Nutritious Chocolate Hazelnut Bliss Balls (Vegan)
These chocolate-hazelnut energy bliss balls are an easy and absolutely delicious make-ahead snack! They taste similar to Ferrero Rocher chocolates, but are made with simple, healthy ingredients and are packed with healthy fats and plant-based protein. Vegan, gluten-free, and less than 30 min to make!

Oh em geee you guys! I’ve made these chocolate hazelnut bliss balls twice in the past week and am absolutely OBSESSED. They taste so similar to Ferrero Rocher chocolates (which I LOVE), but are made with the simplest and healthiest ingredients!
They’re sweetened only with medjool dates, and are packed with healthy fats and plant-based protein from hazelnuts and hemp seeds.
That balance of macronutrients – fibre-rich carbs from the medjool dates, healthy fats and protein from the hemp seeds and hazelnuts – work together to provide a steady state of energy, without the blood sugar crash. If you’re interested in learning more, I’ve highlighted the unique nutrition benefits of the key ingredients below.
As a dietitian, this combination of macronutrients is what I often recommend in a snack to help satisfy your hunger between meals. If you have a sweet tooth, they’ll probably help satisfy that too ;).
Want more energy ball recipe ideas? Check out my roundup of healthy, no-bake energy balls! These chocolate coconut date energy balls are particularly popular 😉
What Are Bliss Balls?
You may refer to these little guys as bliss balls, energy bites, power balls, or protein bites, but whichever term you use, they are hands-down one of my favourite healthy make-ahead snack ideas.
Bliss balls lend themselves incredibly well to making ahead of time (such as during your weekly meal prep), because they keep so well in the fridge or freezer.
You can enjoy them straight from the fridge, or pack them with you as a grab-and-go snack to get you through your busy day.
Homemade bliss balls are often made with whole food ingredients like nuts, seeds, dried fruit, rolled oats, and other additions depending on the flavour.
As mentioned above, I love that these guys can pack an incredibly nutritious punch! These chocolate hazelnuts bliss balls in particular, pack in a nice dose of healthy fats, protein, and fibre-rich carbohydrates.
Ingredients Needed
To make these chocolate hazelnut bliss balls, you will need only 5 simple ingredients (plus water):
Full measurements and recipe instructions are listed in the recipe card at the end of this page! For equipment, you will need a food processor and an oven.
Large Food Processor
This is my go-to large food processor from Cuisinart. It’s a super quick and powerful way to create things like energy balls, sauces, shredded cheese, veggies, and more!
How To Make Bliss Balls
Start by preheating your oven to 350F.
Then, spread the raw hazelnuts onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes, until they’re lightly toasted and fragrant.
Transfer the nuts to a slightly damp dish towel, and rub the skins off. Don’t worry if you can’t get the skins off completely – it’s fine to have some skins still on there.
Next, place the toasted hazelnuts into your food processor, and pulse until the nuts are in small pieces (but not a powder).
Then, add the remainder of ingredients to the food processor, including the raw cacao powder, pitted medjool dates, hemp seeds, and a pinch of salt. Pulse to combine with the hazelnuts.
Once combined, you can start to add in water to help everything stick together. I found that 2 tablespoons of water worked perfectly, but you can continue to add more if that’s not enough to make things stick.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and scoop about a tablespoon’s worth into your hand. Roll the mixture into balls.
Place the finished energy bites onto a plate or baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for 30 minutes to let them set and harden. Enjoy immediately, or transfer to an airtight container for storage!
How To Store & Make Ahead
Store your finished bliss balls in an airtight container. They can be kept in the fridge for about 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If storing in the freezer, be sure to let them thaw for a few minutes before eating (to allow them to soften).
These chocolate hazelnut bliss balls can be packed with you to work or school as a healthy, grab-and-go snack. Just pack a couple in a little baggy or container and throw them in your bag!
Possible Ingredient Swaps
- Because this energy ball recipe is meant to have a very distinct taste, I would NOT recommend swapping the hazelnuts for another nut. Technically, you can – but it’ll change the flavour immensely!
- If you can’t find raw cacao powder, you are welcome to use an unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Hemp seeds work great in this, but you could potentially swap them with another seed like chia, flax, or sunflower seeds.
Bliss Ball Nutrition Benefits
Hazelnut Nutrition Benefits:
- Hazelnuts are an excellent source of heart-healthy, unsaturated fatty acids
- A one ounce or 28 gram serving of hazelnuts contains over 4 grams of plant-based protein as well as almost 3 grams of dietary fibre
- A great source of different micronutrients, including vitamin E, thiamin, magnesium, copper, and manganese.
Cacao Nutrition Benefits:
- Raw cacao powder is an excellent source of antioxidants, which help to fight free radical damage in the body
- Also a source of essential minerals, like iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, and zinc!
Hemp Seed Nutrition Benefits:
- One of my favourite, nutrient-dense seeds – hemp is rich in essential omega-3 fatty acids and complete plant protein (3 Tbsps provide 10 grams)
- Hemp seeds are also a great source of vitamin E and minerals like phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron, and zinc
Medjool Date Nutrition Benefits:
- Dates are rich in dietary fibre and essential micronutrients like potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, iron, and vitamin B6
- They’re also a source of antioxidants like flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acid, which help to prevent chronic disease and promote health overall
- Like other dried fruit, they’re a natural source of sugar; because they come with all these other health benefits, I love using dates as an added sugar replacement!
More Healthy Energy Ball Recipes
- Chocolate Coconut Date Balls
- Coconut Matcha Energy Balls
- Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Balls
- Carrot Cake Energy Bites
- Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites (Nut-Free)
Did you give these Chocolate Hazelnut Bliss Balls a try? Let me know by leaving a comment and recipe rating below!
If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
Get the Recipe: Nutritious Chocolate Hazelnut Bliss Balls
Ingredients
- 1 + 1/4 cup raw hazelnuts (use 1/4 cup to roll balls into)
- 2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
- 5-6 pitted medjool dates (depending on size)
- 3 Tbsp hemp seeds
- Pinch of salt
- Approx 2 Tbsp water
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Spread the raw hazelnuts onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes, until they're lightly toasted and fragrant.
- Remove from oven and immediately transfer the nuts to a slightly damp dish towel, and rub the skins off. Don't worry if you can't get the skins off completely!
- Place the toasted hazelnuts into your food processor, and pulse until the nuts are in small pieces (but not a powder).
- Add the raw cacao powder, pitted medjool dates, hemp seeds, and a pinch of salt to the food processor. Pulse to combine with the hazelnuts. Once combined, you can start to add in water to help everything stick together. I found that 2 tablespoons of water worked perfectly, but you can continue to add more if that's not enough to make things stick.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and scoop about a tablespoon's worth into your hand. Roll the mixture into balls.
- Place the finished energy bites onto a plate or baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for 30 minutes to let them set. Enjoy immediately, or transfer to an airtight container for storage!
Notes
- Because this energy ball recipe is meant to have a very distinct taste, I would NOT recommend swapping the hazelnuts for another nut. Technically, you can – but it’ll change the flavour immensely!
- If you can’t find raw cacao powder, you are welcome to use an unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Hemp seeds work great in this, but you could potentially swap them with another seed like chia, flax, or sunflower seeds.
Nutrition
As a dietitian, I create recipes with whole food ingredients that provide the nutrients needed for optimal health. My nutrition philosophy does not focus on numbers; however, I understand that this information can be helpful.
Do note that the nutrition info provided is an estimate and I cannot guarantee correctness of the displayed values. These numbers will differ depending on brands used, recipe modifications, and amount eaten. If you require specific nutrition information due to medical reasons, please consult with your dietitian or physician.
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know by leaving a recipe rating below, or by tagging @walderwellness on Instagram. I love seeing your beautiful creations!
15 Comments on “Nutritious Chocolate Hazelnut Bliss Balls (Vegan)”
Go to snacks- leave some in the car, in your Purse, in your pocket- for a nutrient rich, pick-me-up thats just delicious!
Aw thank you so much, Dorah! I love how portable these are. Purse/pocket snacks are the best haha <3
These are absolutely delicious! I didn’t find hemp seeds so I used a mix of chia and flaxseeds. Besides, they were still a bit crumbly after being in the freezer. Maybe more dates would be necessary? In any case, I totally recommend this for everyone that has a sweet tooth, I love sweets and I didn’t miss the sugar at all here.
Thank you.
Hi Alexa,
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these and that they satisfied your sweet craving!! Thanks for sharing your experience as well! Medjool dates come in a variety of sizes, so it may be that if they’re larger you need fewer while smaller ones you’ll need a bit more! As well, a little bit more water can help things stick together as well!
And I updated your comment as you requested – I have my web team looking into the issue with the caps lock as we speak!!
Thanks so much again 🙂
@Carrie, can you please edit the letters of my comment so that it doesn’t look like it’s written by a 3-year old? 😀 For some reason, on your website when I type the comment, it’s in caps lock.
Best,
Alexa
These were as you said easy to make and delicious . I have recently added dates back into a healthy Refined sugar free diet as a good replacement . I will be using this base recipe to make a variety of these . Thank you so much . I tagged you on IG .
I would love to know how many calories are in one ball . Thanks
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these – thank you so much for sharing!! I must have missed your tag on IG – sometimes I get so many notifications, or if your page is private I’m not able to see your pictures (even if I’m tagged)! Feel free to direct message it to me if you’d like 🙂
Unfortunately I do not have the calorie counts for these as I don’t count calories. Just my personal nutrition philosophy. I hope you can understand!
Amazing recipe as always. I love how easy and tasty they are. Not to mention they are healthy and refined sugar free!!! Definitely a fun recipe to make with kids. I didn’t have hemp seeds and just added cacao puffed rice cereal to add some extra crunch and everyone loved them!
Hi Mandy! Thank you so much for sharing this kind review! Im so happy to hear you and your kids enjoyed it. Love that you were able to swap the hemp seeds with puffed rice – that sounds so yummy as well!!
I want to like bliss balls so much but the date component make my mouth lose all hope for the future. Is there a substitution with similar nutritional qualities but a different mouth feel? Thank you in advance!
Hi Kate! Thanks so much for your question. Unfortunately it would be difficult to replace the dates in this recipe without altering the flavour. Similar substitutes like other dried fruit would also likely have the same mouth feel you aren’t a fan of! While I don’t have a recipe for this, you may want to try googling some bliss ball recipes that use nut butters or rolled oats instead! I hope that helps a bit 🙂
I’m not a big fan of dates either and while I haven’t used prunes in this specific recipe, I have used them in other oar ball recipes and they’ve turned out great
Thanks for sharing your experience, Megan!!
These are delicious and just filling enough, but where you feel you’ve been able to have a “treat”! Excellent!
Hi Andrea! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these bliss balls. They’re one of my favourite flavour combinations!! Wishing you a lovely week ahead 🙂