These beautiful matcha pistachio bliss balls are so delicious and come with a whole lot of benefits! Fully vegan, gluten-free and protein-packed, they offer a subtle energy boost to get you through the rest of the day or your next workout!
Little green balls of goodness that are easy to make and super fudgy — that’s how we like our snacks!
From chocolate bliss balls to peanut butter bliss balls and then almond-coconut bliss balls, we have definitely worked our way up to more extravagant flavors over time. Not to mention chocolate-covered bounty balls!
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Once you’ve tried them, store-bought candy won’t be the same anymore! And this matcha pistachio bliss balls recipe isn’t just naturally sweetened with dates and hiding some plant-based protein components — it’s the coating that is most special to them.
Slightly bitter but packed with antioxidants and boosting brain function, matcha powder is totally worth its hype and acquiring a taste for.
From blending it into smoothies or making matcha latte, this ingredient can be used in many ways. And these delicious matcha pistachio bliss balls are definitely one you need to try.
Recipe overview & features
- Fudgy on the inside & crunchy on the outside
- Naturally sweetened & gluten-free
- Protein and fiber-packed
- Awesome pre-workout snack
- Delectable afternoon pick me up
- Customizable and portable vegan treat
- Ready in 15 minutes
- Perfect meal prep-friendly breakfast
One of the secret ingredients that we’ll use in these matcha bliss balls are white beans. Yes, you read that right!
High in protein and really creamy once they are processed, you won’t be able to taste them yet reap the health benefits of legumes at the same time.
In terms of equipment, you need a food processor for a really creamy texture, 2 small bowls and a plate on which you can place your rolled bliss balls. Here’s exactly what we’ll use to create these little treats!
Ingredients needed
- Dates — our creamy base that naturally sweetens the bliss balls.
- White beans — healthy and creamy in texture, their taste is totally undetectable, promised!
- Cashew butter — this makes the bliss balls melt-in-your-mouth delicious but can be swapped for any other nut or seed butter.
- Protein blend — our homemade 5-ingredient recipe which you can find below. Feel free to swap for any nuts or seeds of your choice!
- Cocoa powder — more antioxidants and deeper flavor but can be skipped.
- Matcha powder — well, these are matcha bliss balls after all! You can choose between just using them for the coating or adding them right to the dough.
- Pistachios — if you love the flavor as much as we do, the crunchy coating of these delicious nuts makes the bliss balls even more enjoyable! Feel free to replace with any other chopped nut.
You can find the exact amounts in the recipe card below. We’ll also share some substitution ideas if some of these are not accessible for you.
How to make matcha pistachio bliss balls
Soak the dates
Before you start, place your pitted dates in a small bowl and cover them with hot water for around 10-15 minutes. This ensures that your food processor can create a really smooth, homogenous texture.
If you happen to have really soft and moist dates, you can skip this step.
Blend all ingredients
Drain your soaked dates and add them alongside your cooked and drained white beans to your food processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is somewhat homogenous.
At this point, add all of the other ingredients to the food processor. Blend again until everything is well-combined, stopping and scraping down the sides if needed.
Check with your fingers to determine whether your mixture is too sticky — if that’s the case, add more of the protein blend, instant or ground oats or ground nuts and blend again.
Roll the bliss balls
Now to the fun part! Wet your hands and roll individual bite-sized bliss balls. Place them next to each other on a plate until the mixture is used up.
Put your matcha powder in a small bowl and the crushed pistachios in another. The exact amounts will depend on how many balls you want to have each of these coatings.
Roll your formed bliss balls in either matcha or pistachios and enjoy immediately or place them in the fridge for half an hour so that they become firmer.
Tips & adjustments for this recipe
Let’s go over some questions and customization ideas — if you want to learn more, check my full guide on how to make bliss balls here.
How to store matcha bliss balls?
Our protein balls are best stored in a sealed container in the fridge for around 1 week or in the freezer for 2-3 months. Just let them thaw in the fridge before eating!
Additionally, they can be left out at room temperature for a few hours but will start to get sticky.
Can I make this nut-free?
