Chocolate Date Energy Balls (Vegan & Paleo)
Posted Jan 26, 2020, Updated Sep 03, 2021
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No-Bake Chocolate Date Energy Balls Recipe! These healthy energy balls are made in 5 minutes with 8 ingredients and they taste like brownie bites! They are vegan, Paleo gluten-free and have no refined sugar, but you’d never know it! They’re also freezer-friendly!
These chocolate date energy bites are a snack time staple in our house. Skip the pre-packaged snacks and make these energy balls full of wholesome ingredients!
My kids L-O-V-E to eat these because they taste like little brownie bites, and I love that they’re fueling their cute little bodies with lots of healthy fats, protein and fiber. They’re also great for pregnant women who are trying to eat dates to prepare for labor (which has been me the majority of the last 9 years)! 😉
This energy balls recipe is a step above the rest for many reasons:
- It’s easy to make – these energy balls come together in 5 minutes with 8 ingredients.
- No added sugar – these chocolate energy bites are only sweetened with dates.
- They’re healthy! These energy balls are paleo, vegan, gluten/grain-free and have no refined sugar!
- Freezer friendly – I love prepping a large batch of these energy balls and storing them in the freezer for a quick and easy snack on busy days!
- They taste amazing – these vegan energy balls taste like a decadent treat, but they’re really nutritious.
Date Energy Balls: Ingredients & Substitutions
As always, let’s chat about the ingredients in this paleo energy balls recipe, as well as possible substitutions.
- Pecans/Cashews. I have included my absolute favorite combination of nuts that make these energy balls legitimately taste like brownies! However, you can substitute your favorite nuts. Just be sure to use a total of 1 cup of nuts. I prefer softer nuts (pecans, cashews, walnuts) in this recipe over almonds for a soft and brownie-like texture.
- Almond butter. Any nut butter works great in this recipe! My top recommendations are almond butter and cashew butter!
- Almond milk. Use your favorite non-dairy milk in this recipe!
- Sea salt. If you use salted nuts, you will want to omit or decrease the amount of sea salt!
How to make Date Energy Balls
This energy balls recipe only take a mere 5 minutes to make with 8 ingredients! It’s super easy, but I have some tips to help ensure your e energy-bite-making success! Don’t forget to watch the video too!
Process nuts & dates
The first step in this recipe is to process the dates and nuts together until a crumbly meal forms. This ensures that there won’t be any large chunks of dates in the final product!
Add ingredients & process again
Add the rest of the ingredients to the date/nut mixture in the food processor and process until mixture just starts to clump together and easily holds together when squeezed.
Form into balls
Measure out 1 TBS portions of the date energy balls mixture, and roll them into balls. Repeat until all the mixture has been used.
Chill & Enjoy
Place rolled energy bites in a storage container with a lid, and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. These chocolate energy balls are best served cold.
We actually store ours in the freezer! We usually eat them frozen, but sometimes let them thaw a little bit before enjoying them!
FAQs about Date Energy Balls
Here are some commonly asked questions about making energy bites.
Store these date energy balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
These vegan energy balls last for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, and 3 months in the freezer if stored properly.
More healthy snack recipes
If you’re looking for some more healthy snack recipes, check these out!
- We adore these peanut butter oatmeal balls!
- These coconut energy balls are another great paleo and vegan recipe!
- If you love almonds, then these almond butter energy balls are for you!
- Healthy Homemade Fruit Snacks have sneaky veggies and lots of real fruit!
- Love savory snacks? Try these crunchy roasted chickpeas or these baked kale chips!
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Chocolate Date Energy Balls (Vegan & Paleo)
Ingredients
- 2 cups pitted dates
- ½ cup raw pecans
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 2 TBS cocoa powder
- ½ tsp salt*
- 2 TBS almond butter
- 1 TBS unsweetened almond milk
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Line a baking pan with wax paper, set aside. (You will not be baking these, you just need a place to set your rolled bites as you make them).
- Put dates, pecans and cashews in your food processor fitted with an “S” blade or in your Vitamix. Process until mixture is fine and homogeneous.
- Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed (cocoa powder, salt, almond butter, almond milk, & vanilla) to your food processor and process until mixture just starts to clump together.
- Roll 1 TBS portions of your “dough” into balls and place them on your prepared baking sheet.
- Put them in the fridge or freezer until they harden.
- Transfer to an airtight container to save for later! These can be stored at room temperature, but will last longer when kept in the fridge or freezer! I think they taste the best cold/frozen!
Video
Notes
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pecans/Cashews. You can substitute your favorite nuts for the pecans/cashews. Just be sure to use a total of 1 cup of nuts. I prefer softer nuts (pecans, cashews, walnuts, peanuts) in this recipe over almonds for a soft, brownie-like texture.
- Almond butter. Any nut butter works great in this recipe! My top recommendations are almond butter and cashew butter!
- Almond milk. Use your favorite non-dairy milk in this energy balls recipe!
- Sea salt. If you use salted nuts, you will want to omit or decrease the amount of sea salt!
To store/freeze
Store these chocolate energy balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or the freezer for up to 3 months.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The photos in this post were taken by Jamie from Dishing Out Health! Check her out for delicious, plant-based healthy recipes!
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Looks so good! Can I make this in a blender?
Wow these are INCREDIBLE! They are the best energy balls I’ve had to-date! They are decadent straight from the freezer. I didn’t have almond milk so I used coconut cream, and I used salted pecans and cashews since that’s what I had on hand. I will probably make them the same way next time since they were perfection!
Thank you so much Danielle! They’re a family favorite around here for sure so it always makes me so happy when other people love them too!
Absolutely delicious! I made these balls at 37 weeks pregnant whilst aiming to up my date intake! The only problem is that my husband LOVES them so I’m having to make more now! Thanks for the recipe – just what I was looking for.
I’m so glad you love them! I ate them from week 36 on with all 6 of my pregnancies and had amazing natural deliveries every time!
Super delicious! Didn’t use 2 cups of dates—that’s too much sugar. Still worked well with about 1 1/3 cup!
Thanks for the recipe!
These were awesome! My husband and I really needed a chocolate fix while we near the end of our whole 30 and these were perfect! Thanks for sharing the recipe.