Soft, tender, and loaded with chocolate flavour, these melt-in-your-mouth no-bake chocolate fudge bites taste ridiculously decadent while being made with good-for-you ingredients. Gluten-free, vegan, and customizable depending on your dietary needs, this is a healthy treat that everyone will love!
Some ideas are better in theory than they are in execution. Case in point — today’s recipe.
The original plan was to make chocolate chia bites, which sounded like a great idea seeing as chia seeds are little nutritional powerhouses that boast an impressive list of health benefits. I had all sorts of grandiose notions of calling them little superfood bites (I know, I know — humour me), but those notions fizzled and died about an hour after I had my first bite.
See, along with their impressive list of health benefits, chia seeds also boast the uncanny ability to get stuck in the most unfortunate of places, with teeth being their hangout of choice. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve found a rogue chia seed hanging out around my gum line long after I’ve finished eating; silently doing its little gel-ly thing and making itself even harder to detect. With luck, it’ll be hanging out in the back with the molars… but I’m usually not that lucky.
So the sneaky little seedlings got the sack.
They did not pass “GO;” they did not collect $200; they did not get one free phone call home.
They simply went back into their baggie to do whatever it is that chia seeds do when they’re not being annoying; and what started out as chocolate chia bites became chocolate fudge bites…
Quite a trade up, if I do say so myself.
These bites are soft, tender, and loaded with chocolate flavour. They boast the coveted ability to melt in your mouth [without leaving anything stuck in your teeth], and straight up feel like eating a piece of sweet, chocolatey fudge.
Only… without all the butter and sugar. Which isn’t bad in moderation, but becomes a little less desirable when you’re eating 2 3 4 5 pieces a day… which may or may not have been the case with these bites.
Thankfully, they’re made with simple good-for-you ingredients like dates (I know, I know… you’re not surprised), nut butter, oats, and cacao powder. That’s it. 4 ingredients and roughly 7 minutes is all that stands between you and these decadent bites… and you can even customize them based on your individual needs, so no excuses.
They’re already vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free, but you can easily make them grain-free by replacing the oats with some almond flour, or give them a little pop of protein by swapping in your favourite protein powder. No matter which way you go, I have a feeling you’ll become hopelessly addicted to love these!
Happy eating!
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Healthy Chocolate Fudge Bites
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 16 bites 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (40 g) rolled oats*
- 1/4 cup (20 g) cacao powder**
- 1 cup Medjool dates (about 12 dates or 180g)
- 3 Tbsp (48 g) nut butter***
Instructions
- Add oats to food processor or high-speed blender and pulse until they reach the consistency of a fine powder.
- Add dates, nut butter, and cacao powder, and continue processing until fully combined. Scrape down the sides of your processor as needed.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop out dough and roll each portion into 1-inch balls. If desired, coat with extra cacao, coconut, nuts, sprinkles, chocolate shavings, etc.
- Store bites in a sealed container either in the fridge or at room temperature for up to a week.
Notes
* to make these grain-free, you can sub the oats for an equal amount of almond flour or protein powder. ** or unsweetened cocoa powder. *** I used a creamy almond, but feel free to use whichever nut/seed butter is your favourite. You can also cut back the nut butter to 2 Tbsp. and add 1 tsp. of maple syrup or agave to add a little extra sweetness.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Looking for more healthy no bake recipes? Try one of these!
No Bake Vegan Oatmeal Fudge Bars
No Bake Double Chocolate Fudge Protein Bites
No Bake Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter Granola Bars
No Bake Sweet & Salty Trail Mix Bites
No Bake Brownie Batter Truffles
Can I use just regular dates because medjool dates are so expensive in Canada.
So delicious! A perfect snack that satisfies that sweet craving but doesn’t make you feel guilty. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
I made these homemade peanut butter and they are quite tasty but be careful as dates are calorie dense.
I’d like to try the chia seeds despite the (well-known) issues … maybe just a bit of them. It’s been awhile since I’ve had them because IBS triggering at levels of more than a tablespoon or so. I’m wondering about what you may have done before adding them to the mix. Soaking or just tossing them in?
Also- does everyone see the mobile comments writing box as light grey? Why? Do you not get old? If you can change it please do.
So, I have read through the comments and I guess I might be the only one with this issue… But…. For anyone else like me who is a first time date user, make sure you get the dates that have been pitted… I was not aware that dates had pits… who knew?! Well, I have a ninja blender that now has a piece of the side broken out, this really yummy mixture all over my floor and counter, and chunks of date pits in my fudge bites… I have gone through and pulled out as many little bits of pits as possible so as to not waste or break a tooth… But now I know! Just so you know, I just put this little adventure on my blog and tied a link to your amazing recipe… Thank you for sharing!!
Loved this!! Simple goodness. I add a pinch of salt and a touch of vanilla to simple glorious recipes like this one typically. Will definitely be making these again!!
Salt and vanilla sound like amazing additions, Jerri! I’m glad you liked them 🙂
I was skeptical to try these at first since cacao powder is so bitter. I made these last night and they are delicious!! The dates really sweeten them up! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you like them, Kelle! Dates are super sweet, so they’re a perfect replacement for sugar 🙂
Made a batch of these this morning and can’t stop popping them into my mouth- yum! I like testing lots of different protein ball recipes for work snacks and I really liked these so they’re going into the rotation!
I swapped the oats for collagen powder so the texture was slightly modified and more on the crumbly side, but they are still fudge like and taste so good and I love that they’re not overly sweet so I don’t feel yucky after I eat 3 or 4 or 5… 🙂
Thanks for a great recipe!
These are so good! I wanted to use protein powder instead of the oats, so I blended up the dates with cocoa and peanut butter first, then kneaded in some Bob’s Red Mill whey protein (I did half the amount first just to make sure they wouldn’t get too dry, but was able to use the whole 1/2 cup). They turned out so fudgy and delicious–as others have said, it was a challenge not to eat the whole batch in one sitting. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing your modifications and review, Steph! I’m glad you liked them!
Hey Amanda
Just made these, they are so delicious ☺☺ will definately be making these over and over again.
Thanks Sarah
I’m glad you liked them, Sarah! Thanks for letting me know 🙂