These Chocolate Coconut Date Balls are one of my favourite things to make for quick, easy and convenient snacks. They’re the perfect blend of sweet and chewy and are made with simple wholefood ingredients. This is in my top 5 recipes for weekday snacks and I make them pretty much every week on a Sunday afternoon whilst listening to some of my favourite tunes.
You can make 9 big chocolate coconut date balls, or 18 smaller bite sized balls. I normally make 9 big ones as I find this is the perfect size to go with my morning coffee. It usually takes me about four or five bites to eat.
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Why You Need To Make These Chocolate Coconut Date Balls
- They are made with only 5 ingredients – nothing weird, you probably already have all but one in your pantry right now
- They’re quick to make – if you have 10 minutes to spare you can make these
- Better for you – preservative free, refined sugar free, dairy free, nothing artificial here. Plus they’re super filling thanks to all the fibre in them.
- They keep for one week in the fridge in an air tight container
- You can freeze them for 6 weeks – just defrost at room temperature before eating
- They hit the spot to banish sweet cravings instantly!
What Type Of Dates To Use
You absolutely have to use Medjool Dates for these Chocolate Coconut Date Balls. Why? Because they are softer, juicer and have more caramel like texture and taste than other date varieties. These dates help to create the perfect sticky, chewy date ball that holds together with just the right amount of chocolate kick.
Dates should be at room temperature before beginning this recipe as it reduces soaking time so that you can get these babies made a whole lot quicker!
More Delicious Bliss Balls:
- Peanut Butter Bliss Balls
- Apricot Bliss Balls
- Lemon Cheesecake Bliss Balls
- Choc mint Bliss Balls
- Date Free Bliss Balls
- Nut Free Bliss Balls
The Best Peanut Butter To Use in Date Balls
Sugar Free Peanut Butter, or Natural Peanut Butter is the best to use for this recipe. You can tell if a peanut butter is sugar free by looking at the ingredients list. I buy ones that have peanuts listed as the only ingredient. Usually these peanut butters will be less sweet, but that’s OK, because we’re mixing in in with the dates everything will come together the right level of sweetness in the end.
Can You Make Coconut Date Balls Without a Poof Processor?
Yes you can. However, but there are a few caveats. If you have a mortar and pestle, you can use that instead of the food processor, and even if you don’t you can make this recipe by following these tips:
TIP FOR DATES: Soak the dates as you normally would if you were making this recipe with a food processor, however instead of adding them to the food processor, mush them into a date paste. Before bashing t hem with the pestle, make sure to squeeze out all the excess moisture otherwise the date ball mixture will be too wet.
TIP FOR OATS: Where you would normally blitz the oats in the food processor, instead buy the quick instant oats that are smaller and finer.
Everything else is the same. Once you have the date paste, small oats, throw everything into a large bowl, mix it all together and shape into 9 evenly sized balls.
Enjoy these Chocolate Coconut Date Balls:
- As an emergency breakfast
- With your mid-morning coffee
- After lunch when you need an afternoon pick me up
- Before you hit the gym
- After you hit the gym
- To tide you over before dinner
- To ward off sneaky after dinner cravings
They are also fabulous at picnics and BBQ’s. Real crowd pleasers.
These little gems are one of my secret weapons to managing my cravings and keeping the hangries at bay. Plus I love how portable they are. I’ve even been known to take them to the beach to snack on mid swim.
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Chocolate Coconut Date Balls
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Dry rolled oats - the big oats
- 200 grams Medjool dates - approx. 12 large
- 2 tablespoons Sugar Free or Natural Peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ½ cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
Instructions
- Remove seeds from dates and soak in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain off any water using a strainer and press out excess moisture from dates. (this is important otherwise the bliss balls will be too wet)
- Add the oats to a food processor or high speed blender and blitz for a couple minutes until it turns into a coarse powder.
- Add the cocoa powder, peanut butter and dates to the food processor and blitz until combined (about 1 – 2 mins)
- Roll mixture into 9 even sized balls, and then roll each on in coconut to finish.
- Store in the fridge in an air tight container. They will stay fresh for 7 days.
Notes
- Can you use regular dates? I wouldn’t recommend it as the medjool dates are sweeter than regular dates and you really need the sweetness from the dates in this recipe since it is the only sweetener.
- Peanut Butter Tip: Sugar Free Peanut Butter, or Natural Peanut Butter is the best to use for this recipe. You can tell if a peanut butter is sugar free by looking at the ingredients list.
- Peanut Butter Substitute: Swap out peanut butter for your favourite nut butter.
- Can you freeze these? Yes these are freezer friendly. Pop them into a freezer friendly container and let them defrost naturally before eating. They will freeze well for 6 weeks – if they last that long!
- Make these without a food processor: TIP FOR DATES: Soak the dates as you normally would if you were making this recipe with a food processor, however instead of adding them to the food processor, mush them into a date paste. Before bashing t hem with the pestle, make sure to squeeze out all the excess moisture otherwise the date ball mixture will be too wet. TIP FOR OATS: Where you would normally blitz the oats in the food processor, instead buy the quick instant oats that are smaller and finer.
Nutrition
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