Think lemon cheesecake. These paleo lemon tarts are raw, gluten free, AND vegan…right up my alley!
Very recently, many of my respected food blogger comrades began mentioning (circa 2011!) Hail Merry Tarts. At the recent Food Allergy Conference, these little morsels won “Best in Show.”
I was dying to get my hands on one of these to try them out…but none of my local stores had them yet: they are relatively new to the market. So then I looked at ordering some online…but because they need to be refrigerated…the shipping was something obscene like $40! I submitted requests to both of my local natural food stores to start carrying them: I mean the way people were talking about them, I was DETERMINED to get one without going broke!
A month later (I am sure nothing to do with me), I happen to walk by the “New Products” at my local Whole Foods: and there they lay!! (This is where to cue exalting, angelic singing)
Finally, I was going to get to try one! I purchased one Chocolate Mint, and one Meyer Lemon Miracle Tart And while the chocolate mint was good, the lemon really knocked my socks off! Both of them reminded of cheesecake. Dense, decadent, and oh so good!
I could find no knock-off recipes online, so I had to come up with my own lemon tarts. The results are SO worth it! Creamy, dreamy, and melt-in-your mouth, you will not be disappointed! You can bet I will be working on a chocolate version next (update, I finally DID create a chocolate version!)!
And if you prefer lime or orange over lemon, just sub the lemon ingredients for the citrus you’d like! Regardless, try these keto vegan lemon tarts today, they are simply amazing!
Working with the keto lemon tart crust:
This crust is super simple to work with, whatever type of pan you decide to use! Remember to process the mixture longer if it does not press together easily.
- Most often, I use my silicon mini muffin pan to make these for bite sized tartlets. My tart tamper makes pressing the crust in a snap! The nutritional information and time are for this version.
- Any pans can be used!!
- I have also used a large tart pan, which makes prep even quicker!
If you would like to see my other Hail Merry copycats or no bake desserts, here are your links!
- Hail Merry Raw Chocolate Tart Copycat
- Raw Strawberry Macaroons
- Hail Merry Raw Chocolate Macaroons
- Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
If you love lemon as much as I do, you may want to try this lemon pudding cake which has no grains!!
Paleo Lemon Tarts Recipe:
If you make these amazing tarts, I want to hear about it! Please leave a comment below!
Paleo 'Hail Merry' Lemon Tart Knock-Off
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup honey for keto try Surkin or powdered erythritol
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Zest one lemon
Optional:
- stevia to taste I used 5 drops
FILLING
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked a minimum of one hour, up to 4 in fresh water
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup full fat canned coconut milk or warm water
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup honey I replace half with liquid stevia equivalent. For low carb, use powdered erythritol
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract the lemon is optional, however it really heightens the lemon flavor
- Grated zest of 1-2 lemons essential to the lemon flavor, don't leave out!
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- For the crust, process almonds in the food processor until you have a meal/flour consistency.
- Add in remaining crust ingredients and pulse until well blended. You should be able to press the mixture together into a crust, Continue to process to release some of the natural oils until the mixture binds/presses together easily.
- Press into greased individual tartlet pans, muffin tins, or press into an 8 x 8 pan for one large tart.
- For the filling, process all ingredients until silky smooth (multiple minutes).
- Taste and add more sweetener if you prefer, or more lemon!
- Spread into the awaiting crust, and refrigerate until set and ready to eat!! Heaven!
- If you have leftover filling, try freezing it in individual muffin papers for some handy lemon fat bombs!
Nutrition
I like the inside of the cup but the outside does not match Hail Merrys very well because the Hail Merry has a coconut in the base or the crust also. It taste doesn’t have a great taste of the salty sweet flavor of the real Hail Merry
If anyone has a recipe closer to Hail Merry please post! Everything online is making cheesecake using cashews and I want it to be a true Hail Merry Knick off … more of a lemon curd and so I’m not sure why everyone has to use cashews making cheesecake… I need a break from them due to overeating = intolerance 🙁
Recipe looks great for different desire though, not intending criticism 😉 I’ll keep searching!
You could try macadamia nuts in place of the cashews…and sometimes hemp hearts work…but their flavor is stronger than raw cashews. Hail Merry tarts use cashews too….but I get overdoing stuff and needing something different! Good luck!
Thanks 😉 It’ll take some experimenting!
I’ve made this and find it very tasty indeed. Like the wholesome ingredients.
Next x I may try with less honey.
A question: how much water do you soak the cup of cashews in?
