Soft, tender, and loaded with chocolate flavour, these melt-in-your-mouth no bake chocolate fudge protein truffles taste ridiculously decadent while being packed with good-for-you ingredients. They’re gluten-free, vegan, and come together in under 10 minutes. A healthy way to satisfy those chocolate cravings and a delicious pre or post-workout snack!
Lazy summer days call for lazy no-bake recipes.
At least for today, because you know I’ll be busting out some kind of recipe involving an oven, multiple dirty dishes, and more than just a handful of ingredients next week.
But for today?
0 heat.
1 dirty bowl to clean.
6 simple ingredients.
10 minutes.
12 chocolate fudge protein truffles.
Truffles. Doesn’t that make them sound all fancy? Not bites. Not balls. Not magical unicorn poops. But truffles.
Truth be told, they’re technically protein/energy bites/balls, but none of those names really manage to capture how richly chocolatey they are. How soft and fudgy. How melt-in-your-mouth delicious and totally-not-traditional-protein-ball-tasting…
So chocolate fudge protein truffles it was.
Healthy truffles, though. Because I do believe that real truffles are made with lots of melted chocolate and cream. The chocolate kind of truffles, anyways… because I’m pretty sure “truffles” can also refer to the fungi that are used in super fancy cooking. But I digress.
You won’t find any cream or fungus in these vegan truffles. What you will find is a base that’s made super soft and fudgy thanks to a combination of dates and a small amount of coconut oil. And not only do those two work wonders for the texture, but they’re also pretty great ingredients to have in an energy bite.
I mean, dates are basically nature’s candy, and while some people may raise an eyebrow at their sugar content, it’s a natural, non-processed sugar that comes equipped with plenty of fibre, so dates’ll give you a nice steady stream of energy without sending you on an energy rollercoaster. That and they boast a pretty impressive vitamin and mineral profile, with plenty of potassium (one of the best natural sources of it), selenium, manganese, copper, magnesium, iron, and B vitamins. Not bad for something that tastes like caramel, eh?
And coconut oil! I’m betting we’re all experts on the health benefits of coconut oil by now so I won’t go over them in any sort of depth, but the medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) make for a pretty great source of energy too. That and it gives these truffles a ridiculously creamy melt-in-your-mouth texture. Just sayin’…
Happy eating!
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No Bake Chocolate Fudge Protein Truffles
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 12 truffles 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180 g or 12 large) Medjool dates*
- 1/2 cup (40 g) protein powder**
- 1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) coconut oil, melted***
- 2 Tbsp (32 g) nut/seed butter
- 2–3 Tbsp (30–45 ml) unsweetened almond milk****
Instructions
- Add the dates to food processor or high-speed blender and process until they break down enough to start rolling around the food processor in a big ball.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and continue processing until fully combined, scraping down the sides of your processor as needed. The dough should stick together easily when pressed without being overly sticky.
- Using a heaping tablespoon, scoop out the dough and roll each portion into 1-inch balls. If desired, coat with extra cocoa, coconut, nuts, sprinkles, chocolate shavings, etc.
- Store truffles in a sealed container either in the fridge or at room temperature for up to a week.
Notes
* If your dates are a bit dry, cover the with some hot water for about 10 mins and drain prior to processing. ** I used a vanilla plant-based protein powder powder for these, but feel free to use whichever protein powder you have on hand. Just make sure you like the taste! *** You can omit the coconut oil and use 3T of nut butter instead, but the truffles will be slightly less fudgy. **** The amount of liquid will vary depending on what kind of protein powder you use. Start with 2 Tbsp (30 ml) and only add more if the dough is still too crumbly.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Looking for more healthy no bake recipes? Try one of these!
Two-Minute Brownies
Chunky Monkey Cups
Chocolate Sunbutter Granola Bars
No Bake Brownie Batter Truffles
No Bake Salted Caramel Pretzel Bars
Made these and rolled them in pistachios and almonds. Delicious. Will make again – very satisfying and filling.
