Healthy Peanut Butter Balls (Vegan + GF)

These Healthy Peanut Butter Balls are melt-in-your-mouth rich, fudgy, and perfectly salty-sweet. They're covered in silky chocolate and are the best satisfying no-bake dessert or snack! They're a good source of protein and fibre, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free and grain-free too. They're easily transportable and take just 20 minutes to make!

How to make the balls

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the full recipe.

• Place the cashew nuts, maple syrup and cacao butter in a food processor.

• Whizz until completely smooth.

Tip: You might need to mix it around a few times to make sure it blends evenly.

• Add the peanut butter - the peanut butter needs to be added at this stage not at the beginning, as otherwise the mixture becomes very gloopy and hard to blend.

• Blend briefly until combined.

Tip: Be careful not to over-blend, as the mixture will become very greasy as the oil will be released from the peanut butter.

• If the mixture turns out too liquidy to form into balls immediately, put it in the fridge for a bit - around 10-20 minutes should do the trick. This will make it firm up as the cacao butter solidifies.
• Use your hands to roll the mixture into small balls - you should be able to make 12.
• Place the balls onto a rectangular baking tray lined with baking paper.

• Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour until they have firmed up.

How to coat them in chocolate

• Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the coconut oil.

Tip: Using a small but deep bowl makes it easier to dip the balls into the melted chocolate.

• Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir regularly until melted.

Tip: Make sure not to overheat it as the chocolate will ‘split’ if you heat it too much.

• Use a small spoon to carefully lift the balls one at a time into the melted chocolate and use the spoon to spoon the melted chocolate over the ball until it has been completely covered in melted chocolate.

• Use a small fork to lift the balls out of the melted chocolate and back onto the baking tray.

• Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the balls to decorate, if desired.

• Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour until the chocolate has hardened completely.

How long do these keep for?

These Peanut Butter Balls keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a good few days.

Substitutions you can make

• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• You can replace the peanut butter with almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or tahini.
• For a nut-free version, use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of peanut butter.
• For a refined sugar free version, use a refined sugar free chocolate or cocoa powder

More vegan no-bake treats

• Chocolate Pudding Pots
• Chocolate Truffles
• Fudge
• Brownie Bites
• Chocolate Cookies
• Strawberry Trifle
• Key Lime Pie
• Protein Bars
• Blueberry Cheesecake
• Energy Bars
• Energy Bites
• Protein Balls

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make it

Healthy Peanut Butter Balls (Vegan + GF)

These Healthy Peanut Butter Balls are melt-in-your-mouth rich, fudgy, and perfectly salty-sweet. They're covered in silky chocolate and are the best satisfying dessert or snack!

4.60 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy peanut butter balls, no-bake vegan dessert, peanut butter recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 12 balls

Calories: 128kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

• ▢ 75 g (½ cup) raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in boiling water for 15 minutes
• ▢ 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 15 g (0.5 oz) cacao butter
• ▢ 85 g (⅓ cup) smooth peanut butter (or sub almond butter)
• ▢ 50 g (1.7 oz) dark chocolate ** (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Instructions

• Drain soaked cashews and add to a food processor along with the maple syrup and cacao butter*.
• Whizz until completely smooth - you might need to mix it around a few times to make sure it blends evenly.
• Add the peanut butter and blend briefly until combined - the peanut butter needs to be added at this stage not at the beginning, as otherwise the mixture becomes very gloopy and hard to blend. Be careful not to over-blend, as the mixture will become very greasy as the oil will be released from the peanut butter.
• If the mixture turns out too liquidy to form into balls immediately, put it in the fridge for a bit - around 10-20 minutes should do the trick. This will make it firm up as the cacao butter solidifies.
• Use two teaspoons to make teaspoon-sized balls of the mixture, then use your hands to roll into a ball.
• Place the ball onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
• Repeat for the rest of the mixture - you should be able to make 12 balls.
• Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour until they have firmed up.
• Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the coconut oil (using a small but deep bowl makes it easier to dip the balls into the melted chocolate).
• Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir regularly until melted – make sure not to overheat it as the chocolate will ‘split’ if you heat it too much.
• Use a small spoon to carefully lift the balls one at a time into the melted chocolate and use the spoon to spoon the melted chocolate over the ball until it has been completely covered in melted chocolate.
• Use a small fork to lift the ball out of the melted chocolate and back onto the baking tray lined with baking paper.
• Repeat for the rest of the balls.
• Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the balls to decorate, if desired.
• Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour until the chocolate has hardened completely.
• Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days.

Video

Notes

*If your food processor isn’t very powerful, it may have trouble with the cacao butter. In this case, melt the cacao butter first using a bain-marie before adding to the food processor.

**For a refined sugar free version, use a refined sugar free chocolate or cocoa powder

• You can replace the peanut butter with almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or tahini.
• For a nut-free version, use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of peanut butter.

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Peanut Butter Balls (Vegan + GF)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 128 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 3g15%

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 40mg2%

Potassium 133mg4%

Carbohydrates 11g4%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 3g6%

Calcium 15mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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