This healthy lemon tart recipe comes together quickly thanks to an easy (and gluten-free!) almond flour crust and lemon curd thickened with eggs and coconut oil. The tart is dairy-free and paleo, but tastes just as silky, rich and tangy as a traditional French lemon tart!
Feed Me Phoebe turns SEVEN this week! (Insert Kevin Arnold OMG face emoji)
These virtual homes grow up so fast, and like the people behind them, are always changing directions in new and surprising ways.
I have so many ideas of where I want to go with this site and the ways I want to feed you. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting this week down in South Carolina on the time that’s passed since I bought this url. I reread my welcome post, my first birthday entry from six April’s ago, and a manifesto from year two on why I love to cook, which was the first post where I really felt like I properly articulated my food philosophy.
Of course, that philosophy has morphed even further over the years to involve health hedonism–how I do right by my body without giving up my life–and all the ways I seek balance beyond what’s on my plate.
Blogging has been such a central part of my road to self-food discovery. It’s what helped me land a book deal when I was 23. And it was the book that gave me the push I needed to quit my day job, become a woman of many odd food jobs, and pursue creative, heart-centered work – to take the leap from my “should” to my “must.”
5 Star Reader Review
“This lemon tart really hit the spot when I made it for my celiac daughter who loves all things lemon when it comes to dessert. She hasn’t had lemon tart for several years since being diagnosed with celiac disease and moving to the USA from Australia. I am visiting her right now and enjoying cooking some of her favourite food. Thank you for such a simple and delicious recipe!”
—Jean
My friend Elle Luna wrote an amazing book called the Crossroads of Should and Must. In it she talks about how she transitioned from life as a tech superstar to a solitary painter. I love Elle’s description of Must as “our instincts, cravings and longings, the things and places and ideas we burn for, the intuition that swells up from somewhere deep inside of us.” Whereas Should is dictated by the expectations of others, Must is what we do when we are alone with our most authentic self. And sometimes in order to find clarity on our Must, we have to be willing to regress to a more childlike place.
She talks a lot about finding a “sandbox” – a safe place to experiment and get messy. In many ways, this site has been my sandbox for the last 7 years. And I’m so grateful for your willingness to let me write and cook at you, and occasionally end up with sriracha mayo all over my face.
When I first started Feed Me Phoebe, I was recovering from two break-ups, and my heart looked something like a cross between a block of Swiss cheese and a pile of cauli mash. Even though I knew in my gut who I was and what kind of cooking I stood for, it was hard to articulate it with my soul being in such bad shape. So I kept writing from some place between my gut and my heart (my liver? Nah, too much bile) and cooking for my own comforts.
In the process, I went from being a quarter-life cook to a healthy hedonist — from tiptoeing around my autoimmune disease to being an evangelist of the healthy comfort food that helped me heal my body in the face of Hashimoto’s. It took a few years, but playing around in my kitchen sandbox in this way, made me realize how much health is part of my Must.
This healthy lemon tart was the first bite of sugar I had after my Vice Detox during my “year of health,” the experiment and blog series that eventually became my second book, The Wellness Project. It was also how I celebrated the birthday of this blog 5 years ago. Since I was in my terrible two’s back then, I thought it was worth a recipe revamp in mini tart pans with my favorite Bob’s Red Mill almond flour. The crust is gluten-free, dairy-free and Paleo–partially because it’s just three ingredients: finely ground almond meal, coconut oil, and an egg.
My pantry is an absurd compilation of Bob’s Red Mill products, since they were one of the first companies to make all sorts of gluten-free and paleo flour options, and remain the best of the bunch to this day. I love their super-fine almond flour for this recipe as it’s fluffy and quite flavorful.
As for the curd: it’s made with coconut oil as well (instead of butter) and honey (instead of refined sugar), and even with just a modest amount of sweetness, it’s addictively good.
This healthy lemon tart really represents the kind of balance I’ve been striving for on this site over the years. Recipes with just a few good quality ingredients. Dishes that feel like baby steps towards living a happier, healthier life without losing all the things (like dessert) that make living so fun. Because what good is a sandbox if you can’t play in it?
Thank you for sticking with me through this journey. You feed me more than you could ever know.
Now, read on for the healthy lemon tart recipe and brand new video of how to make it!
