Healthy Matcha Green Tea Fudge DIY Protein Bars (+ Video!)
These Healthy Matcha Green Tea Fudge DIY Protein Bars will CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE.
Drizzle ’em with chocolate for some extra decadence and you’ve got an incredibly unique, totally sophisticated, sweet and fudge no-bake treat that’s secretly packed with protein, healthy fats, complex carbs, fiber, and all natural goodness!
I know a green protein bar is a weird concept to wrap our heads around, let alone eat… but you gotta admit, they’re pretty fascinating, yes? Once you think about it, people eat green foods all the time! Green Lucky Charm marshmallows, green Fruit Loops, pistachio bundt cakes, Granny Smith apples, kiwis, etc. Matcha ain’t so weird after all.
Let’s have a moment of silence to embrace this beautiful chocolate drizzle. A generous drizzling of chocolate can (and will) make anything taste better. I must admit, I’m not the biggest fan of matcha flavor, but I will GOBBLE. THESE. UP.
These Matcha Green Tea Fudge DIY Protein Bars are healthy, fun to make, and easy to eat.
They make the perfect snacks to keep on hand for those long and busy work days. Or any day at all, really 😉
There are so many health benefits to green tea and matcha, I love finding new ways to incorporate them into my diet (I’m not a huge tea-drinker… my heart belongs to iced coffee).
A few bonuses: these protein bars are surprisingly filling, super easy to make, and 100% nutritious! And they’re naturally green too. No artificial food coloring here!
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I have made these protein bars over three dozen times. I’ve used raw almond butter instead of roasted, I’ve added almond extract, I’ve tried using chocolate protein powder instead of vanilla, and like to drizzle different kinds of chocolate over the bars (white, milk, dark chocolate, you name it)! The recipe published in my cookbook is my all-time favorite recipe 🙂
These Matcha Green Tea DIY Protein Bars have all the nice stuff. Just good and wholesome organic, natural ingredients that are good for the body. No need for the high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, synthetic food dyes, or preservatives. They’re so damn good and will make your taste buds happy as can be.
Healthy Matcha Green Tea Fudge DIY Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 128g (½ cup) Roasted Almond Butter
- 1 cup + 2 tbs Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- 1½ tsp Vanilla Crème-Flavored Stevia Extract
- ¾ tsp Almond Extract
- 168g (1¼ cups, lightly packed) Vanilla Brown Rice Protein Powder
- 80g (⅔ cup) Oat Flour
- 2 tbs Matcha Powder
- ⅛ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Line an 8x8” brownie pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In an electric stand mixer bowl fitted with a beater attachment, add all of the ingredients. Mix on low speed until everything is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix on medium speed for one last mix. Mixture should be thick and fudgy, like cookie dough.
- Scoop the mixture into the brownie pan and flatten it out. Tightly cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Lift the mixture out of the pan. Slice into 12 bars. Feel free to drizzle melted white, milk, or dark chocolate over the bars! Individually wrap the protein bars in plastic sandwich baggies. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or stash them in the freezer.
Recipe Notes
Watch me make these Matcha Green Tea Fudge DIY Protein Bars on camera:
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I am so blessed to be a part of such a loving, adoring, and supportive online community. Here are some of the pictures readers have shared with me on social media and via email of their Matcha Green Tea Protein Bar remakes!
Thanks @sharelgiovana!
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Thanks @komschlies!
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Thanks @foodbabywanders!
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Thanks @brekbp!
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Thanks @_klyne_!
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Thanks @veganjuls01!
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Be happy.
Live fully.
Eat protein bars.
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
They look absolutely addicting)) Jessica, how do you think, is it possible to substitute almond butter with smth else? Or they won’t hold together in this case?
Aww thanks!! You can substitute the almond butter with any nut butter you like, such as walnut butter, cashew butter, macadamia butter, etc. Any nut butter will work (except peanut butter, because the flavor will overpower the matcha), but for the best flavor, I recommend using roasted over raw.
I wouldn’t recommend omitting the nut butter because the protein bars won’t hold together and they won’t be as fudgy 🙂
-Jess
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to make it!
I will try to share this recipe with my friends so that they can make it as well.
This looks interesting but wondering if it is gluten free
Yup! As long as you use certified gluten-free oat flour, like Bob’s Red Mill, these will be gluten free. If you have allergies or Celiacs, ALWAYS check the packages and labels to be 100% sure 🙂
-Jess
any way to make this without grain and upping the protein still? do you think more protein powder would work? or maybe some almond flour?
thanks for another great recipe!
i just bought some matcha tea too! mind-reader!
