Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Balls
Posted Apr 14, 2016, Updated Jul 17, 2024
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Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Balls are made with 7 ingredients in 10 minutes. They are the perfect easy & healthy snack recipe. Also, these Almond Butter Energy Balls are paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, date-sweetened & vegan.
These little balls of chocolatey bliss are crazy delicious and healthy! They’re paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and are only sweetened with date. Simply almonds, dates and a few other ingredients come together beautifully to make a healthy treat to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Everyone in my family LOVES these Almond Butter Energy Bites. My husband, who usually doesn’t care for my “healthy” treat options, raves about these. However, My kids think I’m feeding them cookies for a snack. And, I like to enjoy them in the silence that follows all of my babes settling in to their nap/quiet time in the afternoon.
Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Balls: Substitutions
As always I recommend making this recipe exactly as it’s written. But here are a few notes on substitutions:
- Almonds: To keep these balls raw choose raw almonds. 1 cup of any nut variety will work in this recipe. To keep it paleo make sure you choose almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts (i.e. no peanuts)!
- Almond Butter: Any variety of nut or seed butter will work in this recipe. My two favorites are almond butter and cashew butter. Just be sure to choose a variety that meets your dietary needs.
- Almond milk: Any variety of non-dairy milk can be used with delicious results. Also, I’ve used coconut milk and cashew milk in this recipe.
How to Make Almond Butter Protein Balls
Process Nuts & Dates Together
First when making paleo energy balls, always start by processing the dates and nuts together. These are the two most difficult ingredients to process, so it’s important to be sure that they’re finely ground and mixed well before adding the rest.
Add the Rest of the Ingredients.
After the nuts and dates are processed well, add the rest of the ingredients and process for about 60 seconds.
Make the Almond Butter Energy Balls
Next, process the ingredients for 30-60 seconds. The mixture will begin to clump together. At this point, it’s time to stop processing because the it is ready to be formed into balls.
like to keep these Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Bites small (about 1 TBS of mixture per ball), but you can make them any size you like.
Be careful because you do not want to over-process this mixture or the energy bites will turn out greasy. The picture below shows how the optimal “clumpiness” you are looking to achieve for energy bite perfection.
Add a Drizzle or Coating
Finally, you can leave your Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Bites bare, or you can drizzle them with extra almond butter, roll them in coconut, etc.
Store/Freeze
Store these almond butter protein balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to two months.
Almond Butter Energy Balls Recipe FAQs
Yes! Energy balls are full of healthy fats, fiber, and protein.
Yes, I suggest storing them in the refrigerator so they stay fresh for longer. They can be eaten at room temperature or packed in a lunch box, etc. for a day.
If your protein balls aren’t sticking together well then add some more moisture, in this case I’d suggest adding more almond butter.
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Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 2 cups pitted dates
- 1 cup almonds
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter
- 1 Tablespoon almond milk
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Line a baking pan with wax paper, set aside. (These will not be baked! This is where the bites will be placed after they are rolled into balls).
- Put dates and almonds in the container of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Process until mixture is resembles a coarse meal and is uniform throughout.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (almond butter, almond milk, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt) to the food processor and process until the mixture just starts to clump together. (Do not over process here or the bites will become oily).
- Roll 1 TBS portions of the mixture into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet lined with energy bites into the refrigerator or freezer for 30-60 minutes or until they are firm.
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
Video
Notes
- Almonds: To keep these balls raw choose raw almonds. 1 cup of any nut variety will work in this recipe. To keep it paleo make sure you choose almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts (i.e. no peanuts)!
- Almond Butter: Any variety of nut or seed butter will work in this recipe. My two favorites are almond butter and cashew butter. Just be sure to choose a variety that meets your dietary needs.
- Almond milk: Any variety of non-dairy milk can be used with delicious results. I’ve used coconut milk and cashew milk in this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Was a bit skeptical but pleasantly suprised!!! These are amazing. No extra sweetener needed.
Perfect power bomb for sugar regulation.
Thanks so much!!!
These were great! I even used Costco almond butter to make mine! Looking forward to trying more stuff from your site.
Can you use powdered almond butter in this recipe?
If you don’t use liquid almond butter you will need to add more moisture somewhere. Maybe compensate by adding more almond milk.
I would add a few hemp hearts for crunch, otherwise amazing
I used raw cashews instead of almonds.
These are amazing. They are so creamy
and delicious. A perfect snack when you’re
craving something sweet!
So so so good! Satisfies my sweet/chocolate cravings in a healthy way!
So I have never eaten a date … until today. I made these balls and even once they were ready, I was a little nervous to try them because of the dates in them. I finally tried one and they are delicious!!!! I was worried about an aftertaste but there was none.
Thank you for this recipe! I seriously cannot stop eating these treats!