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
20 Minute Healthy Lemon Tart (No Gluten, No Dairy!)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, plus more for greasing
- 1 large egg
For the curd:
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- Zest and juice of 2 lemons (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides with oil or butter.
- In a small food processor, pulse the almond flour and the salt until combined. Add the oil and egg and pulse a few more times until a dough forms. Warning: it will be very sticky.
- Transfer the dough to the center of the tart pan. Using a sheet of plastic wrap or greased palms, press the dough out into an even crust, coming just ¼ to ½ an inch up the sides. Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until firm and beginning to brown. Remove and let cool. If the crust puffs, just use your fingers to gently press it back down as it cools. Alternatively, you can weight it by covering the crust with a piece of parchment paper and a layer of dried beans.
- Meanwhile, make the curd: in a medium saucepan, whisk the eggs and honey until smooth. Set the pan over medium-low heat. Add the coconut oil. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the oil is melted, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and zest and continue cooking, whisking gently, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat immediately and continue whisking to avoid any clumps. Some people will strain the mixture at this point. But I’m too lazy.
- Transfer the curd to the cooked tart crust and smooth in an even layer with your spatula. Allow to cool so the filling sets and serve at room temperature. If you’re eating dairy, a little whipped cream can’t hurt.
Nutrition
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe – I’d love to see it!Need help finding lifestyle changes that last? Let’s work together to find your path forward. My 4 Weeks to Wellness Course might just change your life. With 4-weeks worth of recipes that are gluten, dairy, corn, soy and refined sugar free, not to mention tasty AF, it’s a perfect way to explore your food sensitivities and heal inner and outer chaos.
This healthy lemon tart recipe is brought to you by my friends at Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this site (and my gluten-free, paleo baking) possible!
The love is mutual, Phoebe. Happy 2nd!
Happy 2nd blog birthday! I love this distinction between should and must – it’s a really positive way to look at life choices. Xx
totally! thank you Skye for all your wonderful comments and encouragement. I’m very grateful. xxx
Oh, Phoebe! How I enjoyed this post! So good. And thank YOU so much for sharing the crossroads link. I’m off to devour it. You’ve helped me so much discover my dreams and have the confidence to pursue them. Thank you so much!
I wish you a lifetime of happiness and success.
ps You and I need to cook together someday 🙂
That warms my heart and makes my week! I’m so proud of you for pursuing your must. You should have the confidence – you’re amazing. A cooking date would be amazing!! one day 🙂 xx
congrats on all you have accomplished in your 2 years!!! You have so much to be proud of! Can’t wait to see more 🙂
Thank you Leah for all your wonderful support!
Thank you for this recipe 🙂 it sounds divine!
You’re so welcome!
Love love alllll of this! Happy anniversary and I am so happy to be able to see your journey unfold. I have a feeling it will be more beautiful than you could ever imagine 😉
Xoxo and that tart looks so yummy!!
Thank you sweet Payal! So happy to have you be apart of it. xx
Congratulations on an awesome two years, Phoebe! Being a fan of your beautiful site is easy. I am so excited to see where the next two years lead. xx
Thank you for the sweet note, Steph. You’re the best supporter a girl could ask for!
I have just stumbled across your site (in search of the answer to the age-old question, is gin gluten-free) and clicked on a delicious looking lemon curd dessert.
My mouth is watering and you’ve hooked me!
Congrats on your ‘second’ second birthday 🙂
Thanks Sandra! Thrilled you happened upon the site and like the tart. Let me know if you try any of the GF recipes. xo
Hi Phoebe!
I just stumbled across your recipe in search of a healthy lemon tart, and this looks absolutely divine! I was wondering if you can sub anything else for coconut oil? But nonetheless I cant’ wait to make this!
Hi Mariela! Thrilled you found me. I’ve never tried any other fat, but you can always sub butter 🙂 Won’t be as healthy, but sure will taste good! I actually don’t mind a good quality organic or European butter made from cows without hormones. It’s way easier on my stomach than other types of dairy. You can try another oil, but I’m not sure what would work well other than neutral, vitamin rich coconut oil. Hope this helps!
Hi Pheobe, i was wondering if instead of using coconut oil in the custard i could use coconut cream? What do you think?
I wouldn’t! it doesn’t firm up as well at room temp / cooled.
Phoebe! Love your site and will visit often. My sister and I started our blogging journey shortly after you did and it’s wonderful to see that you are feeling charged and energized to keep it going – better and healthier. Hope you visit us at http://www.aspireperspirenourish.com as we share much in common.
