Nut free chocolate bliss balls

These nut free chocolate bliss balls are a simple lunchbox friendly snack, using only 7 whole food ingredients, and optional medicinal herbs. They are filled with healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and taste amazing. 

Everybody loves a good bliss ball-yeah? Quick, easy and stores well in the fridge, plus tasty and healthy. 

I love these lunch-box friendly chocolate balls for so many reasons.

  • They’re NUT free and lunch friendly.
  • They’re low in allergens, being nut, dairy, grain, gluten and egg free. They do contain sesame seeds though.
  • They are so much cheaper than store bought.
  • You can make a double batch and freeze half, making them a time saver
  • They are filled with nutritious seeds like hemp and chia that support optimal brain function (ie- they are a great study food!)

Super seed tahini bliss ballsReishi super seed bliss balls

What equipment you’ll need

You will need cup measurements or scales ( I always use scales as they are more accurate) and a food processor. As this mixture is very thick it is recommenced that you avoid using a blender, however if that is all you have it can be done. If you are using a blender, here are you basic steps:

  • Add the sunflower seeds to a very dry blender and blend until a fine meal is formed. Scrap the meal into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Add the hemp seeds next, and repeat this process. Next, add the shredded coconut and again repeat this process.
  • To the mixing bowl (which will now have the ground sunflower seeds, hemp hearts and coconut) add the cocoa, chia seeds, reishi and orange oil/zest. Mix well and set aside.
  • Now, add the pitted dates and the tahini to the blender and blend until a paste has formed. This will be quite hard work for the blender, and you will need to use the tamper to get everything moving.
  • Scrape the date tahini paste into the bowl.Use a rubber spatula to really scrape the blender clean and get all of the mixture in.
  • Now, throughly combine everything together very well. This will take a few minutes and the result should be a moist and uniform mixture that easily holds together. You are now ready to roll your bowls (see recipe card below).

Super seed tahini bliss ballsIngredients you will need for the Super seed chocolate bliss balls.

You will need the following:

  • Sunflower seeds. You could substitute for almonds, rolled oats or cashews, just follow the weight measurement and not the cup measurement. I like to use activated sunflower seeds, like these ones here. 
  • Hemp hearts/seeds. Hemp is one of my favourite ingredients, being a great source of plant based omega 3s. Try to choose hemp hearts that have been kept away from heat/direct sunlight, and ensure you store them in your fridge.
  • Chia seeds. Another wonderful seed, packed full of protein and omega 3. Chia seeds also act as a wonderful binder as they soak up an extraordinary amount of liquid and form a gel-like substance. Try not to substitute the chia seeds in this recipe, as they do help the balls hold.
  • Shredded coconut. Coconut adds both an interesting texture and natural sweetness, plus is a great source of whole food fats. Plus- it’s cheap and easy to access.
  • Cocoa or cacao. It really doesn’t matter which one you choose. Raw cacao powder generally is considered to be more nutrient dense (and free from chemical processing) whiled Dutched cocoa has a wonderful intense flavour and gives the balls a dramatic colour that is very enticing (but note, it is chemically processed). I have used both and think they both work wonderfully. This is my favourite cacao powder. 
  • Reishi powder. This is an optional ingredient, however its is a great medicinal extra to add to your bliss balls. Beware that reishi is a very bitter mushroom, and has a strong earthy taste. You will do best to start with a smaller amount and increase the amount of reishi each time you make these balls until you have found your threshold. I add a full 2 Tbsp or reishi to mine, but it does create a bitter end result (which I don’t mind).
  • Hulled tahini. Tahini is sesame paste and can be found at most supermarkets, middle eastern grocers and health food shops. Good quality tahini should be runny and have a pleasant flavour- so if you have an old jar of tahini in the cupboard that you don’t enjoy the taste of, its highly likely the product has gone rancid. Tahini is packed full of calcium, and is a wonderful addition to any diet (except for those with a sesame allergy, of course!)
  • Dates. You want the fresh plump dates that are found in the fridge or online here. I love to make these with fermented dates too, as a sugar-free option, but note that you will need to use more dates than listed in the recipe. 
  • Orange essential oil or orange zest. Another optional ingredient, but pairs wonderfully with both cacao and tahini. ENSURE any essential oil you use is FOOD GRADE.

Super seed tahini bliss ballsUsing dates for the nut free chocolate bliss balls

This recipe calls fro fresh dates, however these can be both hard to access and expensive. Personally we have dates as a sometimes food in our house. They are crazily expensive here is Australia, and at the rate we go through them it is just not feasible to have them all the time.

You can exchange fresh dates (I use Medjool- they are always in the fridge section of the produce part of the supermarket) for dried dates, however it is not just a simple 1:1 exchange. You will need to;

  1. Double the amount of dates. This recipe calls for 12 FRESH, soft dats and you would need to exchange that for at least 24 dried dates.
  2. Soak the dates prior to use. Soak the dried dates in boiling water for 10 minutes and THEN you must squeeze all the excess water out that you can. Leaving excess water in the dates will mean you balls become more soggy, wet and sticky. Ideally you want to put the dates into a nut milk bag (or cheesecloth) and squeeze all excess water out. Trust me, its worth the extra effort here.

