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Healthy date balls with walnuts coated in cacao powder on a plate for delicious vegan snack or dessert

Vegan Recipe for Date Balls Without Coconut (5 Ingredients Only)

Marinela Malcheva
This recipe for date balls without coconut is perfect if you have a busy schedule but you need a quick snack or dessert to keep you energized and productive. All you need is just 5 simple ingredients, 10 minutes, and 1 food processor to make the best homemade date balls ever.
What's more, these rich date chocolate balls are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, and unbelievably delicious.
5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine dairy-free, Gluten-free, Plant-based, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings 17 servings
Calories 78 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Food processor or high-powered blender
  • 1 tablespoon to measure the dough

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup dates fresh and soft, pitted, measured after pitting. I used Mazafati Dates but you can use whichever are available in your country. It's best if they have a rich, caramel taste with a tender, chewy texture.
  • 1 cup walnuts raw
  • 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
  • ¼ cup cacao powder unsweetened
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • First, finely ground your walnuts in a food processor or high-powered blender. Do not overprocess them otherwise you'll get a butter-like consistency.
    Ground walnuts in a food processor for quick and easy recipe for date balls
  • Next, add pitted dates, cacao powder, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Process on high until a sticky dough is formed. If your dates are not soft enough, soak them for 5 minutes in a bowl with hot, boiling water. Then pat them dry. If your dates are soft and fresh you can skip this step.
    Simple vegan dough for preparing homemade no-bake energy bites with dates, cacao powder, and walnuts
  • After that, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and roll small balls with your hands. I got 17 small bite-sized date balls but you can make them bigger if you like.
    You can roll each ball into cacao powder or ground walnuts to coat the outsides.
    Store any leftovers in an airtight container with the layers separated by parchment paper for up to 7-8 days in the fridge or freeze in a freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months. Enjoy!
    Homemade chocolate date balls in a heart-shaped plate on a white table.

Notes

  • Be sure to remove all the pits from your dates before putting them in the food processor
  • If your dates are dry, just soak them in very hot water for 5-10 minutes. This will help them soften and plump up. Using a strainer, drain the water, and press out any excess moisture. This step is very important, you don't want the dough to be too wet and unmanageable
  • Dates should be at room temperature otherwise the food processor or blender may struggle a bit
  • You can substitute walnuts with almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts.
  • For nut-free energy balls, substitute walnuts with pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sunflowers seeds, hemp seeds, or a combination of the three of them. Just use the same ratio
  • You can swap peanut butter with hazelnut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter
  • If the mixture is too wet and gooey, add more ground walnuts or cacao powder

Nutrition

Calories: 78kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 5mgPotassium: 115mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 14IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 0.5mg
Keyword date balls with walnuts, date chocolate balls, date truffles, homemade date balls, no-bake date balls recipe, recipe for date balls, vegan date chocolate balls
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