Thank u so much for offering this recipe and your advice regarding!
Hi Lynn, enough water to cover with a few extra inches for expanding! Drain the water off before proceeding! Sweetness is so individual…I bet less honey would be great too!
These were really good! I used Stevia powder for the crust and half honey and half stevia for the filling as you suggested. I don’t often love the aftertaste you can get from Stevia but the lemon tang disguises it well. They were a little crumbly but held together and the filling was nice and light. Really nice flavour.
Awesome! If the crust was crumbly at all…just process a bit longer next time to get the coconut and almonds to release their natural oils!
If I use almond flour instead of almonds, what quantity should I use? I imagine less than a cup, in fact a lot less since when grinding nuts they diminish in volume.
Hi Lynn! You have options in how you form these. You can do individual tarts in a mini muffin pan as shown in pictures, or you can press the crust in to an 8×8 square or 8-9” round pan and pour the filling in over the top for one large tart that you cut into slices! Hope that helps.
How much almond flour INSTEAD of soaking raw almonds?
roughly similar amount. You can add more or less just so the crust is able to be pressed together into a cohesive mix. If you have a scale, you could measure the weight of 1 cu[p almonds and do the same weight of almond flour as well.
I’m about to do this recipe. It’s the most appealing lemon tart recipe I’ve seen in my googling today.
I don’t understand “make them into a bar using an 8 x 8 pan.” What is meant by “a bar”?
These look so light and refreshing!! I can’t wait to try them!
These lemon tarts were so good! Love the addition of shredded coconut!
I cant seem to get my crust to stay together or stick to the filling? It comes of my my greased tin in crumbles 🙁 Any tips?
it may need to be run through the processor more to release more of the oils from the almonds and coconut…..I am betting that is the issue. Never ever had that happen….could also try adding a touch more honey….but the mixture should have been clumping together in the processor.
Could I make these using almond flour in the crust, instead of raw almonds?
should likely work laura!
Two questions….
What do you soak the cashews in, water?
In the crust recipe, did you add the Stevia instead of another ingredient or in addition to?
you soak the cashews in the water, and added that detail to the notes and the recipe card. And the Stevia is only if you would prefer the crust to be a little bit sweeter, it would be in addition to the honey or liquid sweetener of your choice
I made them! So delicious! THANK YOU!!!!
Yay! Good luck making them last!!!
These came out fantastic! They hardened up to that perfect cheesecake consistency in the fridge 🙂
Glad you are enjoying them, I totally love them too!
Turned out great! I used to only buy Hail Mary tarts when I had a coupon but now I can just make them at home. I did have extra filling leftover so I made a quick date-nut crust and poured the extra filling over that. Yum!
So nice to be able to whip them up at home isn’t it? Thanks for your feedback 🙂
How far in advance can thesembe made? . Thankyou
Make and put in the freezer a week before, or
In the fridge for a few days&
So these freeze well? Perfect! Thank you
Indeed Denise! Enjoy!
These are super yummy! However, I don’t understand how I would ever get them done in 15 minutes. I spent 2 hours making these! Mostly, that’s just me figuring out what I was doing, but still, 15 minutes doesn’t seem possible. It took a while to press the crust in individual dishes and I only had enough for nine so I’m curious about the pans or tins you used to get 24. Thanks so much for sharing. I would like to know if anyone else made them in 15 minutes.
I used a silicon mini muffin tin for the bite sized one, and tool (tart tamper) like this to press the crust down in: https://amzn.to/2SwnBIX, makes it quick and easy. But I have also made one big one, which is also much quicker, using the side of a mug or silicon mat to press it in more evenly and quickly. So t took me about 15 minutes, but i can adjust the time slightly to account for different cooking styles! My sister’s have always said I am SO fast in the kitchen!
Glad you enjoyed them Lisa!!
I don’t remember if I left a comment before. But this recipe is soooo good. Everytime I think about buying a hail merry tart, I choose to make this recipe instead. It is perfect! Unfortunately, I don’t have the self-discipline needed for this to be as many servings as it is supposed to be. Thank you for this recipe!
I’ll tell you a secret….I have a hard time controlling my servings too!!! I agree, I will make these over buying too! Thanks for your feedback!
O……M…..F…..G…..
This is amazing. I can’t even… when trying to find a knock off recipe, the others had egg in them. My boyfriend is allergic to eggs and they aren’t listed in the ingredient list. This is reeeediculous.
PS- I subbed 3 drops of lemon essential oil because I don’t know how to zest and it worked great.
