The Best Coconut Date Balls – Healthy and Easy
Coconut date balls are one of my favorite easy homemade snacks! They taste delicious and are loaded good fats, protein, and fruit. They make a great healthy snack for on-the-go or at home.
Healthy, tasty snacks can be tricky when you’re trying to cut processed foods out of your diet. Of course there’s always fruit, veggies, nuts, yogurt, and the like, but those things are often not as appealing as store-bought snacks. Healthy cookies and bars are great options, but they can often take a while to make. These date balls are not only super quick and easy, but they’re healthy and filling making for a perfect homemade snack. Even my toddler loves them! (When you’re feeding them to young children, you may need to tear the balls into small pieces.)
Why You Should Eat Dates
Before I was pregnant with my first, I never really ate dates. I didn’t have any specific reason, but they just never ended up on my grocery list. When I found out about all of the benefits of dates during the third trimester, that quickly changed! I also learned that dates aren’t only beneficial during pregnancy, but they’re delicious and full health benefits important at any time of life.
- High in fiber
- Full of various vitamins and minerals including potassium, copper, and B6
- Reduces inflammation
- Fights bad bacteria and boosts the immune system
- High in disease-fighting antioxidants
Dates are extremely versatile. You can eat them plain, with nut butter, or add them to so many recipes! Their natural sweetness makes them a wonderful addition to many snacks and often negates the need for any additional sweetener.
Reasons Why You’ll Love Coconut Date Balls
Quick and Easy – With no bake time or resting time, these coconut date balls are ready to eat in just a few minutes. Just throw the ingredients in a food processor and once the dough forms, create balls and roll them in shredded coconut. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
A perfect combination of sweet and salty – The dates provide lots of delicious sweetness which the nuts and salt balance perfectly. You can even adjust the sweet to salty flavor by adding more or less salt. Even though the dates are sweet, they are a low-glycemic food which keeps blood sugar levels more balanced. These coconut date balls are much healthier than snacks with lots of added sugar!
Full of protein and healthy fats – Snacks high in protein and fat are the key to keeping you full and satisfied for longer periods of time. Protein and healthy fat are also essential to good health, and most people aren’t getting enough of either in their diet.
No-mess snack – A lot of homemade snacks are too messy to eat anywhere but home, but these are different. They’re easy to take with you and a perfect snack for on-the-go.
Customizable – The base of this recipe is coconut and nuts, but beyond that, you can customize it depending on your preferences or what you have on hand. The options are endless!
How to Store Coconut Date Balls
You can store this snack in an airtight container or freezer bag in the fridge for up to two weeks. Make sure it’s airtight – they can pick up flavors from other food in the fridge quite easily!
Freeze for Later
Coconut date balls also freeze wonderfully for later! You can store them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months in the freezer. When you’re ready to thaw them, just transfer them to the fridge.
These are one of my favorite postpartum meal prep foods! They keep really well and are so easy to grab when you need a quick pick-me-up. Being easy to eat is also a bonus since I eat a lot of my meals and snacks while relaxing and am not at the kitchen table much that first week postpartum.
I also love making them to freeze if I know I have a busy season coming up where I’ll have little time or ability to cook. This week, I froze almost the entire batch in preparation for an upcoming cross country road trip and move. These will be a great snack to have on hand while traveling!
Ingredients
Fresh dates – It doesn’t really matter what type of dates you use as long as they’re fresh. I usually use Deglet Noor dates since they’re often the cheapest. Even though dates are not a GMO food, I still prefer organic to avoid all pesticides.
Walnuts – This recipe calls for walnuts, but feel free to substitute of your favorite nuts. Walnuts are often one of the cheaper nuts, and I love the flavor combination with the dates. However, most any type of nut will work well in this recipe. I don’t recommend almonds as they will be harder for the food processor to grind up.
Chia seeds – This recipe calls for chia seeds, however, you are welcome to use flaxseeds instead.
Shredded Coconut – Make sure to use unsweetened shredded coconut. The dates add all the sweetness this recipe needs.
Salt – Himalayan or sea salt
Vanilla extract
Optional add-ins – The dates and nuts are the base of the dough, and beyond that you can get creative! You can add everything from protein powder or collagen powder to chocolate chips or dried fruit. You can also experiment with different spices or flavorings to change it up a bit.
How to Make Coconut Date Balls
First, place the dates, nuts, chia seeds, salt, vanilla, and any other add-ins in your food processor.
Blend until it comes together as a soft dough. If you let it run too long, it may get too soft and warm to easily form into balls. In this case, just put it in the fridge for 10 or 15 minutes to firm up again before moving on.
Once you have your dough, form into small approximately 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in the shredded coconut.
You’re welcome to go ahead and enjoy them now, however, place any you plan to store on a tray and refrigerate for an hour. After that, you can put them in an airtight container or freezer bags and store in the fridge or freezer.
You now have a delicious healthy snack that you can feel good about enjoying and feeding to your family!
If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments! Tag me on Instagram @violet_rightathome
More Delicious Healthy Snacks
- The Best Gluten Free Pumpkin Cranberry Bread with Chocolate Chips
- How to Make Cashew Butter with Raw Cashews
- How to Roast Squash Seeds
The Best Coconut Date Balls – Healthy and Easy
Deliciously sweet and slightly salty, these coconut date balls make for the perfect easy snack. Healthy and satisfying, they’re a wonderful snack at home or on-the-go!
Ingredients
- 45 medium-size fresh dates
- 2 cups walnut halves and pieces
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut
- Optional: additional add-ins
Instructions
- Place the dates, nuts, chia seeds, salt, vanilla, and any other add-ins in your food processor and blend until it comes together as a soft dough.
- Form the dough into small approximately 1 1/2 inch balls.
- Roll them in the shredded coconut.
- Place them on a tray and refrigerate for an hour.
- After an hour, put them in an airtight container or freezer bags and store in the fridge.
- Enjoy whenever you need a quick snack! Makes approximately 35 coconut date balls.
Notes
The dates and nuts are the base of the dough, and beyond that you can get creative with your own add-ins! You can try everything from protein powder or collagen powder to chocolate chips or dried fruit. You can also experiment with different spices or flavorings to change it up a bit.
