Healthy Lemon Bars
When life gives you lemons, DO NOT MAKE LEMONADE… make these Healthy Lemon Bars instead! Because these adorable little treats are exactly how you turn a bad day into a good day.
People correspond the word “dessert” with excess butter, sugar and non-nutritious calories that add to the day’s total. But not these! These Lemon Bars are pretty much the epitome of a healthy dessert — they’re sugar free, high in fiber and protein, gluten free, and taste delicious. Absolutely no butter or refined sugar, but instead, whole grains, complete protein, and natural flavors. The crust is soft and buttery, the filling is rich and tart, and together they pair to make a sweet dessert perfect at any time of day!
Healthy Lemon Bars
Ingredients
- 160g (1⅓ cups) Oat Flour
- 96g (½ cup) Granulated Erythritol
- 1 tsp Double-Acting Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 112g (½ cup) Coconut Oil
- 62g (¼ cup) Unsweetened Applesauce
- 2 tsp Natural Butter Flavor
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 Large Egg Yolks
- 3 Large Eggs
- 2 tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 20g (2 tbs) Arrowroot Starch
- 1 cup Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
Instructions
- You can find the full recipe and instructions in the Naughty or Nice Cookbook!
Recipe Notes
So let’s recap. What do you do when life hands you lemons? You make these Healthy Lemon Bars 😉
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
These look and sound delicious. Lemon bars remind me of one of my favorite desserts that my Mom would make in the summertime. What a great recipe for a healthier version!
I can’t wait to try these today! Is it possible to sub the eggs with flax or anything else? If not, that’s fine too!
Inez- I’m sorry to say that flax will not work in this recipe. Eggs are incredibly healthy in moderation! Hope you like the recipe 🙂
Those look delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
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Is there a substitute for the stevia extract?? thanks 🙂
I haven’t made these without the stevia so I’m not sure. However, because there are 2 tsp of it, which is about the equivalent to 1.5-2 cups of sugar, I don’t think it’s possible to replace it with something else without changing the filling texture :/
I will definitely try this recipe out!
Very nice recipe, just what I was looking for!
So glad my father shared your blog with me, you are awesome!!
Can i subsisitute the butter extract with something else?
Jen-
You can use vanilla extract instead. The Lemon Bars just won’t have that classic buttery taste 🙂 Hope you like the recipe!
-Jess
Wow, these turned out really well! This was my first time making anything beyond something from a box. The crust was incredibly easy to make! (And I love the fact that I got to use my hands to blend it. I’m terrible with utensils.)
Even though some of the filling seeped down between the crust and the pan (the crust shrunk a bit, causing a bit of a gap) it still turned out just like the picture!
I used vanilla extract instead of butter extract (as it’s a little pricey and hard to come by where I live). This was a great recipe to help use up the last of some coconut oil that I had.
Thanks so much for this recipe!
Michelle-
YAY that makes me so happy!! I’m glad the recipe worked out for you… especially the hand-mixed crust 😉
Ina Garten says hands are a cook’s best tool!
And thanks for letting me know about the vanilla substitution, I’m going to try that out on my next batch 🙂
-Jess
just made these. I really enjoyed the oat flour crust, very cakey and tender. I loved the zing of the filling but thought it might have used a little more sweetener, like stevia or even a tablespoon or two of honey. very delicious recipe i feel good about eating! thanks for the recipe!!!!!
Aubrey-
Oh good I’m so glad you got to try out the recipe!! 🙂
I agree, I thought the Lemon Bars could be a tad bit sweeter, but all of my taste testers said I shouldn’t add anything (and I thought that was reasonable, since I ALWAYS think food can be sweeter, haha)
Thanks so much!
-Jess
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This looks amazing. Any way to use something else instead of the cornstarch? Avocado, Balkan yogurt, tofu?
Diana-
I’m not sure if there is a good replacement for the corn starch because it thickens the lemon filling so you can slice it. Avocado and yogurt won’t work, but perhaps you can try extra firm organic tofu (drained and pressed)? I’m still not sure if that will work though… maybe try a mixture of tofu puree and 1-2 tbs of a neutral flavored flour, like oat flour or brown rice flour.
I hope these substitutions work out for you!
-Jess
These look amazing!!! I have a question: can I use ground sweet tea leafs in place of the dry sweeter or corn starch. I also thought about date sugar for t he dry sweetner and the leaves for the other part. Just so wondered if it would work. I intend to try t his ASAP! !! Thank you
Yvette-
Thank you! 😀
Do you mean sweet tea leafs as in stevia? Or is that some other kind of leaf? I’ve never heard of it before! I wouldn’t recommend trying to replace the corn starch because it helps the lemon mixture bind and firm up. You can definitely try date sugar if you want, just note that the color of the bars won’t be as appetizing and bright yellow.
-Jess
I don’t have a problem using corn starch, but I use Xanthan Gum and Glucomannan powder for thickening. I had to order it online.
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