Vegan Lemon Squares Recipe with Tangy Shortbread Crust

Before I discovered these vegan lemon squares, silken tofu had always puzzled me.

I know how to use regular firm tofu: I pat it dry, cube it, and sauté it until golden and crisp, then serve it with puréed, roasted, or stir-fried vegetables.

Silken tofu is another matter. Its soft, custard-like texture and the liquid that gathers in the container made it feel mysterious — is the liquid part of the tofu, should I drain it, or use it in the recipe? More than once I bought a package and used only half before it went to waste because I didn’t have the right recipe on hand.

Enter the Vegan Lemon Squares!

I was delighted to find not one but two appealing silken-tofu recipes in a recent issue of Whole Living: a salad with beets and kale dressed in creamy tofu, and a bright lemon-coconut tofu square. I tried the lemon squares immediately and served them to friends on a sunny Sunday; they were an instant hit.

It’s the loveliest small dessert: a tender, slightly crumbly crust, a chewy lemon topping, and a perfect balance of sweet and tart.

The recipe is straightforward. You press a coconut-oil crust into a pan and par-bake it, then blend silken tofu with sugar, lemon juice, a little flour, and baking powder for the filling. Once baked and cooled, the bars cut neatly into small squares — I cut sixteen pieces from an 8-by-8-inch pan, though the original suggested twelve.

The result is an ideal three-bite dessert: the crust has just the right crumble, the lemon layer offers a tender chew, and the flavor balances sweetness and tartness beautifully.

Vegan lemon squares become vegan “anything” squares

This recipe feels like two recipes in one because the crust is excellent on its own. It’s sturdy yet flaky and works well for fruit bars, tarts, or other small cakes. I used the remaining silken tofu from the package to make a dairy-free “yogurt” cake by substituting tofu for yogurt, and no one noticed the difference.

Do you have favorite ways to use silken tofu? I’d love to hear ideas and recipes.

* For a long time kale was hard to find in some places, but availability has been improving thanks to enthusiasts and growers making it easier to source.

** For my first batch I used yuzu juice because a friend had brought a bottle back from Japan, and it added a floral citrus note. Ordinary lemon juice works perfectly well for this recipe.

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