Recipe Directions

  • 1. Place almonds in food processor and process into a fine powder.
  • 2. Add dates, vanilla, lemon juice (if using fresh squeezed don't let any lemon seeds go into the recipe!) and lemon zest to food processor.
  • A note re: lemon zest: Lemon zest is simply lemon peel. If you don't have a fancy zester, just do what I do: use a clean carrot peeler and "peel" the lemon with your carrot peeler and throw the big chunky peels into the food processor for processing. Done!
  • 3. Process again until well mixed. Depending on how hard your dates are this could be a wild ride!
  • 4. Once everything seems pretty well processed thus far, set food processor lemon bar mixture aside for a moment.
  • 5. In a large mixing bowl, place your dried coconut and salt. Mix with a spoon to distribute sea salt.
  • 6. Now dump your food processor mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix everything together with your clean hands so that it's nicely combined and resembling a delicious lemon bar dough!
  • 7. Transfer your raw lemon bar dough into your final dish. I like to use a glass brownie dish. Now press the mixture down into the dish with your hands so that the mixture sticks together nicely.
  • 8. Ideally, you should refrigerate your raw lemon bars for about an hour so that they really stick together and are easy to cut.
  • 9. Enjoy your raw lemon bars! Their lemony coconut flavor goes really well with fresh or thawed strawberries. They should be stored in the refrigerator.

The Rawtarian's Thoughts

By The Rawtarian

Raw lemon bars recipe... How do I love thee? Let me count the lemony-coconutty raw ways...

Before I went raw I used to love lemon bars made with lemon and coconut. Lemon bars are so sweet and flavorful and I used to eat them quite frequently as a sweet snack.

So when I went raw I knew I needed a substitute. Surprisingly, these raw lemon bars are easy to whip up and the taste is pretty similar to the lemon bar recipes that I remember from days of yore!

This raw lemon bar recipe is pretty easy to make, you just need to food process almost everything, mix recipe together with your hands, and then press it down into a pan with your hands. The toughest part of making raw lemon bars is getting the dates to process well, especially if your dates aren't fresh.

Tip: Be careful if doubling this raw lemon bar recipe. You might want to make two batches right after one another instead of making one huge batch because it can be tough to get everything to move well in the food processor.

Tip: If your dates are rock-hard try softening them by soaking them in warm water for half-an-hour, then squeezing almost all water out of them before using in this raw lemon bar recipe.

Recipe Photos

Nutrition Facts

Nutritional score: 66 out of 100
  • This recipe is very low in Carbohydrates.
  • This recipe is low in Calories.
  • This recipe is a good source of Dietary Fiber, Riboflavin, and Vitamin E.
  • This recipe is a noteworthy source of Protein, and Iron.

Amounts per 65 g (2 oz) suggested serving

NameAmount% Daily
Calories 268 11 %
Protein 5 g 9 %
Fat 17 g 21 %
Carbohydrates 28 g 8 %
Dietary Fiber 6 g 20 %
Sugars 20 g
Calcium 63 mg 6 %
Iron 1.4 mg 10 %
Sodium 224 mg 10 %
Source: USDA, The Rawtarian

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Comments and Reviews

All

22 votes
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Great idea to pack them up individually, They would travel very well I'll bet.

24 votes
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Just found your website and LOVE it. I've shared your link on my yoga studio website :-) I made these lemon bars and they are delicious. However, your picture looks like they are about 1/2 to an inch thick and mine are really really thin. I used a 9x6 brownie pan. Should I make two batches in order to make them thicker? Or would that not be a good idea.

25 votes
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I did not double the batch, I just used a smaller pan. :)

the only prob with doubling the recipe is that it might be hard to process so if u plan on doubling make one batch and then another batch right away

23 votes
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YUMMMM - I just made these tasted the mixture before putting them in the fridge and look forward to having them for morning tea!!

I used Flaxseed, Sunflower Seeds, Chia Seeds and Almonds....and instead of dates - I used pitted prunes. Seemed very smooth.

THANK YOU for sharing your recipe...