WOW perfect timing! What are the odds that this recipe would come along right after you bought some matcha? 🙂
You can try using other flours to replace the oat flour. I haven’t tried it, but I think almond flour might work! As long as the mixture looks like the dough in the Instagram pic it should be perfect. Hope you like the recipe!
-Jess
I must admit, the instruction to combine “all the ingredients except. ” has me fascinated.
I used almond flour & i substituted soy protein powder, both of which i believe that boosted the protein content. Consistency was firm enough after refrigerating.
Oh wow, I never would’ve thought almond flour and soy protein would work here! So glad it worked for you! 🙂
Are protein powders interchangeable? I have vanilla and chocolate whey protein and plain egg white protein. Do you think any of these would work in this recipe?
Like Zosia said above, whey protein powder and egg protein powder cannot replace the brown rice flour. I’ve tried it SOOO many times but every batch ends up being a total failure. It gets really gooey and sticky and just plain weird! 🙁 I think the brown rice protein powder works because of the fiber content, which helps bind the mixture.
Sorry!
-Jess
KAREN: She write right in the recipe, “**Do not use whey protein! The mixture will be gooey and will not solidify.”
I have made some of her protein bars and the ones I have found that worked are only vegan protein powders, so brown rice, hemp, a mix (so SunWarrior blend or Vega), which include pea, cranberry, rice, hemp proteins.
Good to know that hemp protein and Vega both work in here! I’ve always wondered if Vega would work because I have that in my pantry, but I’m scarred by all those failed whey protein batches to actually try it out 😉
Thanks!
-Jess
Good to know that hemp works as well since that is generally what I have on hand. You don’t think I’ll have to adjust it at all, do you?
This looks really awesome, I need to make this soon :3
You honestly make the best recipes! Everything you post looks incredible!
I just found your website and love so many of your recipes! This one looks delicious! I was wondering if the brown rice protein powder is a complete protein?
Also, I’m allergic to tree nuts, is there anything besides another nut butter that I could sub for the almond butter? Hopefully I’ll be able to try these matcha bars! Thanks!
YAY I’m so glad you found my blog too! And yes, the brown rice protein is a complete protein.
You can substitute the nut butter with raw tahini (not roasted or toasted) or roasted sunflower seed butter 🙂
Hope you like the recipe!
-Jess
~ I definately want to try this recipe! I am not a big fan of Stevia, do you have another suggestion for sweetening these?
You can try using a packeted sweetener instead, like Truvia. I would add 12 packets at first, give the dough a taste, and add more if you feel like it needs it. Just know that matcha is very bitter so you will likely need to use more sweetener 🙂
I wouldn’t recommend liquid sweeteners, like honey or agave, because they will make the dough to moist and the bars won’t hold together.
Hope you like the protein bars!!
-Jess
THANKS for this recipe, these bars look so delicious, loved the color that the matcha gives them.
Keep bringing more sweetheart
Alicia
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Hello,
I just found this blog, and IT IS AMAZING!! I want to try so many recipes, but a lot of the ingredients I cannot find where I am living. What other things can I replace for these ingredients: Stevia Extract and Oat Flour. I have protein powder without whey, would that be okay to use?
Thanks so much!! And keep up the great work! 🙂
I’m so glad you found my blog! 🙂
It’s going to be hard to replace the Stevia Extract, but you can try using packeted sweeteners meant for coffee instead (such as Truvia). Since matcha is very bitter, you need to use a lot more sweetener to overpower that, so I would recommend using about 16-18 packets of sweetener. Give the “dough” a taste and add more if you feel like it needs it. Otherwise, just coat more chocolate over the protein bars 🙂
It’s also going to be hard to replace the Oat Flour because the flavor is neutral and it doesn’t require baking, like Whole Wheat Flour. If you have access to oats (instant oats or basic rolled oats) just blend some in a blender or food processor until it’s flour-like and use that 🙂
I hope this helps. If you try out the recipe I hope you LOVE it!!
-Jess
Looks great! I bought a BUNCH of matcha powder and I’m trying to find recipes to use it all! Glad I came across your link on pinterest! 😀
YAY! Perfect timing to get a bunch of matcha powder huh?? 🙂
I got quite a few matcha recipes on the blog in case you wanna check them out:
–Whole Wheat Matcha Almond Layer Cake with Matcha Frosting
–Matcha Almond Shortbread Cookie Dough
–Matcha Green Tea Milkshake
–Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
… and they’re all healthy too, just like these Matcha Green Tea Protein Bars 🙂
I hope you like the recipe(s)!!