Yes, these are a little TOO good Delaine, so glad you love them too!
These were absolutely fantastic! Even people who are not particularly health-conscious couldn’t get enough of this lemony goodness! The lemon zest really kicks it up a notch. I had to keep myself from eating all the crust before I poured the filling in.
Awesome Diana! Glad to know I am not the only one who can’t get enough of them! Thanks for letting me know, I love knowing people use and enjoy my recipes!
I was so hoping they didn’t contain nuts. Looks so yummy!
I was going to try it with hemp hearts Sue for my nut free peeps!!
Simple and delicious. Absolutely love the flavor too !
To soak the cashews, how much water is needed? That part of the recipe is confusing. (I just scrolled through all the comments looking for an answer ?)
no exact amount Lucy, just cover cover with sufficient water and drain off before moving on with the recipe!!
Wow Tessa, you’re amazing. You are so ahead of your time! It’s 2016 and you had the vision to make this recipe and post it way back in 2011. I’m going to save your blog for future use, thanks so much for posting the good stufF!!
I had a similar experience–my bf and I tried the Persian Lime Hail Merry tart, loved it, and wondered if we could make our own. The first recipe to come up was yours. It’s so good and so easy! I put the remaining bars in the freezer on the second day, mostly because it’s already super hot in west Texas and the bars stay firmer longer that way. My non-paleo burlesque troupe adored them as well. Thank you so much!
Tessa, these are amazing! I’m not a cook or anything, but I have a history of eczema, which stops me from eating certain foods. One of which, is lemon cheesecake! I’ve bought the Hail Merry ones too, but due to the high costs, have been looking to make my own. These came out perfectly, thank you!
Just a few adjustments to the filling:
I didn’t have coconut milk/cream, so instead I processed 1 cup of shredded coconut until it became “coconut butter”. Then I added the cashews, processed down again into ” butter” (about 8min). Lastly, added the wet ingredients. It came out super thick and creamy! Just thought I’d write it down here in case anyone else wants to try it without coconut cream. 🙂
I’m off to try your chocolate ones! So excited.
Christina
I know too well what limitation are like…I am so glad these hit the spot for you!! Thanks for sharing your feedback…nice work being resourceful!
Could coconut butter and cashew butter be used instead of the shredded coconut or cashew butter? I have family members that don’t like coconut at all-especially tiny chunks. I have both butters but not the raw nuts or coconut.
Are you thinking for the crust? I *think* that could work. Almond flour might help too
Hi Christina!
What kind of food processor do you use for the butter?
I find mine isn’t able to get anything down to that fine of a paste.
Thanks,
Sarah
Just seeing this Sarah, I use a Cuisinart 14 cup processor. Did you soak the cashews? Most processors can easily handle this task IF the nuts were pre soaked.
If this is as good as the ones in the store, I will never be able to repay you. ha ha! I love the lemon one! They are $3.50 here and sometimes go on sale for $1 off.
hope you love it Saskia!
DELICIOUS! Added EXTRA lemon juice and rind and OMG this is a perfect, easy go-to recipe. My guests were blown away! THANKS!!!
You’re very welcome! Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Thank you Tessa-this looks like a fabulous recipe! I LOVE LOVE the persian lime flavor of the HM tarts – -do you think I could just replace lime where you have lemon?
Most definitely Tracy…any favorite citrus will do!!
Oh wow these look fabulous! 🙂 Love that tart pan!
I made these for Christmas this past year…and it was amazing. So much so that when I had company again 2 weeks later, I made it again.
Fast forward almost 6 months, and I finally see the actual “Hail Merry” tarts in my local store. So I picked up the Lemon and Chocolate.
Can I tell you that I love love love your recipe- better than the original??
I imagine part of it is that the raw ingredients are assembled and eaten quickly. But your crust is less salty with a better flavor and consistency, and your filling is so much more Lemony! So Thank you again for your hard work. I will continue to make your recipe again and again! I have to be sure to have company so I don’t eat them all myself 🙂
My mouth is actually watering for your super lemony recipe even though the HM one is sitting in my fridge.
That is some pretty lofty praise Lauren..thank you! I have fun writing recipes for this blog and wish I had even MORE time to devote to it! Comments are the fuel that help keep me going though, so thanks for taking the time to let me know they (my recipes) are being used!!
No problem!
