietary Swaps
For this easy lemon bars recipe, we break the ingredient list down into two parts – the base and the filling. Both components use similar ingredients to create a light lemon flavor.
However, you don’t want to combine them! Otherwise, your filling might turn out stiff, or your base will be too gooey.
For the Base
- Liquid Refined Coconut Oil
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Extract
- Blanched Fine Almond Flour
- Tapioca Starch or Arrowroot Starch
- Raw Sugar or Sugar Substitute
- Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
For the Filing
- Eggs
- Egg Yolk
- Arrowroot Starch
- Lemon Juice
- Caster Sugar (Fine Granulated Sugar) or Sugar Substitute
- Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
No-Bake VEGAN Swap: No time to turn on the oven? Try these No Bake Lemon Coconut Energy Bars for all the lemon flavor with none of the baking!
How to Make Gluten-Free Lemon Bars
To create these easy lemon bars, we’ll work in three steps. First, we’ll create the crust-like base. Then, we’ll move on to the filling. To finish, we’ll combine the two, and pop it all in the oven! Don’t worry, though. Each component is super simple and comes together in no time at all!
1. The Base
Melt and Mix. Melt your coconut oil before mix it in with the rest of the liquid ingredients.
Sift and Stir. In a separate bowl, sift the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and salt together. Then, mix in the sugar.
Combine. Gently add the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir until smooth. Gently fold in the coconut flakes.
Bake. Add the batter to an 8 x 8 inch pan, and let it bake in the oven at 350°F for 15-18 minutes or until it is golden brown. Let it chill once while you move on to the filling!
2. The Filling
Whisk. Add all of the ingredients except for the coconut to a bowl and whisk or blend until they are smooth.
3. Assembly
Pour. Add the prepared filling to the base by gently pouring it on top, spreading evenly.
Team-Tested Tip! If you’re thinking about using a different sized pan, don’t. Our team member, Shyanne, tried it and did not have a great time. The baking time and temperature alter, and it turns into a bit of a headache.
Bake. Pop it back in the oven at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until the filling has set.
Chill. I know it’s hard to wait, but once removed from the oven, you’ll want to place your lemon bars in the fridge for 15 minutes. This helps the center set completely so your gluten-free lemon bars don’t fall apart!
More of Our Favorite
Gluten-Free Lemon Dessert Recipes
Common Questions
Yes! Store your bars in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 8 weeks.
Yes! You don’t want them to be so soft that they fall apart. However, the center of your lemon bars should be soft and slightly gooey.
No. Unlike cake, brownies, or cookies that rise and expand as they cook, these easy lemon bars will stay the same size in their pan.
No, fresh lemon juice will give you the best flavor. However, store-bought lemon juice can be used as well.
Gluten-Free Lemon Bars with Coconut
- Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 Bars 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A lightened-up version of everyone’s favorite springtime dessert! These Gluten-Free Lemon Bars with Coconut are quick, easy, dairy-free and grain-free!
Ingredients
For the Base:
- ⅓ cup liquid refined coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract (or 1 teaspoon lemon zest) (See notes)
- 1 ⅔ cup (160 grams) fine blanched almond flour
- ⅓ cup tapioca starch or arrowroot starch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup fine raw sugar or sugar substitute
- ⅓ cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
For the Filling:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 Tablespoons arrowroot starch
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ⅔ cup caster sugar (fine granulated sugar) or sugar substitute
- ⅓ cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
For the Base:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Melt the coconut oil if it is not already in liquid state. Add it to a bowl with the maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk together.
- In a separate bowl, sift the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the sugar.
- Gently add the dry batter to the wet ingredients, and mix together. Fold in the coconut flakes.
- Set aside, or chill in the fridge for later.
- Line an 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Add the batter to the lined pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the batter, making sure it reaches the corners of the pan.
- Bake at 350° F for 15-18 minutes or until golden.
- Remove, and let chill while preparing the filling.
For the Filling:
- Add all of the ingredients (minus coconut) to a bowl or blender. Whisk or blend until smooth. Stir in the coconut flakes.
- Pour the filling on top of the prepared crust.
- Bake again for 20-25 minutes or until the filling has set.
- Remove from the oven, and let cool for 10 minutes. Place in the fridge for an additional 15 minutes so the filling can set.
- Remove and test a small corner before serving and slicing.
- Storage – Store covered or in foil for up to a week in the fridge or 8 weeks in the freezer.
Notes
1 teaspoon of lemon zest may be substituted for lemon extract, but the flavor will not be as strong.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cool Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 43 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 261
- Sugar: 11.5 g
- Sodium: 153.2 mg
- Fat: 12.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.6 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
- Cholesterol: 50.6 mg
Hi once again I’m asking if this recipe would work with oat flour as I can’t have almonds.
Also would maple syrup or honey work instead of fine sugar or castor sugar? Maybe too much liquid?
Hi Kim! Great question! Oat flour isn’t a perfect swap for almond flour in this recipe—it’s more absorbent and has less fat, so the bars could turn out a bit dense or dry. That said, if you’re avoiding nuts and want to experiment, you could try using about 1 1/3 cups oat flour instead of the full 1 2/3 cups almond flour and maybe add an extra tablespoon of coconut oil to help with moisture. Just know the texture will be a little different—more cakey than soft and buttery.
If you’re looking for a nut-free option that’s closer in texture, sunflower seed flour is a great alternative too. Hope that makes sense and helps, and let me know if you give it a try!
These are amazing! I took to a Fourth of July party and people were scraping their plates. Next time I will make two pans!
When it doubt, make a double 😂 for sure! So glad everyone enjoyed it Melissa! Happy 4th!
Is it possible to swap out the arrowroot starch for corn starch?
Sure! I think that should work. Keep me posted.
Lemon bars are a summer must have for me. I love having a gluten free version in my recipe box. I loved your recipe, it is delicious!
I’m so glad! Thanks for feedback!
I love that these lemon bars are gluten free!! My new favorite dessert! Thanks so much!
I just pulled these out of the oven and couldn’t wait to taste. The crunchy topping is amazing!! Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so glad! Thanks for feedback!