These chocolate & coconut date energy balls (or bliss balls as they are sometimes known) are the perfect healthy make ahead snack. They are sweet, so tasty and unlike most date balls my version is nut free!
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If you are looking for a healthy, nutritious, filling snack then you have come to the right place!
These chocolate & coconut date energy balls are deliciously sweet and are a great way to satisfy that sugar craving.
Made with only 5 ingredients, they are super quick and easy to make and require no baking, so you can always have a stash made up to keep in your kitchen for when that sweet craving strikes!
Most date balls contain nuts, however my version is nut free so perfect for people with a nut allergy. They are also naturally dairy free, gluten free and vegan too!
They are excellent for kids too, who will love the sweet, sticky date and chocolatey taste. As they are nut free they are perfect to pop in their school lunchbox as a healthy lunch treat!
Looking for some more sweet recipe ideas? Why not check out my Dairy Free Cranberry & Coconut Flapjacks or One Bowl Vegan and Gluten Free Banana Bread!
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Ingredients
Such an easy recipe to make with only 5 ingredients!
- Pitted Medjool Dates - Dates are full of fibre & a boast a great variety of vitamins and minerals, including iron, potassium, B vitamins, copper & magnesium. The dates help to bind the balls together and contribute to the sweet taste & moist, chewy texture.
- Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut - The coconut taste works beautifully with the chocolate. Some packets of desiccated coconut contains sulphur dioxide as a preservative. If you have a sulphur allergy check out this coconut which is preservative free.
- Raw Cacao - Cacao powder is packed to the brim with flavonoids & anti-oxidants. Falvonoids have been shown to help lower blood pressure & improve blood flow to the brain and heart. Use a raw, unsweetened version like this one to benefit from the maximum health benefits.
- Sunflower Seeds - Packed with vitamins and minerals this is another super ingredient. They are a good source of “healthy” fats and B vitamins and have anti-inflammatory benefits which can help with short term or chronic inflammation.
- Maple Syrup - Helps to combine the mixture and is a great vegan alternative for honey.
Check out the recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Chocolate & Coconut Date Energy Balls
Remove the stones from the dates if they are not already pitted.
Place the sunflower seeds in a food processor like this one and pulse until roughly chopped.
Add the rest of the ingredients and keep pulsing until all the ingredients come together. (You may need to do this in two batches, dependent on your size of food processor)
It can take a few minutes to come together so keep going until the mixture is combined.
Mould into ball shapes with your hands. The mixture should make between 13-15 medium sized balls, which is a great snack size.
Shake some extra desiccated coconut onto a plate and roll the balls in the coconut mixture until evenly covered.
Hint: If the mixture is looking a little dry or will not come together, add a splash of water to it which will help blend it together.
Substitutions & Variations
- Mix up the seeds - Swap the sunflower seeds for pumpkin seeds or a mixture of pumpkin, hemp and flax seed!
- Oats - If you are not following a gluten free diet you can make these with oats instead of seeds. Just pulse the oats in the food processor as you would the seeds.
- Nuts - If you do not need to avoid nuts you can the switch up the sunflower seeds with an equal amount of cashew nuts for a deliciously nutty flavour.
- Maple Syrup - This can be substituted for honey if you are not following a vegan diet.
Equipment
If you are short on storage space, this food processor is such a handy addition to the kitchen!
It fits nicely inside your cupboard without taking up too much room and comes with a separate whisk blender and stick blender, ideal for baby food purees or smoothies!
Looking for a bigger model? Then this is a must have!
The Ninja 3 in 1 blender and food processor is all singing and dancing! Create anything from dips to drinks, doughs and desserts with 5 blending and processing programs.
Storage
If you can refrain from eating the lot in one go, they will keep nicely in an airtight container for up to 7 days, so are fab to meal prep at the beginning of the week and keep on the kitchen side for when you fancy them in the week.
To freeze, place the balls on a baking tray evenly spaced apart and freeze for an hour. They can then be placed in a freezer bag in the freezer for a month or so. (Freezing them on the baking tray first stops the balls sticking together)
Defrost on the kitchen side at room temperature until they are fully defrosted and you are good to go!
FAQ's
I’m not going to lie to you and say they are sugar free, BUT the sugar in these is all natural and un-refined, so basically if you are going to eat sugar, this is the sugar to eat!
The health benefits of the dates/coconut/cacao and sunflower seeds are AMAZING! Packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, they are soooo good for your body, brain and heart!
Yes!
They will have a crunchier texture but it is possible! Sunflower seeds are quite small so you can either leave them as they are or crush them a little with a pestle and mortar. Chop the dates with a knife as finely as you can, put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together well, using a splash of water if needed, then mould together with your hands as per the recipe.
I would say YES!
Medjool dates have an almost caramel taste and a chewy, soft texture that you just don’t get with other variety of date.
I'd love to know what you think of this recipe, so why not leave a rating and comment below once you have made them! x
Chocolate & Coconut Date Energy Balls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 G Medjool dates
- 75 G Desiccated coconut
- 2 tablespoon Raw cacao powder
- 2 tablespoon Maple syrup
- 90 G Sunflower seeds
- Extra desiccated coconut for coating
Instructions
- Remove the stones from the dates if they are not already pitted.
- Place the sunflower seeds in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and keep pulsing until all the ingredients come together. This can take a few minutes. (You may need to do this in two batches, dependent on your size of food processor)
- Mould into ball shapes with your hands. This mixture should make between 13-15 medium sized balls.
- Shake some extra desiccated coconut onto a plate and roll the balls in the coconut mixture until evenly covered.
Laura
I don’t mind openly admitting that I had no idea what the word ‘desiccated’ meant…lol After looking it up, now I know it means ‘dried’. This recipe is awesome. It doesn’t contain a lot of ingredients and is healthy and can be made quickly. I love it!
Lauren Woodger
LOL .. so glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for commenting x