These no-bake Coconut Chocolate Date Bites are soft, fudgy, and taste like a healthy version of an almond joy! The coconut, chocolate, and almond base is naturally sweetened with dates then blended to create fudge-like texture. Rolling the chocolate coconut balls in extra coconut shreds adds a final flare of texture and flavor!

I love that these chocolate date balls are subtly sweet so that you can enjoy them with breakfast, as a snack, or even as a healthy dessert. Plus, they have less than 10 ingredients, can be made in less than 30 minutes, and are entirely no-bake. What’s not to love about that?!

I’ll be sharing more vegan energy ball recipes down below but if you’re looking for more coconut content, check out this Banana and Coconut Cream Cake. It’s moist, fluffy, and tastes just like banana coconut cream pie only 10x easier!

A close up of coconut chocolate dates bites piled up in a bowl. The top two have bites taken out to show the fudgy texture. Each date ball is rolled in coconut shreds as well.

Ingredients

Dates – Pitted medjool dates make these chocolate coconut balls 100% refined sugar free and help hold them together.

Raw Almonds – Use raw/plain almonds with no added oils or salt for the best blend. The almond flavor is super subtle but sort of make these into homemade almond joy balls!

Cocoa Powder – Makes these chocolate date balls extra rich, chocolatey, and fudgy too. You can use any brand of cocoa powder you’d like, I usually just grab a carton from Trader Joe’s or order it online.

Coconut Shreds – The shreds blend and stick better when you roll the chocolate date balls into it.

Vanilla Extract – Elevates the flavor and overall sweetness of the recipe.

Water – Adds moisture and helps the mix blend smoothly. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time, if needed to get the creamy blend.

Salt – Helps to balance out the sweetness of the dates.

A white ceramic plate is stacked with coconut chocolate date bites. Surrounding the plate are bowls with cocoa powder, almonds, coconut, sea salt, and slivered almonds. There's another plate of date bites in the upper right corner.

How to Make Chocolate Coconut Balls

Add pitted medjool dates to a food process and process until they combine into a ball.
Add remaining ingredients and process until evenly combined. Feel the mixture with your fingers – it should easily stick together when pressed between 2 fingers*.
Roll dough into ~1 tbsp size balls and coat in extra finely shredded coconut flakes.

*If this doesn’t happen, add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture is easy to handle and roll into balls

Cacao vs. Cocoa Powder

Let’s clear up the confusion once and for all on what the difference is between cacao and cocoa powder. But before I dive into that, I want to make it clear that at the end of the day it’s your choice. Use whichever product you prefer for taste, availability, and even budget!

To start, cacao powder is practically a pure form of chocolate in its raw and natural state. Because of this, it’s thought to have more of it’s inherent nutrients. Cocoa powder on the other hand is heated and processed to have less intense cacao flavor and to be more ‘stable’. Cocoa powder is typically used for baking while cacao is best in raw/no bake recipes. Why? Because baking with cacao is ‘heating and processing’ it just like cocoa powder.

Moral of the story? Both cacao and cocoa powder are amazing so use whichever you have available. To save money, only use cacao when something is no-bake and otherwise use the good ‘ole cocoa powder.

A pile of chocolate date balls sit on a ceramic plate. The top date ball has a bite taken out of it to show the chocolate fudge center. There's a bowl with cocoa powder, slivered almonds, and almonds scattered near the plate. Two measuring spoons sit directly beside it.

No Bake Energy Bites

I’m a big snacker but I’m also a very busy person which is why no-bake energy bites are a life saver. They’re quick, easy, and make snacking on the go (or during work) super convenient. I’ve shared quite a few variations of energy bites on the blog so check them out if the flavor interests you!

Cashew Coconut Energy Balls – The toasted coconut and rich cashew butter blend perfectly with the sweet medjool dates for a soft and tasty bite!

Chunky Monkey Truffles – Peanut butter and banana combined with chocolate and coconut for the ultimate sweet treat. These naturally sweetened truffles are one of my favorite vegan + no bake desserts!

Carrot Cake Energy Balls – Sweet and chewy vegan energy balls filled with your favorite carrot cake flavors – cinnamon, raisins, pecans, coconut, and carrots.

If you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment and rating in the boxes below! I always love to hear from you, and it also helps other people find this recipe when they search online for the BEST Coconut Chocolate Date Bites 🙂