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Gluten-free dairy-free lemon bars on a white rectangular platter and small white plate.
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Paleo Lemon Bars (gluten-free, dairy-free)

These easy Paleo Lemon Bars are a fun, healthy treat. An almond flour shortbread crust is topped with a sweet, tangy, creamy lemon curd. Plus they're gluten-free, grain-free and dairy-free.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
chilling time4 hours 20 minutes
Total Time5 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 9 bars
Calories: 287kcal
Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • cups superfine blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
  • zest of one lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup honey

For the lemon layer:

  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • cup lemon juice (from about 4 large lemons)
  • ½ cup honey
  • 2 teaspoons arrowroot flour/starch

For the Paleo "powdered sugar":

  • ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 350° F.

For the crust:

  • In a microwave-safe medium mixing bowl, melt the coconut oil by nuking it for about 30 seconds. Give it a good stir if it's not fully melted. Set aside to let cool.
  • In another medium mixing bowl, whisk the almond flour (sifting it with a fine-mesh sieve first if it's clumpy, then cleaning and drying the sieve), lemon zest and salt.
  • Using the same whisk without having to clean it, whisk the honey into the cooled coconut oil and then stir this mixture into the almond flour mixture until totally blended (you should see no more dry almond flour).
  • Grease an 8x8" baking dish with avocado or coconut oil spray, then add the shortbread mixture to the pan. Spread it out with your hands into an even layer. I like to then press the crust down with the bottom of a measuring cup or glass. This helps make sure it's an even layer of thickness.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust looks dry and is golden brown around the edges.

For the lemon layer:

  • While the crust is baking, make the curd: in a large mixing bowl, use a clean whisk to whisk the room temperature eggs.
  • Add the lemon juice, honey and arrowroot and whisk thoroughly until completely blended.
  • Once the crust is done, take it out of the oven. If the lemon layer has been sitting around for a bit, give it one more good whisk. Hold a fine-mesh sieve over the crust and pour the lemon mixture through the sieve onto the hot crust.
  • Place the dish back in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • Once the 15 minutes are done, turn off the oven but do not remove the dish from the oven. Barely crack open the oven door and stick a wooden spoon in the crack to keep the door just barely open. Let it sit in the oven like that for 20 minutes. This will allow the heat to escape slowly, which will help prevent cracks in the lemon layer.
  • Remove the dish from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until the lemon layer is set, at least 4 hours. Once they're ready, you can enjoy them plain or dust them with the "powdered sugar."

For the Paleo powdered sugar:

  • To make the powdered sugar, add the unsweetened shredded coconut to a blender and blend until finely ground. This might take 1-2 minutes but don't let it go too long or you'll end up with coconut butter. Add the ground coconut to a fine mesh sieve and dust over the chilled lemon bars, then slice and serve.

Notes

Note: If you use a dark/nonstick baking dish, or a very thin metal baking pan, the crust might brown too much or too quickly. You might want to place the dish on a baking sheet for both rounds of baking to help protect it.
Bonus version!
You can also make these Paleo lemon bars even more flavorful and colorful by dusting them with different ingredients. 
Add about 1/2 cup of freeze dried fruit such as strawberries, raspberries or cherries (must be freeze-dried, not regular dried fruit!) into a sandwich bag but don't seal it. Use a rolling pin or the bottom of a skillet to crush the fruit into a powder.
Add some of the crushed fruit to a fine-mesh sieve and tap it over the lemon bars.
To get the design like you see in the blog post. place a strip of parchment paper over half of each bar and dust the powdered fruit over the other half.
For a green version, dust the bars with matcha tea.
Substitutions
I haven't tried any substitutions for Paleo lemon bars, but the only variations I would try are:
You could use lime juice instead of lemon juice.
You could use tapioca flour/starch instead of arrowroot.
You can use pure maple syrup in the crust instead of honey; you could use maple syrup in the lemon layer, too, but it will add a distinct flavor that you may or may not want.
Make ahead
They can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
For any unused "powdered sugar": stir around 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot into the "powdered sugar" and store in the fridge (the arrowroot will help prevent clumps). Use the expiration date on the bag of unsweetened shredded coconut as your guide for how long the powdered sugar will last in the fridge.
Freezing instructions
Yep! Wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap, then place in an airtight freezer-safe container/baggie and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 194mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 121IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg