Pistacchio Energy Balls

These delicious three-ingredient pistacchio balls are a clean-eating treat! They’re vegan, refined sugar free and much better than the store-bought ones.

Last year for Christmas, one of the things that I got for my husband were some pistacchio energy balls from an organic company I really like. My husband works a lot (and often late) and doesn’t have a lot of time to eat in between so I thought they’re a great quick alternative. Plus they give you energy (hence the name) but normally contain no sugar.

He liked them but they were gone very quickly. The only problem is that they’re pretty pricey for one little energy ball! So I thought I should try making something similar at home so that I can adjust the ingredients a bit and also cut down on costs. So these little balls of yumminess are my version of those energy balls! I didn’t try the store-bought ones so I just went with what I thought they should taste like and they came out delicious!

My husband even liked my version more! That’s always a win! They seem to be a bit softer than the store-bought ones but they hold their shape very well and I love that they’re not so dry. They’re more creamy and date-like if that makes any sense? You really have to hold back from eating more than one though, I absolutely love how they taste!

I used only three ingredients. I know, only three?? But trust me on this one, you don’t need more. I know, some energy balls contain oats or other things as well but I left those out on purpose. These pistacchio balls are a clean-eating treat and still taste amazing. So the three ingredients I used are dates, unsweetened cacao powder and pistacchios. I like to get a big bag of shelled pistacchios and shell them myself. Something about that task is very meditative to me… And then you just put the shelled pistacchios into a blender and blitz them until they are quite fine in texture. I like to make a big batch! You can also use them for other recipes like my No-Bake Vegan Pistacchio Cheesecake!

The important thing is to give the dates time to soak in hot water. I let mine soak for 1.5 hours and it really makes a difference. The first time I made these, I only let the dates soak for 20 minutes and I highly recommend soaking them for longer. Even in a strong blender, it’ll take some time and scraping to get the ingredients to mix together but it will happen. And rolling these little balls in more pistacchio afterwards is so much fun!

Will you make these energy balls soon? Or how about my Nut & Chocolate Clusters?

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 15 min Rest Time 90 min Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
Servings: 7

Description

These delicious three-ingredient pistacchio balls are a clean-eating treat! They're vegan, refined sugar free and much better than the store-bought ones.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cover dates with hot water and let soak for 1.5 hours. Drain and cut into pieces. 

  2. If you haven't already done this for a previous recipe, shell pistacchios and add to a blender. Blend until the texture is very fine (see picture). The occasional slightly bigger bits are fine!

  3. Add to a blender with cacao powder and 1/4 + 1 tbsp pistacchios. Blend together until all is well combined. It is a sticky mixture so just keep going - it will come together. 

  4. Roll the mixture into 7 balls and roll in the 1/8 cup pistacchios until they're covered all around. I like using a small bowl and just rolling the ball around gently until all covered. Keep the finished pistacchio balls in the fridge. Enjoy!

Note

For the blended pistacchios, shell a bag of pistacchios (I used 1/2 pound). Add them to a strong blender and blend until they are all finely ground. Use the rest for other recipes - it's easier to blend a bigger amount. 

Keywords: energy balls, snack, snack ball, nut snack, healthy snack, dates, nuts, pistacchios, yummy, vegan,

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Andrea Epstein in her kitchen

Andrea Epstein

Hi, I'm Andrea, a full-time food blogger, mother of 1 wonderful son, 2 equally wonderful stepsons and wife to a darling husband. I live in Munich, Germany with my family. I loves traveling, sharing new recipes, and spending time with my family.

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