These easy mint chocolate cashew cream no bake bars are so creamy and only have 7 ingredients! They’re a healthy, vegan and paleo friendly dessert for the holidays!
Creamy, minty, icy, and CHOCOLATE OH MY.
It’s about to happen in your mouth.
And, if my hypothesis (using a big word for the day quota MET) is correct, I think you’re going to RLY RLY like it.
I am hypothesizing this because you really enjoyed the berry cashew cream no bake bars last Summer. Which means you will like them even more in the winter because CHRISTMAS FLAVORED.
You can’t be mad at anything Christmas-y. Unless you’re the Grinch.
But, I bet even he would like these. Because they’re green.
So, he would relate to them.
Or something.
ANYWAY. These bars are heavy on the velvety-smooth-creamy vibes and light on the bad-for-you-icky-unhealthy vibes. Mostly because they’re made of very S-I-M-P-L-E ingredients like REAL, SUPERfresh mint, roasty cashews and chewy, sweet dates. <– <3 <3 <3
My date love? STRONG.
But you know this. We discussed that when we discovered you could use them to thicken Moroccan roasted acorn squash soup.
[clickToTweet tweet=”#Vegan & #Paleo 7 Ingredient No-Bake Mint Chocolate Cashew Bars are the ultimate #holiday treat!” quote=”#Vegan & #Paleo 7 Ingredient No-Bake Mint Chocolate Cashew Bars are the ultimate #holiday treat!” theme=”style2″]P.s still freaking out over that knowledge.
To paint the full-food picture in your mind, these dreamy bites of holiday flavored goodness basically taste like mint chocolate chip ice cream, sandwiched between a soft and sweet crust and then slathered with a layer of ULTRA thin, ULTRA CRISPY, decadent chocolate.
You remember that mint chocolate green smoothie from last year that I told you was totally like drinking mint chocolate chip ice cream?
I lied to you. Drinking a smoothie can NEVER = drinking ice cream, no matter how hard you close your eyes and tell yourself that avocado is totally as creamy as ice cream.
BUT, in my defense, I did not know that I was lying to you until my taste buds tingled RIGHT DOWN TO MY TIPPY TOES as minty freshness, sweet bursts of crunchy, frozen chocolate and glorious swirls of rich cashew cream sauce came onto the scene.
THIS is allowed to be compared to ice cream my peeps out there in internet land. I pinky promise this time.
Can we also just take a moment to revel in the fact that we only need approximately 1.5 hands to count the ingredients that you’ll need to make those mint cashew bars thoughts, that I know are swirling around in your head, go !!POOF!! and turn into an actual real-life
happening in your, well, real life?
7 INGREDIENTS. EASY INGREDIENTS. That you probably already have.
Well, you might need to buy a few extra cashews. Unless you’re a nut hoarder like me.
SRLSY. I have a “nut basket” in my pantry.
If the zombie apocalypse ever happens. You know where to find me.
Zombies = green = mint = how my brain went from frozen treats to zombies. You get it.
On that note: GREEN. Liiiike, RLY RLY RLY (naturally say wha!) green colored prettiness is happening right now thanks to fresh mint.
Sidenote: have you ever opened a container of mint chocolate chip ice cream, only to discover that it is NOT green, but it is white!?
TOTALLY don’t trust it right?!
Maybe that’s just me.
Either way. We’re doing the REAL deal here. No mistrust. No non-colored weirdness. Just pure, natural, vibrant fresh GREEN for our perfectly pepperminty bars of Christmas food BLISS.
P.s Before you even think it, do NOT try to spread the chocolate over the whole pan before cutting. Your chocolate will harden, and you will smush ALL the bars in the attempt to break through it while slicing. This will lead to flat, ugly, MASHED UP bars and a LOT of not-pretty, cracked chocolate.
Which might even CRACK YOUR HEART.
I’m pretty convinced that if you follow the above cardinal rule of frozen-chocolate-covered-bar-making, you’re going to agree with me that mint + chocolate + creamy cashews are a match made in food heaven.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2/3 Cup Roasted Cashews * 93g
- 1/2 Cup Roughly chopped Medjool dates loosely packed (70g or about 5 dates)
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Water
For the middle layer
- 2 Cups Roasted Cashews soaked in water overnight (250g)
- 1 1/2 Cups Fresh mint roughly chopped and lightly packed (3/4 oz)
- 1/2 Cup Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/4 Cup Honey agave for vegan version
- 1/4 tsp Pure peppermint extract
- Pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp Good-quality dark chocolate minced
For topping
- 4 Oz Dark Chocolate
Instructions
- Place the cashews (for the crust) into a large food processor and pulse until broken down and crumble. Add in the dates and cocoa powder, and pulse until combined and the mixture begins to form a crumbly dough.
- Transfer the a bowl and add in the water. Use your hands to work the dough until it sticks together.
- Press the crust firmly into the bottom of a parchment lined 8x8 inch pan. You need to press it very thin, so really use your muscle and work it in there. Place into the freezer while you make the cream.
- Drain the soaked cashews and place them, along with the mint, almond milk, honey, peppermint extract and a pinch of salt, into a large, high-powered blender.
- Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Transfer the cream to a medium bowl and place into the refrigerator until it cools, about 30 minutes. This is so the chocolate doesn't melt when you stir it in.
- Once cooled, stir in the minced chocolate and then pour the cream over the chilled crust and spread out evenly. Place into the freezer to fully set, at least 6 hours to overnight.
- Once frozen, place the chocolate into a microwave-safe container and microwave on half power using 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until smooth and creamy. Pour the melted chocolate into a shallow, rimmed plate.
- Remove the bars from the pan and slice into squares. Quickly dunk the tops of each bar into the melted chocolate and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place into the freezer for a few minutes to set the chocolate.
- DEVOUR!
Tips & Notes:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMART POINTS: 8 POINTS+: 6. OLD POINTS: 5
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS! 
Vegan mint bars from around the web:
Avocado Mint Cream Bars – EatGood4Life
No-Bake Andes Mint Bars – Detoxinista
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Brenda says
Hi there…
Is the mint necessary or just for color…. I have all the ingredients except the mint and wanted to make these!
Thank you
Taylor Kiser says
It’s necessary for flavor if you want them to be mint! 🙂
Nutritionist Mira says
I love to read your recipes. I appreciate you to continue your hard work. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Taylor Kiser says
Thank you!
Cathy says
If I don’t want the crust or care about the chocolate layer with this make an ice cream if just done in the blender and frozen?
Taylor Kiser says
Nope – sorry!
cambe says
hi! these sound so delicious!! i wanted to ask if i could substitute the almond milk with oat or coconut (not a big fan of almond milk). would there be a big difference texture wise? also wanted to know the possibility to switch agave with maple syrup.
finally, how long do these last in the fridge/freezer? was hoping to make a big batch and keep them in the fridge/freezer as a nice little vegan minty treat throughout the week!
Taylor Kiser says
Hi, Cambe! I can’t tell you because recipes are only tested as written, but let me know if you try it. They should keep in the refrigerator up to 5 days. I’ve not kept any frozen, but maybe up to a month??
Jenna says
Would you use salted or unsalted cashews?
hausea says
Hi there! For this recipe, I would recommend using unsalted cashews for both the crust and middle layer. The reason for this is that the recipe already includes a pinch of salt in the middle layer to balance the flavors. Using unsalted cashews allows you to have more control over the saltiness of the dish.
In case you only have salted cashews, you can reduce or eliminate the pinch of salt in the middle layer to avoid making the dessert too salty. Happy snacking!