I always take a look to see if there are people who actually made a recipe in the comment section (as opposed to just saying it looks good)- I like to get an idea about it- if people though it was good/bad, too sweet/salty etc. It can be disappointing to make a new recipe with expensive ingredients, and find out that the outcome is not so delicious. I have been gluten and dairy free for years and was happy to come across raw/paleo desserts that use “real” ingredients as opposed to trying to substitute a regular recipe.
Considering the happy faces of the people I served the lemon tarts (bars?) to, as well as my own excitement, I figured you should know 🙂
Thanks again!
Hi. I have to say I am VERY impressed with this recipe. The flavor profile is excellent- you did great! I LOVE Hail Merry products, but the price tag on them is a little insane. Any chance you have a recipe for the chocolate mint? I have seen a few other hail merry attempts online- but yours so far has blown me away and would love to try your chocolate mint version 🙂
I have actually made it…just haven’t posted it yet..hang in there Mindy! It will be soon!
I have been doing the paleo diet for a few years now, and I haven’t come across anything that looks this good! I am making these this weekend.
I’m not so big on the chocolate mint tart they offer but the straight up chocolate one……..Oh… Yeah. Please replicate that!
Thanks so much for all your tips. I’m mom new to kids with food allergies so really thankful for your shared knowledge. Any idea how many days in fridge this would keep well? (I’m hosting a dinner party and wondering if I can make it a couple days early)
Hi Irish! These should keep well for a few days at least in freezer….i am pretty sure I have had it last around a week before it was all slicked up (:
If you need any help or support figuring things out as a new food allergy mom, please let me know!
Hi Tessa,
Thank you again for your support and quick response to my question – sorry I have been slow at following up! Made Tart for company and it turned out AMAZING. I ended up making it the day before b/c I was running late BUT the leftovers lasted well for about 3 days after – still tasty on day 4 but crust was a bit soggy for company. My family ate it all up before I was able to experiment with a piece in the freezer – next time 😉
Also – I doubled the recipe and used a deep-dish (lecruset) pie dish and the filling amount for this was PERFECT – it truly did look like a lovely cheesecake! I used adtl. lemon zest (one more lemon) and added 4 drops regular liquid stevia as opposed to your vanilla cream because I only had regular – it was extra tart and tangy which was great. I also used trader joe’s coconut cream as opposed to whole fat of another variety only because I had it on hand. Don’t love the adtl. ingredients in TJ coconut cream so next time will not do that but needed to use it up. ALSO – one of my little ones is allergic to cashews so I used macadamia nuts instead – I poured hot boiling hot water over, let cool and soaked them over night in fridge. . . The filling was a bit grainy but I think this might be more due to me using my cuisenart food processor to puree instead of vitamix type blender which I don’t own. . . either way it turned out SO delicious – all company enjoyed and we are so thankful for the awesome recipe!!
This was soooooooo easy to make, and absolutely delicious! It’s so close to the taste that I would probably not know the difference. Thanks so much.
Do you know what the 1 cup of almonds ground equals. I have almond meal and almond flour and would like to use that if possible. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
A scant cup of either should do the trick Dawn!
Hi Tessa,
I have a question about the Hail Mary lemon tarts. In the crust and the filling you say to use vanilla. Do you mean vanilla extract? I just bought the Stevia Vanilla. Also for the zest of one lemon, is the whole lemon zested? Thanks,
Natalie
yes, vanilla extract Natalie. Whole lemon zested, which of course does not include the white pith (bitter)!
I made these tarts in little muffin cups and wow, what a treat! Soooo lemony and delicious! What a great recipe! Next time, I’m going to use dates in the crust as the sweetener.
Hi Laura, they sure are decadent! I like the idea of dates I will have to give that a go too!
I made this today!!! OH EM GEE!! Just like Hail Merry! Thank you so much for your smarts. It truly is an identical match.
Glad you loved them Shasta..only problem is having so much around now! (;
I want to make this recipe but it seems that it’s missing directions. I have tried to print this and it prints even worse then how it shows on the screen. If you look at it it gives the ingredients list and how to make the crust, then it shows some pictures and starts mid sentence on how to make the filling but doesn’t actually tell you how. can you please fix this so I can make this. thank you!!!
Everything looks normal on this end Paula…I DID reformat for you, see if that helps. If not, I will copy and paste the recipe into an email for you!
As a strict vegan, I don’t eat honey. Can I sub agave?
Oh sure Meghan, agave, and coconut nectar would oth be good…even maple syrup, or part liquid stevia too!
I used agave!
