Coconut Date Balls

There are so many ways to customize these date balls to make them work for you.

• Oats: You can add quick oats or rolled oats to the recipe in the blender. I would recommend 1 cup of oats, but add back some moisture with 1/4 cup of nut butter to help it stick together
• Seeds: Chia seeds, flax, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds give the energy bites more plant-based protein and give them an extra crunch. If you’re adding seeds, I would recommend 2-3 tablespoons.
• Nuts or nut butters: Use roughly chopped nuts or nut butter. This is another way to add healthy fats, flavor and protein to the energy bites. If you’re adding nut butter, you’ll need to add some dry ingredients to off-set it, like oats, almond meal, protein powder or powdered peanut butter. For every 1/4 cup of nut butter, use 1 cup of dry ingredients.
• Dried fruit: Although there’s already dates in the energy balls, you can also add raisins, apricots, coconut or cranberries. I would recommend chopping them up finely or blending in the food processor. And if you are adding more dried fruit, it helps to balance out the sweetness with something salty or bland like more nuts, oat, almond meal or unsweetened protein powder.
• Spices: To add more flavor, I love throwing in cinnamon, or other warm spices like nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, turmeric or cloves. A lot of these spices have anti-inflammatory properties too so you’ll get a healthy dose of that in your energy bites!
• Sweet surprises: Hello chocolate chips and chocolate chunks! These make the coconut date balls more fun and sweet – perfect for kids. You can also add white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or even toffee pieces.

Tips make coconut date balls

• If the mixture is too dry and it’s not rolling into a ball easily, then add more sticky ingredients like dates, nut butters or honey/maple syrup. You can also add a couple tablespoons of water to help.
• If the mixture is too wet and gooey, then add more oats, almond meal or protein powder. It helps to throw those dry ingredients in the food processor to help the mixture set well.
• Soak the dates before blending. This will help them to soften and plump up the dates so they combine easily with the other ingredients.
• Allow 30 minutes to chill the mixture. The chilling period will make it easier to roll the balls and it will also allow time for the flavors set and develop.

Frequently asked questions

How long do coconut date balls keep?

Once you’ve made the energy balls, place them in an airtight container with the layers separated by parchment paper, and they will keep for around 10 days in the fridge. You can also freeze the balls in the same way and defrost them in the fridge overnight before enjoying.

Can you make these balls without a blender?

It’s best to use a blender to make these as it chops all of the ingredients very finely which makes them easier to combine and roll up, especially the dates. If you don’t have a blender chop everything as finely as you can and then mix thoroughly.

Freezing Instructions: After rolling the balls, freeze them on a baking sheet until solid.  Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer safe container or bag. You then simply need to thaw them in the fridge overnight.

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However, feel free to play around with the ingredients and customize to your liking.

Nutrition: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.