My vegan bliss balls are the only plant based snack you’ll ever need. The perfect balance between sweet, chewy and nutty. Plus, they’re genuinely good for you.
What makes this recipe work
- They’re SO easy to make. You won’t believe how quickly you can whip these up even if you’re a total baking newbie.
- They’re made entirely of plant based WHOLE foods. Simply just dates, cashews, cocoa powder and natural peanut butter. Do I hear you scream YES!?
- They don’t require any fancy ingredients. No protein powders, no difficult-to-find trendy ingredients, no expensive ????
- They stay good for DAYS. Pop them in an airtight container and our gorgeous healthy bliss balls will stay food for days!
The Ingredients
These are the ingredients you will need to make your new favourite plant based snack:
- Natural peanut butter
- Cashew nuts
- Cocoa powder
- Dates
Yes, these are the only 4 ingredients. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
You will also need a food processor (or high-speed blender).
Step-by-step Instructions
Making these beautiful vegan desserts couldn’t get any easier. Here’s your quick overview:
- Soak your dates in boiling hot water. The longer the better, but 20 minutes should do.
- Drain and add to your food processor. Then add cocoa powder and peanut butter.
- Blend or pulse until your ingredients form a sticky mixture, but do not blend until completely smooth.
- Transfer to a sheet of baking paper and use your hands to form small balls.
- Once you’ve formed all your balls, chop up your cashew nuts as small as possible.
- Finally, roll your bliss balls in the chopped cashew nuts. Easy!
Aaandd, your job here is done! Bon appetit!
Expert tips
- NEVER blend all the ingredients until completely smooth. Make sure to just pulse until they form a dough with few lumps. This way, you will still be left with a good bite and some delicious texture.
- FOOD PROCESSOR vs. BLENDER. While you can use a high-speed blender for these, I would recommend using a food processor. Most regular blenders won’t work because they require liquid to be added to your mixture
- ALWAYS store in AIRTIGHT container. You will need to transfer these to an airtight container and store at room temperature.
- CUSTOMISE THEM. Not a huge fan of cashews? Add peanuts, brazil nuts or almonds. Want to make them a bit more unique? Switch out peanut butter for almond or cashew butter. Making them for a big fancy occasion? Roll them in dried rose petals!
Health information
You’re probably here because you were looking for a healthy snack idea. Or, perhaps you just want a snack that fills you up in between meals.
Regardless of your reason, you’ve come to the right place, friend! Let’s have a look at the nutritional side of things.
Dates
Dates are a fab source of energy, making them the PERFECT ingredient for our energy bliss balls. Not only that, they’re also loaded with some amazing nutrients.
They’re high in several vitamins, fibre, and disease-fighting antioxidants.
Last but not least, they’re the perfect ingredient for our little bliss snacks. They act as a natural sweetener and help bind together all the other ingredients.
Peanut butter
Big disclaimer! I wholeheartedly recommend using natural peanut butter that includes NO added sugar, salt or oil. This means that your ingredients list should only say: peanuts. Easy, peasy.
You can usually find natural peanut butter in every health food store (like Holland & Barrett and Whole Foods), but they have recently been easily available in other regular shops like Aldi and Tesco (UK).
Not only is this type of peanut butter a whole lot healthier, it will actually make your bliss balls taste a whole lot better!
Some of the nutritional benefits of peanuts include protein, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, niacin and Vitamin B-6.
Cocoa powder
It’s one of the richest sources of polyphenols, which are linked to improved cholesterol levels and reduced inflammation.
Moreover, it also has antibacterial and immune-stimulating properties.
Do keep in mind that massive amounts of cocoa powder are not ideal, given its relatively high content of saturated fats.
Cashew nuts
They’re packed with vitamins E, K and B-6. Plus, they’re loaded with copper, magnesium, iron and selenium. All of these nutrients are super duper important!
Taking everything into consideration, this high protein vegan snack is a great and healthy alternative to many store bought energy bites.
FAQs
Let’s have a look at some common mistakes related to our bliss ball recipe.
You might have added too many dates! The way to fix this would be to simply just add some more cocoa powder to help dry out your mixture.
You will need to do exactly the opposite - add more dates. They act as a glue in this recipe, helping all the other ingredients stick together, while also making sure your cashews stay attached.
Weight them. Grab your kitchen scales and weigh out your mixture before rolling it into a ball. This will ensure they’re all sized exactly the same.
All in all, you can see that our low carb protein balls are the PERFECT addition to your recipe book. Ready to dig in?
For more delicious & healthy vegan recipes like this, make sure to check out my:
- Fresh & Simple Tabbouleh Salad
This just about wraps up my bliss balls recipe! As always, if you have any trouble making these, simply comment down below or message me directly on Instagram. I’ll be sure to help you out in case you get stuck!
Vegan Bliss Balls
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ⅛ cup peanut butter
- 150 g dates
- 25 g cashews
Instructions
- Soak your dates in boiling hot water. The longer the better, but 20 minutes should do.
- Drain and add to your food processor.
- Then add cocoa powder and peanut butter. Blend or pulse until your ingredients form a sticky mixture, but do not blend until completely smooth.
- Transfer to a sheet of baking paper and use your hands to form small balls.
- Once you’ve formed all your balls, chop up your cashew nuts as small as possible.
- Finally, roll your bliss balls in the chopped cashews nuts. Easy!
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