Chocolate Superfood Energy Balls

These easy, vegan no-bake chocolate superfood energy balls are packed with nutrients thanks healthy ingredients like hemp, chia, flax and walnuts.

Features

• vegan, gluten-free, no added sugar, oil-free
• easy to make in 15 minutes or less, no baking required!
• enjoy for a wholesome, healthy dessert or snack you can feel good about
• travel well for healthy snacking on-the-go

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Ingredient Notes

• dates – any variety works as long as they’re soft and moist, my favourite are medjool and sayer dates
• walnuts – use plain, raw walnuts with no added oil or salt
• hemp seeds – may be labelled as hemp hearts or shelled hemp seeds
• chia seeds – any variety works here, if you don’t have any on hand, they can be replaced with additional hemp seeds
• hemp protein – I used plain, unflavoured, raw hemp protein powder but you can use any protein powder you like
• cacao powder – I used raw cacao powder for extra nutrients but regular cocoa powder works just find too

Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.

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Step by Step Instructions

Step 1. Add the walnuts to a food processor and blend into a coarse, grainy flour.

Step 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend into a thick, sticky dough you can pinch together between your fingers.

Help, my dough is too crumbly! If your dough is too dry and crumbly to roll into balls (this can happen if your dates were too dry), add 2 tsp extra water and process again. That should do the trick!

Step 3. Use your hands to roll the dough in about 16 bite-sized balls.

For an extra treat, roll the balls in coconut sugar, hemp seeds, coconut or cocoa. Enjoy!

Notes and Tips

• Dates: It’s important to use soft, moist dates in this recipe. If your dates are overly dry or you’re not sure, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using. If using soaked dates, you can omit the 2 tbsp of water.
• Hemp and Chia Seeds: If you’re missing hemp seeds, use 3 tbsp chia seeds. If you’re missing chia seeds, use a full 4 tbsp of hemp seeds.
• Walnuts: Can be substituted with pecans, almonds or any combination of the 3.
• Protein Powder: Hemp protein powder can be substituted with any other protein powder or powdered peanut butter, or replaced with an additional 1 tablespoon of cacao powder.

Storing

• Fridge: Up to 2 weeks in a sealed container.
• Freezer (Recommended): Up to 3 months in a sealed container or freezer-safe bag.
• Room Temperature: If taking to-go they’re ok up to a few days, or longer if kept cool.

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Related Recipes

• Pecan Pie Energy Bites
• Cinnamon Energy Balls
• Carrot Cake Energy Balls
• Lime Coconut Energy Bites
• No-Bake Superfood Energy Bars

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Originally published on March 21, 2013. Updated with new photos and text on November 3, 2020.