Chocolate Bliss Balls

These Chocolate Bliss Balls make the perfect snack or dessert and are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and freezer friendly! Throw them together in less than 15 minutes and chill to desired temperature. Or just eat the mixture with a spoon--we won’t tell.

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Hey Internet, I’ve got a fun new recipe for you today--bliss balls, which are little no-bake bites! This particular set of bliss balls are fudgy, almost like vegan brownie bites. They’re a healthier way to enjoy some chocolate, which is always a plus in my book.

These fudgy brownie bites of awesome are so good they taste like dessert but they're actually pretty good for you. They're packed with protein, healthy fats, and omega 3 fatty acids which are amazing for your heart, among other things. 

These bites make a wonderful dessert or snack, and are super portable for kids' (or adults') lunchboxes, picnics or even as movie snacks (don't judge me).

They're ridiculously easy to make (all you need is a food processor or blender), and there's no baking involved. Just blend up everything in the ingredients list, roll into balls, freeze and enjoy! 

I like to keep mine in the freezer because then they taste like an ice cream treat, but they also keep well in the fridge.

You'll also notice that the Costco Kirkland's Almond Butter obsession continues. It's just so good! Somehow, this almond butter makes it into basically everything I make *eyeroll*.

However, any nut or seed butter will work. If you or your child can’t have nuts, try sunflower seed butter instead!

Also a quick funny thing: I forgot to put the cocoa powder in these until halfway through the photographing! Luckily I was able to get it in there before I rolled all the little balls.

I also decided to get a little fancy and colored a few batches of coconut shreds to roll these in. The yellow is made from turmeric (but it doesn’t end up being a super strong flavor) and matcha powder (which is powdered green tea from a unique green tea plant).

But you can use anything you want--regular coconut, ground oatmeal, finely chopped nuts, or just leave ‘em as is. Although, you could dip them in melted chocolate and they’d be like a proper truffle… *evil cackle*

What You’ll Need

So let’s start with (possibly) the weirdest element of these bites. The base is actually canned black beans.

I promise you really can't taste them, thanks to the chocolate! The only noticeable thing they add is a distinctly cookie dough-like texture. And of course, a ton of protein and fiber. 

Technically any bean will work--I only used black beans specifically for the color. But guess what, black beans are actually one of the most healthy beans for you! They’re packed with antioxidants, folate, and iron.

This is a really great way to hide beans in your (or your children’s) food for picky eaters or those who may not like the texture of beans.

Next, we have a variety of textures and nutrients in our fillings: unsweetened shredded coconut, rolled oats, hemp seeds, and almond butter.

These ingredients can be swapped out as needed, but check the substitutions section below for ideas on how to do that.

To sweeten, I used medjool dates. If your dates are hard and dry, soak them for 30 minutes in hot water, then drain and remove their pits before adding to the food processor.

I also added some maple syrup because I wanted these to be sweet like dessert. You can omit that, and just use a little less dry mixture if you’d like.

To make it chocolaty of course I added some cocoa powder but cacao powder, which is less processed, will also work.

Finally, for a little extra flavor, I added a pinch of salt and a little vanilla extract, but these are optional. If you don’t use unsalted beans, you may want to reduce or omit the salt.

Oh, and for the coating, I used extra finely shredded coconut divided it between 3 bowls. 

I used a pinch of turmeric to color one bowl (just mixed it with a fork (okay I used my fingers)) and a pinch of matcha powder to the other. I just used baking quality matcha for this.

What Substitutions Can I Make?

Black Beans

For beans, you can use whatever beans you like. I prefer low sodium black beans for this recipe, but any should work. If you do not want to use beans, that’s fine, but you’ll need more of the other ingredients to make the same size batch (or just make a smaller batch!).

I do really stand behind the fact that you can’t taste the beans in this. A friend of mine tested this recipe--and she HATES beans--and loved these! She called them “perfect vegan brownie bites.”

Coconut / Rolled Oats / Hemp Seeds

You certainly don’t have to use all of these three things. Use more of two or one and omit one of the ingredients, or swap something else in. 

Don’t like raw oats (you can’t taste them and they do get pulverized)? Try grinding some nuts instead.

Want a lower fat option? Go heavy on the rolled oats and lighter on the other two. You could also try adding in a little cooked rice.

Almond Butter

The almond butter kind of acts like a sticky glue for this recipe, so I wouldn’t recommend omitting it entirely. You could swap it out for any kind of nut or seed butter. Try peanut butter for chocolate peanut butter balls (mmhmm) or swap it for sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.

Dates

The dates also act as a glue in this situation. 

Don’t want to use dates? That’s fine! Leave them out and add a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or agave.

Tips for Making Chocolate Bliss Balls

• Make sure your dates aren’t hard or dry before you start blending. If they are, soak them in hot water for 10-30 minutes, then drain the liquid. Make sure to remove the pits!
• So first, to your blender or food processor, add your pitted dates. Pulse until they are chopped up into a rough paste.
• Now add the rest of your ingredients. Blend until a smooth paste (but don’t try and puree, some small chunks are OK).
• TIP: If you find the mixture hard to work with, throw it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. I didn’t need to do this, but it will work if you do.
• Prep a wide, low bowl with the topping(s) you want to roll your chocolate bliss balls in. Want to do different toppings or colors? Prep a few bowls. I mixed a pinch of my coloring agent (turmeric or matcha powder in this case.
• Use a medium cookie scoop or a spoon to create similar size balls of the mixture, rolling between your hands to create a sphere. Place on a wax paper lined (small) cookie sheet. I actually used the tray from my toaster oven. ;)
• Roll each ball in shredded coconut or chopped nuts. Place back on the wax paper.
• I recommend freezing these to set, should only take about 30 minutes, but you can refrigerate them for a few hours if you don’t have enough room in your freezer.
• If you freeze them, you can then transfer them into a freezer safe container for easier storage (and to get your cookie sheet back!).
• These bites will last up to 1 week in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer, or ~2-3 days in my house.

More Easy Vegan Desserts!

• Mug Brownie
• Matcha Pound Cake
• Smores Cookie Bake
• Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (no chill)
• Apple Cake
• Vegan Coffee and Walnut Cake
• Banana Bread
• Coconut Almond Butter Cookies

Anything Else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe–I know I do and so does Mr. Zardyplants. We keep making these over and over again. 

These chocolate bliss balls are:

• Chocolaty
• Fudgy
• Sweet
• Rich
• Chewy
• (Can be) single serving
• And the perfect dessert for kids and adults! They’re also fun for kids to make!

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3 Liz

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