The agave worked in my recipe. This recipe is so easy and was truly amazing. I zested my first lemon today 🙂
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later today when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
Tessa, these sound divine! I’ve never been a big fan of lemon, but my son and husband are. So, looks like I’ll be giving this recipe a try in the near future. Thank you for sharing in our linky this week ☺
My daughter will love this! Thanks!
I hope YOU do too Mari!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
Hi Tessa,
You sound like you are as determined to get something right as I am and we are sure glad you are. Your new recipe for the Hail Merry Lemon Tart Knock Off looks delicious, looks like you got it right. Hope you are having a great summer week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Allergy free or not this sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe on foodie friday.
These look wonderful. I have a nut (peanuts and tree nuts) allergy.
Is there any way to make them without all the nuts. Lemon tarts were my favorite before going gf in 2008
I haven’t tried it yet, but know that soaked raw sunflower seeds might work. My friend Danielle at Fresh 4 Five has a Meyer Lemon Cake you should check out! http://fresh4five.blogspot.com/2012/02/paleo-meyer-lemon-dreamcake.html
Thanks Adele!
I love anything lemony, and your Hail Mary Lemon Tart Knock-off sounds just delicious. I like all the lovely wholesome ingredients you have used as well.
Tessa, darling, when do you sleep? Seriously, you are AMAZING. I love how you’ve created this knockoff recipe and improved it more. You are the queen of Hail Merry knockoff recipes … love you for it!
xo,
Shirley
This is in old recipe Shirley…I have been quite missing from my blog this summer actually!! With all three kiddos home, life is crazy busy and there is not much time leftover for me and my passion! Fall will be here soon enough and I will have more time again! My goal is once a week for now….
Looking good. Found you via Beyond the Peel’s Keep it Real Thursday. I linked in a simple salmon pizza. Have a nice week.
This cheesecake looks absolutely fantastic! I love the thought of adding lemon to the crust!
Thanks Amanda…one can never have too much lemon in my book! One of my very favorite flavors!
Had my first Hail Mary tart today and googled for a knock-off. Cannot wait to try this. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hope you enjoy it Stephanie!! I have been playing around with the recipe…I have since learned loads about the ingredients and can use just the package ingredients. I will post changes soon…it leaves the guar gum out and adds coconut/or coconut butter. Slightly different ratios (and I now sweeten exclusively with stevia or a bit of honey or coconut nectar.)
It’s amazing how smooth and creamy that looks! Thanks for sharing a lemon recipe for this month’s theme.
Will do! I was so drawn to the lemon version, I went for it first!! I have a lot more experience with all these ingredients now, so hopefully it won;t take me too long to figure it out!
On the sticking….what did you use as a crust? Stickiness suggests too much moisture…..
Please Please try the chocolate one (not the mint)!!! I have attempted it a few times and the results were very good tasting, but not quite the same as theirs. I tried to reverse engineer it so to speak using their ingredients listed on the package since I know the first ingredient listed is the biggest quantity in the recipe, and so on. My tries tasted good and not too far off, but was kind of sticky and would not come out of the container I poured it into to imitate the tart shape. Any ideas? I am DYING for a good recipe and I find none on the web so far.
I found a recipe online for a chocolate ganache made with coconut oil and it worked great for the filling. Just take the above crust and add cocoa to it, or find a tart recipe with coconut or almond flour. Good luck
Thanks for the tip robin!
I did try keeping things as close to the hail merry ingredients as possible….but had to tweak when it wasn't thick enough. I will keep trying every time I make this though! I think I might have enough practice with all these ingredients now to have a good go at it! If I do, I will update this recipe!
Thank you for taking the time to craft this recipe and share it! I can't wait to try it. I'm curious: did you try making it using only the ingredients listed on the Hail Merry packaging? For example, instead of coconut milk, did you try using coconut butter? And have you tried it without guar gum? I wouldn't mind trying to make this with just the ingredients on the packaging. Thanks again!
I'm so excited to try this – I lOVE the Hail Merry tarts!! Thank you 🙂
Hi WHITNEY, THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! Guar gum and xanthum gum are sometimes in bulk in natural food stores, and they are also sold in little bags by the rest of the baking flours, ask a store associate if you need help finding it! They can be used interchangeably, however guar gum is cheaper! The items are also online. I pay about$6 for an 8 ounce bag of guar gum that last me months, and xanthum gum is more like $13 a bag.
This looks delicious. I love the Hail Merry Tarts! Would you please tell me where I can find guar gum?
Thanks, Whitney