Yes, you can use tahini instead of cashew butter and choose only seeds for your protein blend. You can also swap the latter entirely for ground oats! Obviously, just skip the pistachio coating and go for all matcha!
How to make these bliss balls without dates
While we love using dates in our bliss ball recipes, we understand that they are not the most accessible ingredient. You could use raisins instead or just any syrup of your choice to sweeten the bliss balls!
Although we haven’t tried this swap ourselves, about ⅓ cup of maple or rice syrup will probably be enough. You can make them really low in carbs by using only 1-2 tbsp of liquid sweetener plus some stevia if you like!
What is this vegan protein blend?
We like to mix different nuts and seeds and blend them into a whole food vegan protein powder at home which we can use for bliss balls like these! You can find our protein blend recipe here.
If you’re not up for making this first, simply replace it with almond meal, ground chia seeds, hemp seeds or oat flour! Store-bought vegan protein powder works, too.
More flavor ideas
We love the combination of added lemon juice or lemon zest along with matcha and pistachios! Other ideas include shredded coconut, almond extract, ginger powder or chia seeds for some delicious variety.
I can’t find or don’t like matcha!
You can simply go for pistachio-coated protein balls only or roll your bliss balls in some barley grass powder, shredded coconut or cocoa nibs instead. These are obviously all very different in taste, but we’re positive one of these will be perfect for you!
If all else fails, just enjoy them without any coating at all — totally permissible.
In case you’re not sure where to get matcha green tea powder, places like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or specialty stores are sure to carry it! Plus, there are always online stores.
Do I have to make green tea for this recipe?
No, these bliss balls are just coated in matcha powder which does not need to be heated or cooked before using. In fact, don’t try this recipe just using green tea — matcha powder behaves very differently from traditional tea leaves.
20+ Matcha Recipes →More healthy vegan snack recipes
Make healthy eating super easy and enjoyable by trying the following delicious vegan snacks!
- Coconut Oat Bars
- Tofu Chocolate Mousse
- Edible Cookie Dough
- 20+ Vegan Bliss Balls
- 30+ High-Protein Snacks
Did you make our matcha pistachio bliss balls? We’d love to read about it, so be sure to leave a review and tell us more in the comments below. You can also Pin this recipe here!
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups dates pitted (225 g)
- 7 oz white beans cooked & drained (200 g)
- 2 oz cashew butter 60 g
- 3 oz homemade protein blend 90 g
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp salt
Coating
- Matcha powder
- Crushed pistachios
Instructions
- Soak the pitted dates in a small bowl in hot water for 15 minutes if needed, then drain well.
- Add the dates along with the cooked and drained white beans to your food processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the bliss balls and blend again until a homogenous and well-combined dough forms. Stop and scrape down the sides if needed.
- Check the texture with your fingers: if it is too sticky to form, add more protein blend (or almond flour or oat flour) and blend again.
- Once you achieve a sticky but firm texture, wet your hands and roll the mixture into bite-sized bliss balls. Place them next to each other on a plate until you have used up all of the mixture.
- Put the crushed pistachios in a small bowl and the matcha powder in another. The exact amounts will vary depending on how large your balls are and how many of them you want to have each of the coatings.
- Roll your formed bliss balls in one of the coatings (or even both!) and enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for half an hour before serving to let the balls firm up.
- The bliss balls can be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Notes
- For an extra matcha punch, feel free to add some matcha powder straight to the bliss balls mixture before rolling them. The same goes for the pistachios!
- Both large and small white beans work. They can also be swapped for chickpeas or black beans.
- If you don’t want to make our vegan protein blend, feel free to swap this ingredient for ground oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds or store-bought protein powder.
- For more sweetness, add a spritz of vegan liquid sweetener or some stevia drops.
- Instead of cashew butter, you can use almond, peanut or sesame seed butter.
- Nutrition information has been automatically calculated without the coating.
- Find more tips and ingredient swaps in our article above!
Hi,
I’m struggling to get the mixture firm enough to roll. Any suggestions where I’m going wrong?
either add more dry ingredients like ground nuts, seeds or oats, or place it in the fridge to let it firm up before rolling!