Vegan Lemon Tartlets

Vegan lemon tartlets start with a flaky buttery crust and are filled with lemon curd. This is a fun way to use lemons. You can make this recipe as lemon bars if you want a simplified (and less cute) version of this recipe. However, if you’re looking for a show-stopper, follow these instructions to transform your mini lemon tarts into bunnies.

This recipe makes 4-6 lemon tartlets, depending on the size of your mini tart pans.

Table of Contents

(click the links below to skip to the section you’re looking for)

• Tartlet Crust Recipe
• Lemon Curd Filling
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Ingredient Substitutions
• Contact Me with Questions
• Similar Recipes

This recipe is super versatile. It can be made into a large tart, mini tartlets, or lemon bars, depending on your mood. I made mine into bunny tartlets because my mood is always hyper Kawaii.

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Ingredients for the Vegan Tartlet Crust Recipe

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (or sub another kind of flour, as long as it's not coconut flour)
• ⅓ cup vegan butter or margarine (I like the organic whipped earth balance) or spectrum palm shortening (I used a combination of both)
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons ice water
• pink pitaya powder or other pink vegan food coloring (optional)
• black cocoa powder, activated charcoal, or other black vegan food coloring (optional)

How to Make Lemon Tartlet Crusts

make crust: 10 min | chill crust: 20 min | roll crust: 30 min | bake crust: 15 min

Process 1 cup flour, ⅓ cup Spectrum sustainable organic palm shortening and/or vegan butter, ⅛ teaspoon pink sea salt (optional), and 1 tablespoon organic powdered sugar using a food processor fitted with the S blade.

Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of ice water while the food processor is still running. The dough should start to come together into a dough ball.

Pinch off 2-3 tablespoons of dough.

Wrap the rest of the dough in cling wrap and set in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes while you color the small portion you kept out.

Add pink vegan food coloring to two-thirds of the dough you pinched off and mix well. I used pink pitaya powder for mine.

Add black vegan food coloring to the remaining third of the dough and mix well. I used activated charcoal for mine.

Wrap these colored doughs and place them in the fridge as well. Once 20 minutes have passed, remove the large dough ball from the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Roll the dough to your desired thickness. With tartlets, I prefer as thin as possible (between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick). Roll on top of a piece of parchment paper or use a rolling mat if you have one.

Cut out circles from the dough that are bigger than your mini tart pans.

Drape the circles of dough over the tart pans and press the bottoms down so they fit nicely.

Trim the excess dough that’s hanging over the edges.

Poke the bottoms with a fork or fill them with blind bake filling.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Shape the colored dough into facial features and ears.

Bake ears and facial features for 7 minutes. While they bake, start on the lemon curd filling.

Cool on a cooling rack until the lemon curd filling is ready.

Ingredients for the Vegan Lemon Tart Filling Recipe

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

• ½ cup soymilk
• ½ cup lemon juice (meyer lemons are best)
• ⅓ cup organic or raw sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch

How to Make Vegan Filling for Lemon Curd Tartlets Recipe

cooking time: 5 min

Whisk ½ cup soymilk, ½ cup lemon juice, ⅓ cup sugar, and 2 ½ tablespoons of arrowroot powder or organic cornstarch in a medium saucepan.

Heat to medium heat and continue whisking until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat, and pour into mini crusts.

Place the facial features and ears onto each bunny tartlet.

Chill the tartlets in the fridge for 2 hours, or overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I convert this recipe into a lemon bars recipe?

For lemon bars, just press the dough into the bottom of a loaf pan instead of rolling it out for tart pans. Bake for 20 minutes instead of 15.

Ingredient Details and Substitutions

• Flour: I use organic unbleached all-purpose flour because it’s super cheap at Costco. You can sub another kind of flour, as long as it’s not coconut flour. To make gluten-free lemon tartlets, just replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend.
• Vegan Butter: I like the organic whipped earth balance or spectrum palm shortening. You can use a combination of both too.
• Powdered Sugar: For the powdered sugar in this recipe, use organic or vegan powdered sugar. I have a whole post about how to know if powdered sugar is vegan.
• Food Coloring: I used pink pitaya powder and black cocoa powder for the bunny facial features in this recipe. Read my entire list of vegan food coloring for other options.
• Lemon Juice: Meyer lemons make the tastiest vegan tartlets, but you can use any lemon juice you have.

Comments or Questions?

If you make this recipe, I would love it if you’d snap a pic, post to instagram, and tag me @vegandollhouse. It seriously makes my day/week/month!

Please message me (instagram or email) if you have any questions or feedback about the recipe.

Similar Recipes

If you like lemon, you might also like my strawberry lemonade cake, my lemon hibiscus cupcakes, and my vegan lemon bundt cake.

If you like bunny-themed foods, you might like my easter funfetti cake that looks like a bunny, my vegan sweet potato dinner rolls that are bunny shaped, my bunny lollipop vegan rice krispie treats, and my chocolate marshmallow cake that is decorated with vegan pastel bunnies.

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I mostly cook with organic ingredients, but only specify organic when it’s necessary to ensure the item is vegan.

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