You'll love my ORIGINAL healthy plant-based Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Brownie Balls which are made with clean, real food ingredients and can be prepared in about 10 minutes with a food processor and are dairy-free, egg-free, and flourless!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Are Ready to Enjoy in About 10 Minutes - No Baking!
- 100% Gluten-Free and Vegan - No Eggs, Butter, Flour, Dairy!
- Made with Clean, Real Food Ingredients
My Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Brownie Balls are delicious bite-size treats that contain nutrient-dense ingredients to help keep you satisfied.
They have a thick, chewy brownie-type center and are coated with a homemade chocolate topping then sprinkled with chopped walnuts.
Every time I eat one, they remind me of the "Little Debbie" Fudge Brownie snacks I used to eat as a child. I don't even want to think about how many of those Little Debbie brownies I ate because of how unhealthy they are!
For example, here's the ingredient list for those popular store-bought snacks:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Little Debbie Fudge Brownies with Walnuts:
Ingredients: Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Corn Syrup, Vegetable Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oils), Sugar, Dextrose, Water, Cocoa, Walnuts, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Whey (Milk), Eggs, Egg Whites, Soy Lecithin Emulsifier), Corn Starch, Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Colors (Caramel Color, Red 40), Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid (To Retain Freshness)
They contain GMO ingredients (corn syrup, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch), artificial colors (caramel color, Red 40), and they aren't vegan or gluten-free.
My healthier version is made with clean, real food ingredients and is plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, lectin-free, soy-free, egg-free, flourless, no-bake, paleo-friendly and contains no refined sugar.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the healthy, real food ingredients needed to make this recipe. Try to buy organic if possible:
- Medjool Dates
- Almond Flour
- Tahini
- Cacao Powder
- Almond Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Maple Syrup
- Coconut Oil
- Walnuts
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Tahini: This can be substituted with a neutral-flavored nut butter such as almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower butter.
Medjool Dates: The dates are what binds the ingredients together and give the balls a chewy texture. Because of this, I would not recommend substituting them with a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup.
Chocolate Option: If you didn't need the recipe to be lectin-free, you could make the following substitution for the chocolate coating: ¼ cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips + 1 teaspoon organic coconut oil. Add to small saucepan and melt on lowest heat, stirring the entire time to make sure it doesn't burn. Allow to cool completely before using to coat the balls.
Maple Syrup: Can be substituted with date syrup.
Homemade Almond Milk: Can be substituted with your favorite non-dairy milk.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, but feel free to use sea salt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can skip the chocolate coating and crushed walnut topping if you'd like which would reduce the calories/carbs/fat in the recipe.
Yes! If you prefer to make these in bite-size brownie pieces, just take the mixture straight from the food processor and press it down firmly in a 9 x 5 loaf pan lined with parchment paper. You could then add the chocolate topping and crushed walnuts if you prefer. Cut them into small squares for a healthy, no-bake, flourless brownie treat!
No! This is an easy no-bake recipe that can be prepared in about 10 minutes with no baking needed. After you prepare the brownie balls in a food processor, you will dip them in a homemade chocolate coating and then sprinkle with crushed walnuts. That's it!
Yes! If you don't like or don't have tahini on hand, you can substitute it with a neutral-flavored nut-butter such as almond butter, cashew butter, or even sun butter. You could even use peanut butter although it would change the flavor but still taste great!
Yes! They are great for multiple different diets such as:
*Plant-Based/Vegan
*Gluten-Free
*Dairy-Free
*Egg-Free
*Nut-Free (without any substitutions)
*Soy-Free
*Tofu-Free
*Paleo-Friendly
*Lectin-Free
*Flourless
*No-Bake
*No-Refined Sugar
*Kid-Friendly
*Microwave-Free
The balls can be stored in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator. They shouldn't be left out at room temperature until ready to serve because the chocolate coating will start to melt due to the coconut oil.
You could also store them in the freezer. Just let them thaw slightly in the refrigerator until they're soft enough to bite into.
The dates are what binds the ingredients in my tahini ball recipe so substituting them with liquid sweetener, such as maple syrup, would not hold them together.
My favorite kind of dates to use are the "Medjool" variety. They are large and have a chewy, caramel flavor. However, you can use any other variety you prefer.
Keep in mind, the number of dates you will need depends on the variety of dates you choose. For example, my recipe calls for (1) cup of dates, rather than a specific number of dates.
(1) cup of Medjool dates is approximately 10-12 dates, whereas other varieties (such as Neglet Noor dates) would need more to fill up a cup because they are smaller.
Therefore, Medjool dates are larger than other varieties, I prefer to give you measurements in a cup size rather than a number of dates.
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Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Brownie Balls
Ingredients
For the balls:
- 1 cup organic medjool dates pitted
- ½ cup organic tahini
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup organic raw cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons homemade almond milk
- ½ teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch Himalayan pink salt
For the chocolate coating:
- ¼ cup organic raw cacao powder
- ¼ cup organic maple syrup or organic date syrup
- ¼ cup organic coconut oil
For the topping:
- ¼ cup organic walnuts chopped
Instructions
Prepare the balls:
- Add all the ingredients for the balls to a food processor and process until it becomes a wet, crumbly texture.
- Take out a spoonful at a time and roll it into a ball shape between the palms of your hands.
- Put the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in the freezer to firm while you prepare the coating.
Prepare the chocolate coating:
- Add all the ingredients for the coating to a small saucepan and melt on lowest heat, stirring until it's well combined and smooth, and taking care not to burn it.
- Remove from stove top and allow to cool.
Assembly:
- Once the coating has cooled, remove the pan of balls from the freezer and take each ball and gently roll it into the coating mixture, making sure it's completely covered.
- Place the chocolate coated balls back on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Optional: Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the chocolate coated balls.
- Put the cookie sheet back in the freezer for about 15 minutes to allow the chocolate coating to harden.
- Store in an air-tight, BPA-free container in the freezer or refrigerator until ready to serve because they will get soft if left out at room temperature.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
Want More Healthy Vegan Ball and Truffle Recipes?
Check out these:
- Lectin-Free Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pistachio Truffles
- Clean Eating Vegan Strawberry Fudge Truffles
- Pecan Cranberry Truffles
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Karielyn Tillman
Hi, I'm Karielyn! I'm the published cookbook author of CLEAN DESSERTS, creator of Real Food Vegan™ Programs, and content creator of The Healthy Family and Home™ website since 2012.
I specialize in creating easy, healthy plant-based recipes that are gluten-free + vegan and made with clean, real food ingredients that you can feel good about eating.
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