-Jess
Oh I forgot to add, how long can you keep these out? Do they go bad quickly? I would love to make a big batch once I perfected the recipe but I don’t want it to go to waste if it spoils quickly.
Thanks!
They can stay out for a couple hours before they get a little too soft and fudgy. It’s best to eat them straight from the fridge.
You could also freeze each individual bar wrapped in plastic wrap or a sandwich baggie and take them out a few hours before eating.
When they’re stored in the fridge, they’ll keep for about 2 weeks tops 🙂
Hope you like the protein bars!!
-Jess
I didn’t listen, and I used whey.The flavor was outstanding however:-) I’m guessing I can use hemp protein instead of rice? I will definitely attempt these again.Thank you
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Hi. I thought I followed the recipe and when I pulled out my pan this morning..it was mush and didn’t solidify..did I do something wrong? Also my mix before putting into the pan didn’t look nearly as thick as yours did. I left out the stevia and used whole wheat flour instead or oat flour..was that wrong? Pls help! I really was looking forward to these and thought it was super simple.
Jenn Park-
Whole wheat flour should work just fine in place of the oat flour (it’ll just taste a little different). Did you use whey protein? Whey, casein and egg white protein powders don’t work in this recipe.
Just let me know! 🙂
-Jess
Two more questions… How much is a scoop? And can I still omit the stevia? And add equal amounts of honey to replace it?
Jenn Park-
I’m not sure how much one scoop is, but 168g/8 scoops should be 1+1/4 cups lightly packed.
I wouldn’t recommend omitting the stevia because they will be bland and slightly bitter (matcha is very bitter alone!). The stevia in the recipe has the sweetness of ~1 cup of sugar, so you’d probably need ~3/4 cup of honey to add the same amount of sweetness. However, the honey will add too much moisture/liquid to the recipe and the bars won’t solidify.
-Jess
I know others have asked about the appropriate type of protein powder, but mine is a bit different. I do NOT have whey protein powder but mine is vegan. It is not completely brown rice protein powder. It’s made up of pea protein, alfalfa protein, and rice protein (listed in that order on the nutritional info). Do you think that will be ok or will it also be mush if rice protein is lower down on the list (individual proportions of each type of protein are not listed). I’m ready to make these but just need that bit of information so I don’t ruin perfectly good ingredients! TIA!
I can’t say for sure whether or not your protein powder will work… I think it’s worth a shot, since many vegan protein powders absorb a lot of liquid, but I still don’t want it to be a total failure :/
I would say try it out, and if it doesn’t turn out like pictured, you can add the mixture to smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, etc. Hope this helps! 🙂
-Jess
Wonderful protein bars! I am making them in batches for the week. So much better than buying them at the store. Thank you!
Does soy protein powder work?
I don’t have much experience with soy protein so I can’t be sure… but feel free to give it a shot! I hope it works out for you 🙂
-Jess
Hi, just wondering if the Soy protein worked for you?
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Hi – I just made these and I have some questions/comments. I’ve never used brown rice protein before – this might be a dumb question, but are all brands brown? The reason I ask is my mixture did not turn out the vibrant green as in your pictures. The mixture is more brown and green. I’m going to still eat them, but I really want that vibrant green that’s in your pictures.
I also didn’t use the same brand as you recommended. Consequently there was no scoop in my container so I used the one from my whey protein. Suffice to say that all scoops are not the same. I think I estimated as close as I could but I think I ended up too high on the brown rice protein content. Which could have been part of my problem, but I don’t think it was so much more that it would have gotten me closer to that vibrant green.
At any rate, I’m gonna give this another shot after I eat these and perhaps tone down the brown rice protein and maybe try almond flour, which has more protein than oat flour.
All brown rice protein powder gives off a hint of brown, unlike whey protein powder, which is off-white. I can’t vouch for other brown rice protein powders, but I know that SunWarrior turns mixtures a tan color, not brown. If you don’t have the right scooper, try using a kitchen scale instead. It’s more accurate and you don’t need to bother with scoopers hidden half way down the bag 😉
Your bars may have turned brown because of your matcha powder. Expensive matcha powder is a vibrant green, while some cheaper matchas tend to turn a mucky brown. I used to buy the cheaper matcha variety, but I quickly learned that it gave off the worst color 🙁 … so now I only buy the high quality stuff.
