Chocolate Date Balls

You only need 5 ingredients for this chocolate date balls recipe! These healthy bite-sized treats are full of nutrition, whip up in just 15 minutes, and taste like decadent chocolate brownie bites! And they're naturally gluten free, vegan, and paleo.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Date Balls, Chocolate Date Balls Recipe, Cocoa Balls, Date Balls, Date Balls Recipe, Date Energy Balls, Date Nut Balls, How to Make Date Balls, Paleo Brownie Bites, Vegan Chocolate Bites

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 0

Servings servings

Calories 104kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Equipment

Food processor

Ingredients

1 cup Medjool dates about 10 Medjool dates or 175g pitted dates
Hot water just off the boil for soaking the dates if they’re hard
3/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil melted
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons walnuts finely chopped; for coating (see Notes)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

If the dates are hard, add them to a small bowl and cover with hot water by 1/2 inch. Let the dates soak for 3 minutes, and then drain off the liquid. Reserve the soaking liquid in case the date ball mixture needs moisture.
Add the walnuts, soaked dates, cocoa powder, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt to a food processor. Pulse a few times, and then puree until it’s smooth and comes together as dough. If the mixture seems too dry, you can add the soaking liquid 1 teaspoon at a time.
Use a 1 tablespoon scoop to measure out the mixture, and then roll into balls. Put the finely chopped walnuts in a shallow bowl and roll each ball in the nuts to coat.

Video

Notes

Topping Ideas: Instead of finely chopped walnuts, you can use any of the following for coating the chocolate date balls: finely chopped almonds, finely chopped pecans, unsweetened shredded coconut, or sprinkles.
Almond Joy Variation: Use almonds instead of walnuts, add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, and roll the balls in unsweetened shredded coconut.
Storage: You can store chocolate date nut balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. I love freezing these because they're perfectly portioned; you can easily take out one or two at a time and let them thaw to room temperature before enjoying!

Nutrition