Hi can you make a big batch and freeze them ??
These were freaking delicious. I used a whey protein powder and dairy milk (I’m not vegan) and YUM! I was hard not to eat them as I was rolling them into balls, haha.
These truffles taste amazing! I used coconut protein powder 🙂
Coconut protein powder?! I never even knew that was a thing, but I’ll definitely have to keep my eyes open. I’m so glad you liked them, Sara!
I had everything to make these truffles. I loved that it did not take a long time..One “pot” mixing (in my Vitamix) and it was done….had some coconut in the freezer and some pecans in the cabinet to roll them in. I added 1 more TB of unsweetened almond milk and I used chocolate vegan protein powder… YUMMY!!! I made 9 truffles, but I guess mine are larger…Oh well, they are delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Tara M, NC
Ok, I had to look back, and this is super dumb of me, but when I saw you write ‘fungus’ in these truffles, I thought, “What?’ Then I remembered truffle mushrooms. Whoops!
Yum-o, love the chocolate protein bites. I could really use these after a long run.
I love fruit for its sugar content. 😀 And dates make amazing balls/truffles. I need to get some more to make these! These look like any truffle you could get from the store that is super delicious!
I made these last night to use on my workout days as a natural carbohydrate post-workout. They’re delicious. I substituted the dates with prunes (~slightly~ less sugar and ~slightly~ more potassium, Also prunes are great for your bones http://fla.st/29rWE2v)
Thanks for this recipe!
I’m currently snacking on some Onion Rye toast with butter and it’s oh so good. I’m even thinking about a cup of coffee, which is a bit late in the morning for me, but we had a shaky start today. We’re turning it around though.
And yes, truffles make everything better.
I was in the middle of making my lunch when I saw this, and literally wanted to scratch my lunch plans and make this instead. But since I was already making my food, I decided I’d better save it for tomorrow’s breakfast. 😉 Certainly it should help combat those post-holiday blues! 😆 Thank you for feeding all my chocolate needs!!
Anything that doesn’t involve the oven is right up my alley at the moment!
Yum!! These sound easy and yummy!
These definitely look more like truffles than protein bites to me. The texture looks amazing! And I’m glad they don’t have any fungus in them…ew. 😉
I love your idea of naming these truffles and not bites – they look so decadently fudgy! \
Unfortunately, I’ve never had real truffle anything…so I couldn’t tell ya if they were as fancy as they are made out to be.
However, I can tell ya that I have been baking and rebaking some chocolate pecan cookies over and over again – they are my go to snack these days as well as they are a good breakfast stand-in 😉
I love dense, fudgy things so these look awessssssome!
Yum those look so good. I love that they are clean too
no bake = YES PLEASE and truffle form = I LOVE YOU FOREVER! You know my summer vibes. I sweat. I need replenishment. LOL!
Dates and coconut oil are a magical combination. Seriously, freaking love them. And I agree, truffle is such a better word for these suckers! They look so decadent for a “healthy” treat! 🙂
You can’t go wrong with that ingredient list. YUM! Truffle is such a great word, too– so fancy. 🙂
Love that chocolate can become so healthy yet still taste like chocolate, if that makes sense! Dates are awesome for no bake things for the sweetness plus that texture.
Oooh these look good. And truffles is a much better description I think! I have not had much chocolate in my life lately, so now you’ve got me craving it!
Lovely recipe to start the week. I am in an oven lock down. Too hot in Austin.
My fiancé loves recipes like this one for work, I will definitely be making these for him! When I clicked on order these ingredients the protein powder showed up as a pancake mix protein powder. Is this what you use? Is it what you would recommend for baking/no bake recipes with protein powder? I struggle with finding one that has a good flavor when not blended into a smoothie.
https://thedogtribe.com/2016/07/05/burpees-and-biking/
You and I both had protein bites on our minds today! It’s so hot I seriously cannot do baking right now.
They do look tasty. I’ve been craving chocolate a lot lately so this is definitely something I’m interested in.