Also, I just wanted to point out that almond flour and oat flour are pretty close in terms of protein content. And, I used oat flour in this recipe because, along with the almond butter, they create a complete protein. Almonds on their own are incomplete proteins, but I guess it’s not a huge deal since you have the brown rice protein 🙂
If you get a chance to make the recipe again, I hope it turns out better than the first batch!
-Jess
Hi Jessica!
I didn’t read carefully enough and I ended up subbing the vegan protein with my whey protein — and guess what — my batch is still gooey! 🙁
What would you recommend doing with it? Try with the freezer? Bake it? Eat with a spoon?
I will stock up with some vegan protein powder next week 🙂
Thanks!
Andrea
Andrea-
Oh no! Don’t worry though, you can freeze it for a couple hours, or until it’s just firm enough to slice, slice them into bars and then store them in the freezer. Just thaw them for a little bit before snacking 🙂
-Jess
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Hi! These were too tempting to not try! Unfortunately, after following everything step by step, they were a gooey mess. I guess I’m just not ever going to be good at baking :(. I’ll throw them in the freezer and see how they do then. Thanks for the recipe!
Carissa-
Oh no! Did you use whey protein powder? Or casein or egg protein? All of those protein powders don’t work in this recipe and turn the mixture really gooey and sticky :/
-Jess
Is it possible to substitute the vanilla brown rice protein for plain brown rice protein and just add a bit of vanilla extract instead? 🙂
Jenna-
I don’t have much experience with unflavored protein powder, but I do know that SunWarrior’s version is unsweetened as well… so if you use an unflavored/unsweetened protein powder you’ll need to increase the amount of sweetener, vanilla and chocolate as well.
I hope you like the protein bars!! 😀
-Jess
No! I did everything I was supposed to 🙁 I’m going to try again today, maybe less drops of almond oil or I did a false measurement of the, I believe it i was, oh yeah it was the protein powder. hrm ill let you know how this batch comes out.
Carissa-
Hmmm, that’s really strange. I would recommend using a kitchen scale because the protein powder and oat flour are difficult to measure properly using measuring cups… they seem to pack really tightly into the measuring cups. I hope the second batch turns out well! 😀
-Jess
Hi ! This looks really delicious. As I love matcha I can’t wait to try this receipe !
I have plant based protein with vanilla falvor at home (vega) do you think it will work ?
Cindy-
I haven’t tried using Vega protein powder in this recipe, but from my experience with that protein powder, it probably won’t work because it absorbs so much liquid. Sorry!
-Jess
Will give this a go and let you know how it turns out.
Super excited to try these out, I’m going to be using Soy protein so I’m hoping it works out!
as for the sweetened, nowhere around me carries it, so I’m going to use sugar in its place, I like my matcha on the more bitter side. hoping when i adjust to my tastes they still work!
Hi I tried making this without any protein powder and it was just a liquid mess in the end. Is there anywhere to make this a fudge bar without the protein and still have the batter like cookie dough?
Edwin-
I’m afraid the protein powder is the main ingredient here, so it can’t be replaced. It makes up the bulk of the recipe and helps thicken the dough, that’s why you just got liquid in the end. If you want a cookie dough texture but no protein powder, check out my Matcha Green Tea Cookie Dough recipe. You can omit the protein powder and replace it with 1 extra tablespoon of brown rice flour 😀
-Jess
These look wonderful! I’ve never tried cooking with a non-whey protein powder before, so I’m not certain how different types would work with the recipe. I have some Spirutein, which is a mixture of rice, pea, and soy protein powder. Do you think that might work to give this recipe the body it needs?
Rachel-
I felt the same way the first time I used brown rice protein powder because all I knew was whey! 😀
As for the Spirutein substitute, I’m not sure if that will work… I’ve never used it before. But, I guess it’s worth a shot? I would assume it would work since it’s got rice protein, and pea and soy seem like they would have similar absorption capabilities.
If you try the recipe out, I hope it works!! 😀
-Jess
I want to send these to my boyfriend in VA. I live in CA. Will these ship or do they need to be refridgerated ? Maybe this is a silly question!
Julia Joseph-
No, that’s not a silly question! I’ve considered doing the same thing myself 😉
These bars do need to be refrigerated, but I suppose if you freeze them and overnight ship them with ice packs, they should be fine. Or, if shipping will take a few days, you can look into packaging with dry ice (I’ve ordered ice cream online before and it came in this cool box safe for dry ice, so I’m saving it for a time such as this).
Hope this helps! 😀
-Jess
Great post, Jessica! I absolutely LOVE this recipe!
Have a great day!
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Hi,
I really like your recipe!
