Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars (Gluten-Free)

These Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars have a crunchy base, a rich and creamy lemon cheesecake filling and a "buttery" crumble topping. They're perfectly sweet and tangy, and are a great alternative to Baked Cheesecake or Lemon Bars. They're also gluten-free and refined sugar free, and are a great make-ahead dessert that's perfect for sharing!

The crust and crumble topping

Inspired by my Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars, I used a combination of ground almonds (almond meal or almond flour) and brown rice flour for the crust and crumble topping dough. The ground almonds create a crumbly texture, whilst the brown rice flour creates a crispy, crunchy texture.

You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour, but I found the texture was much better with brown rice flour. If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.

The cheesecake filling

Inspired by my Vegan Baked Cheesecake recipe, the cheesecake filling is made using a mixture of cashew nuts and tofu. Cashew nuts add richness whilst tofu creates a light, creamy texture, and they're both good sources of protein too.

And don't worry, it doesn't taste of tofu, which took me several attempts to get right! The taste of soy is masked by the cashew nuts and lemon juice.

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Mix together the ingredients for the crust and crumble topping dough in a glass mixing bowl.

• Transfer half of it into a square baking tin.

Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the bars after.

• Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.

• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes - you'll be baking this again so you don't want to over-bake at this stage!

• Place the cashew nuts, tofu, maple syrup, lemon juice, cornflour (cornstarch) and vanilla in a food processor or blender.

Tip: Make sure the cashew nuts are soaked to make them easier to blend. Soak them overnight in cold water or in boiling water for at least 15 minutes.

• Whizz until completely smooth.

Tip: You will have to mix it around a few times to make it easier to blend up.

• Pour it over the baked crust until it’s completely evenly covered and make sure the surface is smooth.

Tip: Gently tap the baking tin on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles.

• Use your fingers to crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top until it is all used up and the cheesecake filling is completely covered.

• Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

• Leave to cool completely before slicing, placing in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.

Tips for making this recipe

• The cheesecake filling will still be soft enough to jiggle a bit in the middle when you remove it from the oven - it will firm up as it cools down.
• The cheesecake filling will sink a bit as it cools down - this is normal, so don't worry about this.
• For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible. 
• Even so, the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use, so I recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.

How long do these keep for?

They do taste best eaten on the day or the day after they're made, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Substitutions you can make

• You can replace the coconut oil with coconut butter.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• The ground almonds (almond meal) can be replaced with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds.
• You can replace the brown rice flour with plain flour if you’re not gluten-free.
• You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, rice milk, soy milk etc.
• You can replace the cornflour (cornstarch) with arrowroot.
• You can replace the tofu with a thick plant-based yogurt, but the texture is better with tofu. 
• You can add flaked or desiccated coconut or oats to the crumble topping.

Substitutions to be careful of

• You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour but the texture is much better with brown rice flour.
• You must use silken tofu, NOT firm tofu.

More vegan dessert recipes

• Chocolate Lava Cake
• Apple Crumble Bars
• Coconut Macaroons
• Lemon Bars
• Strawberry Trifle
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Blueberry Crumble Bars
• Lemon Pudding
• Coffee Cake
• Churros 

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make this recipe

Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars (Gluten-Free)

These Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars have a crunchy base, a rich and creamy lemon cheesecake filling and a "buttery" crumble topping. They're perfectly sweet and tangy,

4.88 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lemon cheesecake crumble bars, vegan baked cheesecake, vegan crumble bars

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 16 bars

Calories: 260kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the crust and topping:

• ▢ 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil (or sub coconut butter)
• ▢ 10 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other similar sweetener)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
• ▢ 150 g (1 cup) brown rice flour ** (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ Pinch salt

For the cheesecake filling:

• ▢ 150 g (1 cup) raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
• ▢ 300 g (10.5 oz) silken tofu *** (NOT firm tofu)
• ▢ 16 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other similar sweetener)
• ▢ 18 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 6 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch) (or sub arrowroot)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the crust and topping:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.
• Add the maple syrup, milk, ground almonds, brown rice flour and salt and mix well – add an extra splash of milk if it’s looking too dry to combine.
• Divide the dough in half.
• Transfer one half of the dough into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with greased baking paper – I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin.
• Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes - you don't want to over-bake at this stage as you'll be baking it again later.
• Place the remaining half of the dough in the fridge while you make the rest (this will help it firm up and make it easier to crumble over the top after).

For the cheesecake filling:

• Drain the soaked cashew nuts.
• Place the cashew nuts, tofu, maple syrup, lemon juice, cornflour (cornstarch) and vanilla in a food processor or blender.
• Whizz until completely smooth - you will have to mix it around a few times to make it easier to blend up.

To assemble:

• Pour the cheesecake filling over the baked crust until it’s completely evenly covered and make sure the surface is smooth.
• Gently tap the baking tin on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles.
• Use your fingers to crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top until it is all used up and the cheesecake filling is completely covered.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown - the cheesecake filling will be a bit jiggly when you take it out, but it will firm up as it cools.
• Make sure to leave it to cool completely before removing from the baking tin and slicing, ideally placing it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.
• Taste best eaten on the day or the day after they're made, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Video

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

**You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour, but the texture is much better with brown rice flour.

***You can replace the tofu with a thick plant-based yogurt, but the texture is better with tofu. 

Tips for making this recipe

• For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
• Even so, the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use, so I recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
• The cheesecake filling will still be soft enough to jiggle a bit in the middle when you remove it from the oven - it will firm up as it cools down.
• The cheesecake filling will sink a bit as it cools down - this is normal, so don't worry about this.

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars (Gluten-Free)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 260 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g17%

Saturated Fat 3g15%

Sodium 7mg0%

Potassium 214mg6%

Carbohydrates 36g12%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 1IU0%

Vitamin C 7mg8%

Calcium 68mg7%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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