Tahini Chocolate Date Balls

These decadent tahini chocolate date balls easy to make with just 3 healthy ingredients: tahini, cacao powder and dates.

Features

• dietary needs – vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, nut-free, oil-free
• method – no baking required but you will need a food processor
• healthier treat – these taste rich and decadent but are healthy enough to enjoy any time as a sweet snack or dessert

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Ingredient Notes

• Tahini – use any store-bought or homemade tahini but something on the drippier side works best. No tahini? No problem! Try peanut butter or almond butter as an alternative.
• Cocao – aw cacao powder or regular cocoa powder both work great here.
• Dates – Use any variety as long as they’re soft and moist. If you only have dry dates, we’ll go over soaking below so you can use them in this recipe.

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Step by Step Instructions

Step 1. Add the dates, cocoa powder and tahini to a food processor and blend into a thick, sticky dough you can press together between your fingers.

Step 2. Use your hands to roll the dough into balls. If desired, roll each ball in cocoa powder, coconut sugar or coconut.

Notes and Tips

• Best Dates: I like sayer, deglect noor or medjool dates best. I almost always buy pitted sayer dates for recipes like this. They’re soft, moist, sweet and taste like caramel.
• Storage: Store the balls in the fridge for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Dough not sticking together?

You shouldn’t have a problem rolling the dough into balls but if it seems too crumbly to roll, add 1 tsp of warm water and process again. Check to see if you can press it together and if not, repeat. You shouldn’t need more than 1 tbsp of water.

What if I only have dry dates?

If you only have dry dates, you’ll need to soak them in boiled water for 15 minutes before using. I’d highly recommend using soft dates for best results but soaking drier dates will work in a pinch.

After soaking, drain well before using them in the recipe. If they’re too wet, you may need to add a little extra cacao to balance the added moisture.

Related Recipes

• No-Bake Brownie Bites
• Pecan Pie Balls
• Salted Caramel Tahini Cups
• Carrot Cake Balls
• Coconut Lime Energy Balls

For more chocolate tahini goodness, try my chocolate tahini energy bars.

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Update Note: Originally published on October 17, 2017. Updated with new photos and text in November 2019.