No-Bake Matcha Protein Bars

Healthy homemade No-Bake Matcha Protein Bars made with whole grain oat flour and cashew butter plus a smooth chocolate topping. Vegan + gluten-free!

Eeeee it's almost St. Patty's Day! I remember in high school when my friends and I would all bring in doctor's notes and skip half the school day to go to the parade downtown. There weren't any Matcha Protein Bars in site but hey, there was plenty of green beer flowin'.

These luscious No-Bake Matcha Protein Bars (inspired by my beloved Cookie Dough Protein Bars) were born out of the fact that I have like zero green recipes on my blog. That's no fun!

The best part is that these no-bake bars are made green thanks to MATCHA! Yep, I did you a favor and skipped the spinach this time. Aren't you excited?

What is matcha?

Matcha is Japanese powdered green tea leaves. Since you're ingesting the whole leaf versus the steeped liquid in traditional tea, you get the most antioxidant bang for your buck. What's so great about that?

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals in the body, which cause inflammation and often lead to chronic disease. Matcha has three times the antioxidants of traditional green tea. Wowza!

Matcha has a mild, earthy flavor. If you use too much or aren't used to the taste of matcha, it may seem bitter. I used two tablespoons in this recipe which helps with the bright green color but feel free to use half that amount if you're new to matcha.

What is the difference between ceremonial and culinary matcha?

This tends to be subjective since there isn't specific grading for quality. Ceremonial grade matcha, known as the Koicha preparation ("thick tea"), is reserved for use in the Japanese tea ceremony schools. The other way to brew matcha is called Ususha, meaning "thin tea."

Processing matcha is super labor-intensive, which explains why it's expensive. You'll find all kinds of matcha available online, including both ceremonial (highest quality and price) and culinary grades of matcha.

I used organic culinary matcha from Japan in this recipe. Quality depends on how, where, and when the matcha is harvested, how old the plants are, and if the plants are harvested by hand or machine.

You want to look for authentic Japanese matcha that's shade-grown to aide in a sweet versus bitter flavor. The brighter the green color, the higher the quality. It should have a sweet, full-bodied smell.

Let's Talk Ingredients

• Nut butter: Cashew butter makes these taste like cookies, which I love. You could use almond butter but it may have a less cookie-like taste. Make sure it's the drippy kind!
• Oat flour: This is the main reason why these have a cookie dough flavor. You could sub a portion of the oat flour for almond flour but I haven't tried these with any other flour. If you're looking for gluten-free, make sure you use certified gluten-free oat flour. You can also make your own by blending rolled oats in the blender until you have a fine flour.
• Pure maple syrup: This helps the bars stick together. If you're not vegan, honey should also work, as will agave.

What Protein to Use

These bad boys not only taste fabulous, but they're also bursting with plant-powered protein to conquer any and all snack attacks. You'll want to use a vanilla flavored protein as it helps flavor the bars and make them taste more cookie-like. This is my favorite protein. I also like this and this one.

How to Store

I like eating these right out of the freezer---the texture is amazing! You can also keep them in the refrigerator. You want to keep the chocolate cool so it stays hardened.

More protein bar recipes

• Cookie Dough Protein Bars
• Vegan Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
• Carrot Cake Protein Bars
• Salted Chocolate Fudge Protein Bars
• Almond Butter Zucchini Bars

Please let me know how this matcha protein bars recipe turns out for you by leaving a star rating and/or comment! I hope you adore these as much as I do.

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Recipe by Alexis Joseph of Hummusapien™. Photos by Eat Love Eats.