Wow – thank you Lia! I’m so thrilled you like the site. Thank you for all your support – even if just reading in the wings. It means a lot. I definitely aspire to perspire 🙂 Love that name! Thank you for sharing and I can’t wait to dig into your archives. xoxox
I’d like to make your lemon tart … I have a dairy free relative and 2 gluten free relatives, whom I’m feeding tomorrow. Must one use raw honey? I have Savannah Bee’s Tea Honey, which is a natural light honey — would that work? Thank you in advance for your reply.
Yes- any honey will work! Let me know how you like it!
Hi! I just made this for hubby’s birthday and it was so yummy! I can’t believe how easy it was, and how healthy it is! And he ate two slices – he who never eats desserts or sweet things!
Thanks so much 🙂
Tina
woohoo!! I’m SO glad!! I think the tartness of the lemon is a good gateway dessert for savory food lovers. Thrilled he enjoyed it!
I’m looking at trying the lemon curt, great to find one that is dairy free. I was thinking of adding some coconut milk or cream to it, do you think it will make it creamier? What do you recommend?
Looking forward to tasting this recipe!
Lee
Hi Lee, I’m not sure who the coconut cream will affect the texture. It’s amazing how thick and creamy the curd gets just from a little time over the flame. I would maybe try it this way first and then you can decide whether you want to fold in some coconut cream. Let me know how it turns out!
Congrats on your 2 years Phoebe! I also stumbled on your site looking for a lemon tart and I’m rapt to have found it! Is there anything I can substitute the almond flour for at all please? Thank you!
Andrea
Thanks Andrea!! I haven’t tried anything but the almond flour for this recipe but I suppose you could try coconut or oat flour? It’s a simple crust with not much rise…so I don’t see why other flours wouldn’t work. My one worry would be that they’d be too try. Almond has lots of great healthy fats which may help the whole thing come together. But worth a try! Let me know how it turns out xo
I made this last night. It was delicious! Will make it again. Thanks
That’s amazing Kim!! Thank you for reporting back xo
Hello, how far in advance can I make the tart and the filling or the pre-baked or baked tart?
You can definitely make a few days in advance. Just make sure to return to room temperature before serving otherwise the crust might be a little too firm. The almond flour doesn’t get flaky in the same way as flour/butter crusts. Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes.
I added some vanilla stevia to the crust, and the whole tart was scrumptious!
I wa also amazed at how simple and healthy it was.
Really hot the spot, and my family loved it.
ooo great idea! so glad everyone enjoyed it. xo
Hi! I was wondering if I could replace the almond flour with coconut flour? Thank you!
hmmm I don’t bake enough with coconut flour to know how it will behave in this. But worth a shot?
Would there be an easy lemon meringue version of this? If so, how would you change the recipe? Looking forward to making this for my gluten free relatives next week!
Hi Nelia! I’m not a big meringue fan, but I imagine you could just add some on top of the lemon mixture? It’s usually just the top layer in a lemon meringue pie. Hope this helps!
Can you bake this & then put in the fridge? Wanting to prep in he morning for a night dinner, love this recipe!
Definitely! (Sorry for the delayed response!) Just let it come to room temperature an hour before serving.
I just wanted to let you know that I have made this recipe twice now and it is simply divine! I absolutely love it, not just because it’s such a great healthy treat but also because it tastes a-mazing. 🙂
yay Emma! Thank you for reporting back! Glad that it’s found a home in your sweets rotation xo
just wondering what oil i could substitute for the coconut oil??. my son doesn’t care for coconut…thanks
hmmm. I’m not sure June. You could always use butter, but that goes against the healthy dairy-free aspect 🙂 I will say, coconut oil is not overly coconut-y. Especially when combined with other flavors, I hardly notice it. Especially in the curd you won’t be able to taste it. Maybe for the crust try butter or another oil. Let me know if you gave it a try!
I used shortening
Hey Phoebe is there anyway this would work for tartlets?
Hi Pat – definitely! you may just have to feel out the amount of dough to use depending on the size of your mini tins. It’s a press in dough so fairly easy to adjust accordingly. Let me know how it goes!
I’d like to make this for a Rosh Hashanah dessert. How far in advance can I make it/keep it refrigerated? Look forward to your reply, and thanks.
