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Home Recipes Course Snacks Bars & Balls No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars
GF Gluten-Free DF Dairy Free V Vegan

No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars

Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe
Posted:12/16/20
Updated:9/29/21

These No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars double as a protein bar recipe and a healthy dessert. It’s an irresistible dark chocolate protein bar recipe that requires just one bowl and a fridge. Vegan and Gluten-Free, too!

Who doesn’t love an easy no bake dessert that takes no time at all to make?!

These cashew butter bars are AMAZING!!! They’re topped with dark chocolate and packed with vegan protein!

If you are looking for an easy dessert or late night treat, they are perfect! You probably already have everything you need in your pantry.

Easy Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars

cashew bars on parchment surrounded by cashews

I come to you with a no-bake chocolate cashew butter bar recipe that can be stirred together in one bowl!

Packed with light and delicious plant-based protein and rich dark chocolate, you can eat these protein bars as a healthy snack or satisfying dessert!

ingredients in small bowls and metal measuring cups

What you need for Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars

  • creamy cashew butter
  • coconut oil
  • honey, or maple syrup or brown rice syrup for vegan
  • plant protein powder, or oat flour, or more cashew meal.
  • cashew meal, or almond meal
  • dairy-free dark chocolate chips
cashew butter bars in a muffin pan on parchment

How To Make Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars

  1. Prepare loaf pan. Line a 8 x 4 or 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  2. Stir together wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix together cashew butter, coconut oil and honey (or brown rice syrup).
  3. Add dry ingredients. Stir in the plant protein powder and cashew meal until well combined.
  4. Set in the fridge. Transfer the cashew butter bar mixture to the prepared loaf pan and set in the refrigerator to chill.
  5. Melt the dark chocolate topping. In a small saucepan, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil and melt over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour over the set cashew butter bars and place them in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes-1 hour.
  6. Slice and serve. Allow the dark chocolate protein bars to come to room temperature and then slice into 10 bars. Enjoy!

A Little Note on Vegan Protein

The texture of your cashew butter bars will vary based on the brand of vegan protein powder you use in this homemade recipe.

Some protein powders absorb more moisture than others, so be mindful that you may need to add a few tablespoons non-dairy milk to get the right consistency.

You’re looking for a soft cookie dough like texture that holds together well, but not crumbly or too wet.

cashew butter bars topped with salt on parchment papers surrounded by cashews

Tips For The Best Cashew Butter Bars:

  • Use your favorite nut butter. I chose cashew butter since that’s my favorite, but feel free to substitute an equal amount of almond, peanut or sunflower seed butter.
  • Add non-dairy milk, if necessary, depending on the brand of vegan protein. Each brand of protein absorbs moisture differently, so add 1 Tablespoon at a time of plant-based milk if the mixture seems a bit dry and crumbly.
  • Sub the plant protein with coconut flour for Paleo cashew butter bars. If going this direction, use 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons coconut flour. The texture of the bars will be softer, but it offers a nice contrast with the hard chocolate.
  • Use 1 cup of oat flour if you’d like to sub the plant protein and almond flour.

How To Store

These healthy no-bake chocolate cashew butter bars will keep best stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

For longer storage, place the sliced protein bars in a plastic freezer storage bag, seal tight, label, date and freeze for up to 1 month. Remove from the freezer for 5 minutes to take the chill off and enjoy!

stacked chocolate cashew bars

If you make these No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars, be sure to leave a comment and review on the blog! I love hearing from you, and it helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley

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No Bake Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

These No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Butter Bars double as a protein bar recipe and a healthy dessert. Made with vegan protein and gluten-free.

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10 Bars 1x
  • Category: Snacks
  • Method: No-Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

for the base:

  • 3/4 cup creamy cashew butter* (I used homemade)
  • 1 TBS coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 cup organic raw honey, or brown rice syrup if strictly vegan
  • 3/4 cup plant protein powder**
  • 1/4 cup cashew meal (or almond meal)

for the chocolate topping:

  • 1/2 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips*** (3oz)
  • 1/2 tsp coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Line a loaf pan (8×4 or 9×5) with parchment paper; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, add cashew butter, oil and honey or brown rice syrup. Use spoon or rubber spatula to stir until well combined.
  3. Add protein powder and cashew meal, gently stir until the powder is well mixed in – mixture will be thick, almost feeling like soft cookie dough. You may need to use your hands at the end to combine. Note: plant protein powders are all different and may absorb the wet ingredients differently. If the mix feels dry, simply add 1 TBS non-dairy milk at a time until the dough comes together. 
  4. Transfer cashew butter dough into lined pan, pressing evenly into all four corners. Transfer to fridge while you make the chocolate topping.
  5. Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil  in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, continuously stirring until smooth. You can also use a microwave, melting in 20 second increments, stirring in between each time.
  6. Remove pan from fridge and pour melted chocolate over top of dough. Return the pan to the fridge and allow the bars to set – about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Allow the bars to sit at room temperature before slicing into 10 bars. Letting the bars sit at room temperature before cutting into will help keep the chocolate top from cracking. 

Notes

*You can use your choice of thick, creamy nut butter here – almond, peanut butter, or even sunflower seed butter will work.

**I tested this with coconut flour but they were much softer. You can sub coconut flour if looking for a paleo version – 1/2 cup coconut flour + 2 TBS is what I used, measured at 70 grams.

***Feel free to use your favorite chocolate here – semi-sweet, milk chocolate, non-dairy-free, etc.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/10th
  • Calories: 379
  • Sugar: 37g
  • Sodium: 156mg
  • Fat: 17g
  • Saturated Fat: 5g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 1g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 47g
  • Fiber: 2g
  • Protein: 13g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: No-Bake Cashew Butter Bars, Paleo Cashew Butter Bars, Healthy Protein Bars, Dark Chocolate Protein Bar Recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @fitmittenkitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #fitmittenkitchen

More Protein Bar Recipes You’ll Love:

  • Coconut and Almond Butter Protein Bars
  • Peanut Butter Protein Oat Bars
  • Vegan Baked Banana Protein Bars
  • Chocolate Almond Butter Oat Protein Bars
  • Paleo Cacao Coffee Protein Bars
  • 4-Ingredient Homemade Protein Bars
  • Nut-Free Ginger Chocolate Protein Bars

This post contains some affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase through said links, I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support in helping keep Fit Mitten Kitchen up and running. 

About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie says

    12/14/2017 at 6:31 am

    Happy birthday Ashley! If someone made me these cashew butter bars for my birthday, I would be in heaven! Hope you have a great day and a wonderful start to 29!

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      12/17/2017 at 2:22 pm

      Thanks Brie!

      Reply
  2. Cassie says

    12/17/2017 at 11:25 pm

    Happy birthday Ashley! These bars look absolutely amazing! Not everyone needs cake–but you can never go wrong with a yummy and healthy protein bar! What’s amazing about these bars is that you can make a large batch and enjoy them for much longer than cake!

    Reply
  3. Lorena says

    12/23/2017 at 9:02 am

    I don’t have protein! How remplacent?

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      12/23/2017 at 1:21 pm

      Hi Lorena, Do you have coconut flour? I tested them with 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS and they turned out alright! If oat flour may also work, but probably only about 1/3 cup. Let me know if you try!

      Reply
  4. Lucia says

    2/28/2018 at 4:00 am

    I m from Brazil and I love your posts! Congratulallarions!

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      3/1/2018 at 8:38 am

      Thank you so much Lucia! I appreciate you stopping by!

      Reply

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