These nut free chocolate bliss balls pretty are simple recipe, and a great snack filled with plant based, whole food ingredients. If you make these please leave a review or comment below- we love to hear from you!

If you liked this recipe, you may also like:

Super seed tahini bliss balls

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Reishi super seed bliss balls

nut free chocolate bliss balls

  • Author: Jade Woodd
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: Setting time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 38 minute
  • Yield: 15 1x
  • Category: Snacks
  • Method: No bake
  • Cuisine: Australian

Description

These nut free chocolate bliss balls are a simple lunchbox friendly snack, using only 7 whole food ingredients, and optional medicinal herbs. They are filled with healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and taste amazing. They contain Reishi mushroom powder (which is optional) which has been easily disguised under all those rich seeds, cacao and dates.


Ingredients

Scale

70g or 1/2 cup hemp hearts

85g or 1/2 cup chia seeds

50g or 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

30g or 1/3 cup shredded coconut

35g or 1/3 cup cocoa or cacao

Optional; 2 tsp + Reishi powder or maca root powder

70g or 1/4 cup runny, hulled tahini

12 soft dates, pitted *(see notes)

Bonus optional ingredient- Zest from 1 orange or 6 drops food grade orange essential oil


Instructions

  1. You will need a food processor to make this recipe. If all you have is a blender you can use this, but please refer to the blog above.
  2. Add sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, chia seeds and coconut to the food processor and blend for around 1-2 minutes. You want to blend the ingredients well at this stage to firstly create a fine meal, but also allow the seeds to warm up and begin to release some of their oils. You are not aiming to make a paste here, but rather a moist meal.
  3. Add cacao/cocoa and Reishi and pulse to combine well.
  4. Now, turn the food processor on and stream in the tahini, optional orange essential oil or zest and then finally the dates. Make SURE the dates are putted, and add them one at a time. Once all the dates have been added the mixture may seems a little dry- just continue to process for around another 1 minutes. The mixture should now be moist and ready to roll.
  5. Before you begin rolling, check the consistency of your ball dough. As we are using natural products they can vary in moisture content, so you may need to adjust things here. Take a small piece in your hand. It should easily roll into a ball and hold with out crumbling, but not be so wet that it leaves sticky parts on your hand. If necessary add more dates or tahini to achieve more moisture or more cacao/cocoa if the mixture is too wet.
  6. Now, roll the balls. This is best done with damp hands. Run your hands under water and flick off excess water. Roll balls into desired sizes- for me this is heaped tablespoons, and the batch will make 15 balls. Alternatively, you can press the base into a lined, 15-20cm square tin. Press down with a spoon to make a compact base, and set in the fridge for 2 hours. You can drizzle with melted chocolate and activated buckwheat too if you want it to be a bit fancy.

Set the super seed chocolate bliss balls on a tray in the fridge. Once firm, store in an airtight container in the fridge.

You may like to dip the balls in melted chocolate (like I have done), but this is not a necessary step- it just looks really pretty, and makes them a bit extra special.


Notes

  • I use Medjool dates, which are fresh, large and plump. You may wish to exchange for dried dates but you will need to double the amount (24) of dates and see blog notes for preparation.

Keywords: Tahini, bliss balls, hemp seeds, no bake, easy vegan snacks

23 Comments
  1. I was just wondering what food processor you would recommend that could cope with this? My vitamin is struggling but I’m not sure I can justify a food processor also

  2. These were really good! We just finished eating a batch of these. I was looking for a nut free snack and these were perfect. If you have any more nut free chocolately treat recipes would love them!

  3. Thanks so much, those seed bars look delish! No I’m not allergic, but sadly I can’t eat nuts at the moment as I’m doing some gut work with my nutritionist. Missing them!

  4. I’ve made these twice now and I’m absolutely addicted! In my last batch I reduced the dried dates to 15 and threw in some goji berries (soaked with the dates). I also added a small handful of walnuts towards the end of the recipe for a bit of extra crunch. Have found that they’re fine with unhulled tahini too (that’s all I had in the cupboard). I’m loving them hard and they’ve weaned me off supermarket balls…hopefully forever!

  5. I’ve made these twice now and I’m absolutely addicted! In my last batch I reduced the dried dates to 15 and threw in some goji berries (soaked with the dates). I also added a small handful of walnuts towards the end of the recipe for a bit of extra crunch. Have found that they’re fine with unhulled tahini too (that’s all I had in the cupboard). I’m loving them hard and they’ve weaned me off supermarket balls…hopefully forever!

    1. I love how adaptable this recipe is to whatever you have in the pantry. I’m going to goji next time, too! Thanks for the review it’s much appreciated xx

  6. Bliss ! Thank you Jade
    I used black tahini and about a tsp of fresh orange rind and I don’t have reishi powder but will try and get some for next time
    I covered mine in my own chocolate sauce
    I just melt some coconut oil in a saucepan low heat and some cacao and splash almond milk

  7. I’m curious as to what toppings you have used for these in the picture shown? They are so beautiful! Cannot wait to try!

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