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
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.
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.
Did you try this recipe?
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I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review and be sure to tag me @runningonrealfood if you post it on social media.
Tahini Chocolate Date Balls
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 15 balls 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
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
- 2 cups packed (350 g), pitted dates
- 1/2 cup tahini (125 g)
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder (45 g)
- optional: 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until it forms a thick dough.
- Roll into about 15 balls and place in the fridge for a couple hours to set. Roll the balls in cacao powder, if desired.
- 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.
OOMMGGG!!! I cannot even explain how ridiculously delicious and easy these are!!!!! I LOVE chocolate but I’m trying to be good… and I ALWAYS wish for some small sweet treat!!! These are decadent! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
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Haha, you’re very welcome! I’m so glad you loved them.
So easy and delicious! Thank you for such an easy delicious recipe. I was short for school snacks tomorrow and was at the end of a long day, these were so easy to make. I got my son to try some for dessert and he loved them. So much better than the biscuit based recipes I’ve used in the past, and much more decadent and rich.
★★★★★
These are amazing! So rich and they handle my sweet tooth. The salt is a great addition with the chocolate and “caramel” of the dates. Thank you for another awesome (and so easy) recipe!
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Yay! I’m so glad you loved them! Thanks for letting me know.
Ok so these are ridiculously addictive! I keep mine in the freezer and take one whenever I have a sweet craving. So easy to make. Love this recipe.
★★★★★
Haha, agreed! So addictive! So glad you enjoyed them. Thanks!
Thank you, conquered my sweet tooth without the sugar.
★★★★★
You are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed them.
These are INCREDIBLE! I could not believe how much they ACTUALLY tasted like brownies. WOW. I will be making a stash of these to keep in my freezer, like, always! I also sprinkled on some flaky sea salt on top, for extra saltiness.
★★★★★
Amazing, Daina! So glad you enjoyed them. They really are so yummy, aren’t they??
YUM!!! So good. This is the best nut-free energy ball recipe I’ve tried!
My kids don’t have allergies but you can’t have any nuts at daycare or school. Please keep adding more nut-free recipes!
Love your site!
★★★★★
So glad you liked them! I will try adding more for sure…in the meantime, I do have a few others. Check out the cinnamon energy balls, sesame energy bars and nut-free gingerbread balls. Thanks!
These were delicious….I’m already looking forward to make them again! They’re so fudgy, can’t believe it’s just 3 ingredients! Thank you!
★★★★★
Second time making in 3 days. Too good!
★★★★★
So happy you enjoy them!! Thanks for trying them and leaving a review!
These are amazing and addictive! They totally satisfy a sweet craving and the addition of sea salt is perfect. I’ve made these with both tahini and peanut butter now and both are excellent! The trick is not eating them all at once!
★★★★★
hi! these look great
is the cacao 1/2 a cup or 45g?
cheers!
It’s both…1/2 cup or 45 grams worth. Enjoy!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’m trying to eat a low-glycemic load diet and these seem like a perfect sweet treat. I’m not opposed to using tahini, but could I use almond or peanut butter for a different flavor profile?
Yep, as long as it’s nice and drippy you can use any nut or seed butter. Enjoy!
I wanted to use up the rest of my tahini. Have made date energy balls before but these are so good! I’m blown away at how fudgy they taste! Keep mine in the freezer.
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Yes, aren’t they amazing!! So good! I love them straight from freezer too. So glad you liked them!
Just made these & can’t stop eating them! Sooo good! Easy, quick, cheap & delish! It makes quite a lot so I only made half. Will be making some more for Christmas.
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Haha, I know, right? So good! Glad you enjoyed them!
I definitely never would have thought to use tahini. But I bet that’s what make these so delicious!
These look soooo fudgy! I feel like I need to use more tahini in various recipes now! I don’t use it that often but these look so good