These gorgeous, vegan matcha cheesecake bars are a beautiful blend of whole food ingredients.
Simple to make with a rich, creamy texture and amazing green colour. They are dairy, gluten and refined sugar-free, making them a great option for a variety of dietary needs.
Made with wholesome ingredients like cashews, coconut cream and cacao powder, these bars are really easy to prepare too.
How to make vegan cheesecakes without cheese?
These cheesecake bars don’t actually have any cheese in them (even vegan cheese) and are perfect if you can’t have (or don’t like) cheese.
Many vegan cheesecakes use a vegan version of cream cheese. This can work well in terms of texture and taste, however, I’m not a huge fan of the ‘fake’ cream cheeses. They can often contain too many other ingredients.
This version is made with ingredients like cashews and coconut cream and the beautiful green colour comes from matcha.
What is matcha?
The star of the show in these bars is the matcha. It gives them the amazing green colour.
If you don’t know much about matcha, it’s a nutritional powerhouse. It’s packed with antioxidants and also rich in chlorophyll, which is a great source of magnesium.
Matcha is a green tea powder made from finely powdered dried tea leaves. It’s usually the very young leaves that are used to make the powder. Used commonly used in drinks, it can also use it in sweet treats like this.
Obviously, I’m only using a small amount in this recipe. However, it’s a great ingredient to add to your desserts, breakfasts and smoothies if you want to gain the nutritional benefits.
The base for has the following ingredients:
- Nuts
- Coconut oil
- Cacao powder
- Maple syrup
You simply blend the nuts until they are finely chopped and mix with the other ingredients. Once pressed down into the tin, they form a lovely chocolatey base. The coconut oil helps to hold it together beautifully.
For the matcha filling, you will need the following ingredients:
- Cashews
- Coconut cream
- Coconut oil
- Maple syrup
- Matcha powder
Cashews
The cashews are soaked and once soft, are blended with the other ingredients to make a gloriously creamy filling.
Coconut cream and oil
The cream really helps with the texture of the finished bars and the oil help to firm up the bars once set.
Maple syrup
My sweetener of choice. You can sub for another liquid sweetener, if preferred. I like the subtle flavour it brings.
Matcha powder
I only use 1 tbsp of matcha to get the green colour. You can play around with amounts to make it more (or less) green. Just start small; matcha has quite a powerful flavour and you don’t want to overwhelm the finished dessert.
How to store vegan matcha cheesecake bars
Freeze these bars and they can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
After the initial freeze you can remove from the tin and cut into bars easily. I cut them into quite small snack bars, so the recipe makes 20. Obviously, if you are serving as a dessert you may want to make the slices bigger.
They can then be stored in a tub in the freezer for easy snacking.
How to serve
Take the bars out of the freezer at least 20 minutes before you want to serve. If you leave them about 45 minutes they are even better – they hold their shape beautifully and have a lovely soft, creamy texture.
These matcha cheesecakes are best served with a drizzle of dark chocolate and a few chopped pistachios.
They can also be served with fruit. They are particularly good served with raspberries. Alternatively, you can just leave plain.
Give them a try and let me know what you think in the comments.
Recipe Tips:
- Nuts: You can use any combination of nuts for the base. I used a mixture of cashews and almonds.
- Coconut cream: I find the organic coconut milks/creams a much better quality. They have less fillers and additives. You also get much more cream, in my experience. If buying coconut milk, you only need to use the thick creamy part for this recipe. Or buy just cans of coconut cream.
- Leftover coconut milk: Keep the remainder of your coconut milk. You can use this in porridges or in smoothies. You can also freeze it and use in curries etc.
- Matcha: I used 1 tbsp of matcha powder for the filling. I think this gives a good green colour without being overpowering. However, adjust to your own tastes, if you would prefer more or less.
- Texture: You can eat them straight out of the freezer. Alternatively, leave for at least 20 minutes and they will become softer.
If you enjoyed these vegan matcha cheesecake bars, why not try these other easy desserts:
Chocolate & Coconut Cream Cups
Vegan Matcha Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Base ingredients:
- 2 cups unsalted nuts (I used half cashews and half almonds) (280g)
- 4 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 3 tbsp cacao powder
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- Pinch sea salt optional
Ingredients for the topping:
- 1½ cups cashews (210g)
- 1 cup coconut cream (240ml)
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tbsp matcha powder
Optional extras:
- Dark chocolate
- Pistachios
Instructions
- To start, soak 1½ cups of cashews (for the topping) in boiling water. Set aside for 20 mins whilst you make the base.
- For the base, blend the nuts until finely chopped. Add them to a bowl with the other base ingredients. Mix well and press down into a 20cm (8 inch) square tin (lined). Refrigerate whilst you make the topping.
- For the topping, drain the cashews and blend with the other topping ingredients. Pour onto the base. Put in the freezer for a couple of hours to set.
- Once set, cut into bars. Drizzle with dark chocolate and some chopped pistachios.
Notes
- The nutritional content is based on the combination of nuts I specifically used. This may vary slightly depending which combination you use.
- The cheesecake bars will last for 3 months in a sealed tub in the freezer.
- You can eat them straight out of the freezer. Alternatively, leave for about 20 minutes and they will become softer.
- I cut this into 20 small bars. That way, they last longer. However, if you would prefer to you can cut into much bigger bars.
I tried these and the texture is simply divine!
Thanks Julie! Glad you liked them!