Sorry for the delayed response! I’ve only kept it for a few days. But others in the comments might have tried it for longer. Only consideration is the crust getting soggy. Another thing you can do is parbake the crust and make the curd. Then wait until the day of to combine them and bake off the crust so it gets crispy again right before. Let me know how it goes!
Hi Phoebe! Thank you for this great recipe! I made the crust with gf flour blen amd it wasn’t as good as the almond one I guess, but the curd was heavenly!!! Thank you:) Jana
Ah yes – might not be the best substitution as you really have to bake the GF AP blends for longer so they’re not chalky. But I’m glad the curd was great! xox
Yeah, I’ve baked it for at least twice longer. But the curd saved it. Do you think it might be possible to make this curd mint instead of lemon? And do you know how long it might last? 🙂
Thank you! Jana
You can’t really sub mint entirely for the citrus, but you could certainly add it! Or make a mint simple syrup I suppose. I think it would be nice with the lemon or lime.
The lemon curd was really good! I didn’t have almond flour so I just used a normal crust recipe, but the filling tasted amazing! I have been trying to find healthier ways of baking (since the amount of butter some recipe requires scares me) and this was perfect! How do you come up with this recipe!
Do you have any general tips in healthy baking? Do you usually start with modifying other recipe? Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
(sorry if this is too many questions! I got excited!)
I’m so glad you like the curd! Yes – I usually use a classic recipe as a jumping off point. Coconut oil is a great swap for butter. I usually find some sort of gluten-free alternative for white flour – almond, brown rice, or another grain flour – and almond milk is a good substitute for regular milk. Check out my other baking recipes in the archives!
This recipe looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try. I have a sensitivity to honey though. Any suggestions for substitution? I can do maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar, etc. What do you think might work? Thank you!
maple syrup or coconut sugar with for sure work!
hey phoebe.. I’m planning to try this recipe for my dad’s girlfriend. She loves tarte au citron but she is on diet atm and counting calories.. Do you know the nutritional values for one slice of it? Would be great! (and sorry for my english- not my mothertongue 😉 )
Thank you!
I don’t Annie, sorry! You can copy and paste it into my fitness pal and they will generate that. there are about 8 slices per tart.
This was super good, we finished it in a day and I’m going to make another!
I used agave in the filling, and just had the issue of the crust rising a bit in the middle when I baked it, maybe because I didn’t have parchment paper. When I make again, I’ll weigh it down a bit.
I also made a coconut whipped cream and once the pie was fully cool I smoothed it right on there and refrigerated again so it gets kind of set. Really cuts the tartness and makes it balanced and perfect.
I love making tarts and pies. My favorite is apple, but hey, I think this is my next. Great recipe!
Happy Blog-Birthday Phoebe, and thank you very much for the video and recipe. Very happy to see how few ingredients there are. Now I have the feeling that not much can go wrong!
it’s true! super easy!
Happy blog birthday! I love you!
LYNN!!!!! i love you more! xooxxoo
Hi Phoebe, I’m really encouraged by your blog and look forward to trying your recipe. Thanks! LisaG 🙂
A friend made lemon meringue pie for Christmas. She hates meringue so she chose to put a little whipped cream on top instead and it was yummy. I quite like it with whipped cream rather than meringue. She made the filling from a mix but I wanted to do it from scratch but when I looked at recipes for lemon meringue pie filling, they all had a ton of sugar and wanted me to separate the eggs to use the whites for the meringue. Yours sounded so easy, so much healthier and with much more simple ingredients. I looked up a recipe for a shortbread base and then spread the filling on the cooled base, let it cool too and put a bit of whipped cream on top right before serving. Luscious Lemon Bars were born. They were fabulous. Just the perfect blend of sweet and tart but not heavily sweet. The taste and texture were luscious and I had to restrain myself to keep from eating the whole pan. Can’t wait to share it with friends. It looks like it’s going to be a heavy dessert but it’s really light and perfect after a meal. Thanks for a great recipe. I’m so delighted to have found it.
This lemon tart really hit the spot when I made it for my celiac daughter who loves all things lemon when it comes to dessert. She hasn’t had lemon tart for several years since being diagnosed with celiac disease and moving to the USA from Australia. I am visiting her right now and enjoying cooking some of her favourite food. Thankyou for such a simple and. delicious recipe. I even made it in her Thermomix without wrecking the tart or the machine.