Jessica, why have you removed all of the recipes? Cant find any of the recipes that were posted here for free 🙁
Hey Andy! In case you didn’t see the bottom of the post, the recipes that were added to my cookbook, DIY Protein Bars, were taken off the blog since they were remade and improved specifically for the cookbook. Don’t worry, though, there are still 450 or so remaining recipes still available on DWB! 😀
-Jess
PS: If you’re curious as to why I did this, I explain it in this post: http://dessertswithbenefits.com/about/why-i-removed-some-recipes-from-the-blog/
I do have a couple protein bar recipes still on the blog in case you wanted to try them out:
–DIY Triple Chocolate Fudge Muscle Brownies
–DIY Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter Fudge Protein Bars
You are killing me. I guess no laundry again tonight 😉
Do you bake these bars after mixing together? Or are they to be put just in fridge?
Thanks
Nope! No baking required for these bad boys 😉
All you need to do is mix up all the ingredients, press into a pan, cover and refrigerate. It’s like making cookie dough that’s meant to be eaten raw! 😀
-Jess
I’d love to try Chubby Hubby first, but they all look great. I read before that you give a price per bar breakdown in your book, could you do that on your blog too?
Calculating the price per bar takes a really long time (suuuuper tedious!), but I might do it again for some of the future protein bar posts I publish. Thanks so much for the input! 🙂
-Jess
Jessica,
I can see where that would be tedious, because of that I did was make a spreadsheet of things I bought at the price and size and then made it to calculate the cost by how much I used in the recipe. I guess I’ll just have to buy the book and see 🙂 . Even if it is more expensive, which I doubt, you can’t buy your flavors and make them to the size of your preferred calorie choice. Both of your books look great but I think I will start with the Protein Bar book. Do you have a recipe for Belgium Waffles? What type of protein do you think would work best for a nice fluffy waffle?
Thank you so much Francine!
I don’t have a recipe for Belgium Waffles but I ATTEMPTED to make them here: Healthy Waffles
I want to revamp the recipe though… it could use some work. The waffles, even though they’re delicious, are WAY too time consuming. I have a few more waffle recipes with protein powder though! 🙂
1) Healthy Pumpkin Buckwheat Waffles
2) Healthy Red Velvet Waffles
3) Healthy Quinoa Protein Waffles
Gah! Break out the champagne! You did it! At your age, with two published cookbooks is SO AWESOME. Never ever forget that. You’re a dessert genius, and now a protein bar genius. Girl, you know I’d want in on that birthday cake protein bar action.
This recipe sounds delicious! I love matcha!
I LOVE matcha and combining them with a protein bar dessert is genius. Would love to make these (and that chocolate drizzle on top! mmm)
ps. BIG Congrats on revamping your 1st cookbook! I just recently discovered proteinbars but love their versatility and deliciousness!
I just recently purchased your “Naughty or Nice” cookbook,(which I absolutely LOVE) and have been following you along on Instagram and Snapchat excitedly awaiting this remake of the protein bars cookbook!!! So excited for you!!!! Thank you for continuing to post recipes here on the blog as well!! I have tried a countless number, and can totally tell all the hard work and many trials you put into your recipes!! Good luck with this new edition!
OMG your comment just made my WEEK!! I’m so glad you got a copy of Naughty or Nice, that just warms my heart <3
Haha, if you follow me on Instagram then you know how my diet is basically 1/3 protein bars... I'm pretty sure I'm turning into a protein bar. AHHHH! 😉
-Jess
PS: If you get a chance, please leave a review of my Naughty or Nice Cookbook on Amazon.com and I will be FOREVA grateful 🙂
Done and Done!!!! 🙂
I’d try the s’mores! So obsessed with s’mores flavoured foods right now!
OMG thank you for the giveaway Jessica!!! Soooo excited!! I would definitely make the Chubby Hubby Bars first because YES. 😉
These look delicious! I can’t wait to see all the new pictures in the second edition cookbook!
Chubby hubby sounds amazing
I’ve never baked with matcha before! How exciting!
I absolutely love all your recipes! Do you think I could sub something lower in fat and calories for the almond butter? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Sabrina! The almond butter helps a lot with the flavor and texture of the bars, so I’m hesitant to recommend reducing it at all. Overall, these protein bars aren’t very high in fat or calories (especially compared to the storebought varieties), and the fats in this bar are all good fats (no processed or hydrogenated oils at all) 🙂
These look awesome! Buying protein bars can get so expensive so I’m looking forward to getting your cookbook and making my own in bulk.