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

Chocolate date energy balls sitting on a plate being dusted with cocoa powder.

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

Ingredient Notes

Labelled ingredients for chocolate tahini date balls.
  • 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.

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.

Cacao powder being dumped into a food processor.

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

Chocolate date energy balls sitting on a plate being dusted with cocoa powder.

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.

A chocolate tahini date ball with a bite taken out of it sitting on a small white plate.

Related Recipes

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

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Close up of the inside of a chocolate tahini date ball.

Tahini Chocolate Date Balls

  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 15 balls 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: No-Bake
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

These cacao date energy balls require just 3 ingredients: dates, tahini and cacao. They’re vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and oil-free and taste absolutely amazing. They’re rich, decadent and fudgy but with those 3 wholesome ingredients you can enjoy them anytime.


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until it forms a thick dough.
  2. Roll into about 15 balls and place in the fridge for a couple hours to set. Roll the balls in cacao powder, if desired.
  3. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 ball
  • Calories: 119
  • Sugar: 15 g
  • Sodium: 4 mg
  • Fat: 5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 21 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 2.5 g

Keywords: chocolate tahini balls, tahini date balls

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