How stable/solid is the curd? Would it hold if sliced and then frozen in individual pieces?
I love this lemon tart. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
It’s funny I LOVE cooking and have so many recipes from food blogs, but I never read them. For some reason I read this today. And I liked what you had to say. Talking about the “shoulds” and “musts” really resonated with me during this time of isolation. I feel like isolation is really a time to feed the musts instead of the shoulds, so it felt really fitting to be reading this. So thank-you. I will be making the tart next week for an online-iso-dinner party. It looks delicious and I can’t wait <3
I loved the healthy lemon tart recipe, but needed to make adjustments. There was not enough lemon curd to fill a 9′ pie tin one inch deep. I am about to make extra and will double or most likely treble the quantity. The other factor was the mixture was gloopy and lacked body for a tart that could be cut like a pie. My fix will be to add some healthy potato starch to thicken it so that it will set firm. The flavor was delicious, not too sweet and tangy.
I have made this tart about 20 times and we absolutely love it!! I add some shredded coconut to the crust and I make a little more of the curd than the recipe calls for but it is so good when you can get lemons from your backyard. Thank you!!!!
I’ve made this once before and it was incredible – I have some extra egg yolks and wondered if I could make the curd with just yolks, or if it needs whole eggs as you call for? Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It turned out SO good. Just the right amount of tanginess. I did add a little gelatine to the curd as I felt it wasn’t thickening properly (but i think i used a little too much lemon juice so that’s fair ). It was perfect. Will definitely make it again!
Heya love this recipe and I want to make it tonight as I have a tonne of yolks (used the egg whites yesterday). Do you think I can just use yolks in the recipe? X
hey girl! hope your doing wel was thinking of making these and was wondering if i could use all purpouse flour instead of almond flour? thanks and aslo does this thicken up like an actual lemonrd does and if so does it have a coconut taste. sorry for all the questions hahhaha
You would need to choose a tart crust recipe for AP flour. The curd is thick and doesn’t taste like coconut but that’s just in my opinion.
So simple, so delicious! Thanks so much for sharing. Used ghee instead of coconut. Made extra curd and pastry shells for the freezer, ready for a quick, zingy treat another day. Looking forward to it already! 🙂
hi! how many tarts does this recipe make? and how big are they? 🙂
Finally a Full-proof GF recipe! My Husband is French, and this is a popular dish in his family, we loved it!
Thanks Phoebe!!!
yay! I’m so glad!
How many calories in this recipe?
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been searching and searching for desserts I feel good about eating after my detox, and I also have Celiac, so this one’s perfect! Quick question though: how many servings is in each tart (how many people will 1 tart feed)? Thanks!
Good pie! I had to substitute using olive oil and coconut sugar due to being stuck in the house, and only used two eggs for filling, it does need three but I was running out. It was still very good. Thanks so much for the recipe
I’m allergic to honey; can I replace the honey with maple syrup?
I made this amazing lemon curd last weekend with a regular pastry tart base and am excited now to try with your almond crust. Thanks for the healthy tart filling I was looking for!
I’m so thrilled!
Please can I have the recipe in uk measures?
Hi! Can I use regular honey or it needs to be raw honey?
regular is fine!
Looks DELICIOUS
Please tell me if I can use applesauce instead of the coconut oil
I do not use any coconut products
The cardiologist has recommended not using
Thank You
You are welcome to try, but it is not similar at all. You are better off using butter or another fat that is solid at room temperature as a replacement.
Darn it…I really wanted to love this and the curd was great. The base was a disaster….I followed the recipie and have made many tarts before but its been a while since I have had a disaster like this…too much oil in the recipe I wonder?
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear it. We’ve had very few non-success stories with this recipe. I don’t think it would be the oil since there’s only 2 tablespoons, which is not much fat compared to traditional tart crusts. I wonder if it was your almond flour / meal? Hope you at least enjoyed the curd!
It says no dairy but eggs are in the ingredient list???
Most people do not consider eggs dairy – they contain no lactose, whey protein, or other base ingredients that encompass animal milk.
Excellent in every way, super easy recipe. I served it with a homemade berry sorbet on the side. My guests absolutely raved about the delicious lemon flavor! I was pleased I could make it ahead of time. I won’t be making a traditional tart again, this is my new fave. Thanks!