24 votes
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It's my pleasure Trackers. Love your prune sub. I am loving prunes lately myself - I just got into them a few months ago. They taste like grape candy to me :)

24 votes
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PRUNES are yum....I like cooking them in water, with a cinnamon stick, a slice of lemon for about 15 minutes. Then we keep them in the fridge and eat them with plain yogurt for dessert!

23 votes
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I think these bars are amazing! Really really good and would recommend them to everybody. I put the recipe on my website blog with your link so hopefully more people will discover your great site. I also made them with orange yesterday and the were great too x

31 votes
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Love the idea of orange bars - yum! Thanks for sharing :)  Great blog, BTW!

50 votes
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I can't wait to give these a try :-) How long do these keep (supposing they won't be eaten in one go ;))? Do you recommend refrigerating/freezing?

45 votes
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I have never had them last very long. I keep them in the fridge. I have never frozen them. I think they would be okay in freezer though.

48 votes
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I LOVE these lemon bars. I have made them three times now and my family loves them. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes!

49 votes
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Glad you liked it and also glad you had some success with carrot cake too! :) How come I can't leave a comment on your blog?

49 votes
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Hey - sounds yumm, have you thought of putting a frosting / icing on top. That is the best part of lemon bars I think, the tangy, sweet, sticky topping

52 votes
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Mmm I like this idea, hadn't thought about it. I bet you could make a really good one either:

1. Fresh squeezed lemon juice and some lemon rind blended together - plus adding some agave nectar or dates - color would be off but would taste good I bet

or

2. A creamy topping of some kind

44 votes
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I just made these and had to sample the goods before putting them in the fridge. These are awesome!! So easy and lemon yummy! I recently came across your site and I am so glad I did. Love it. :)

51 votes
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Hi Barb! Glad you like

56 votes
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Wow, these are so delicious! Hard to believe they are actually good for you!
I made them according to the recipe ...and will try them next time with raisins and some of the other suggestions above. THANKS, I love your site. I haven't hit a bad recipe yet.
I also like that you have the "no dehydrator required" recipes separated!

59 votes
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:)

43 votes
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hi Laura-Jane,
Tried this one yesterday; tho I don't have a food processer yet so used almond meal and tried blending dates which didn't work! My stick blender worked better after dates had been soaked. I also used dissecated coconut - is that raw? I rolled them into truffle balls instead of bars.
I think they are yummy but haven't convinced fussy kids yet!

49 votes
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Blender is best for smooth wet stuff and food processor is for drier, harder recipes.

Hopefully you can save up for a food processor - so worth it, and you don't have to get a very good one. $50USD can get you one -- not sure what that converts to where you are! :)

46 votes
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thanks Laura-Jane...I am in New Zealand. Am investigating getting a food processer...will just wait till christmas craziness is over.

Do you know if dessicated coconut is raw?

47 votes
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Unsweetened dessicated coconut (AKA dried coconut) could be raw or not depending on where you buy it and how it was dried.

Most dessicated coconut that you can buy at your grocery store would not be considered truly raw since it was probably heated about 105 degrees and thus not considered raw.

However, I am a raw foodist who is practical some times. I use dessicated coconut that is not sweetened even though it might not be technically "raw" (neither are cashews either). It's up to you where you want to draw the line (and how much $ you want to spend as truly raw foods are much more expensive in most cases).

Hope that helps!

53 votes
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I used this recipe as a base to create a carrot cake bar. I changed the ingredients to: 1/2 cup almonds, 1/2 cup walnuts, 3/4 cup soft dates, 3/4 cups soft raisins, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp ground golden flax seed, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, splash of lemon juice, 2 inch chunk of fresh pineapple, 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot (I patted it after grating to remove some of the liquid), and 3/4 tsp sea salt. I used Laura-Jane's method to mix the bars and they were super-delicious! I am so inspired by this lemon bar recipe that I am going to try to recreate some of my other favorite desserts this way too!

48 votes
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This sounds awesome Miriam!!

47 votes
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Can the coconut be sweetened or is it supposed to be unsweetened?

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