Gluten-Free Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Covered Turtles

Overhead image of Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Turtles on parchment paper on a white marble surface

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Gluten-Free Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Covered Turtles

My Gluten-Free Vegan No-Cook Chocolate Covered Turtles are an easy and heathy plant-based recipe to make without refined sugar or dairy and can be made in about 15 minutes with only 6 ingredients!

Prep Time15

Inactive Time30

Total Time45

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Servings: pieces

Calories: 221kcal

Author: Karielyn Tillman

Equipment

Ingredients

For the caramel mixture:

1 ½ cups organic Medjool dates (pitted)
2 tablespoons organic almond butter
2 tablespoons water (filtered/purified)
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil
1 pinch Himalayan pink salt

For the mix-in:

1 cup organic pecans (chopped)

For the chocolate coating:

1 cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips*
1 tablespoons organic coconut oil

Instructions

Prepare the caramel mixture:

Add all ingredients for the caramel mixture to a food processor or Vitamix and blend on "high" speed until it becomes a thick, pasty-type consistency. You may need to stop and scrape the sides a couple of times.
Transfer the caramel mixture to a medium mixing bowl and add the chopped pecans. Gently stir in until they are evenly distributed.
Take out a spoonful at a time, gently roll them into the palms of your hands into a ball shape and then gently press them down into a flat disk shape. Set aside.

Prepare the chocolate coating:

Add the ingredients for the chocolate topping to a small saucepan and melt on the lowest heat setting, stirring until it is melted and smooth and taking care not to burn it.

Assembly:

Take each turtle and gently place it in the saucepan with the melted chocolate and use a fork to gently flip it over to coat the other side.
Lift each turtle out of the chocolate mixture with a fork underneath it, letting the excess chocolate drip off before moving it to the cookie sheet.
Transfer the chocolate covered turtles to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Optional: Sprinkle the tops with crushed pecans or flakey sea salt.
Put them in the freezer for approximately 30 - 60 minutes, or until they become hardened.
Store in the freezer in an air-tight BPA-free container until you are ready to serve because they will get soft and lose their shape at room temperature.
Enjoy!

Notes

Almond Butter: Almond butter works best for the caramel in this recipe. You could also make homemade almond butter using your Vitamix. I like to make my own homemade almond butter because I have control over the quality of almonds that are used (raw, unpasteurized) and there are no unnecessary ingredients added. I haven't test another nut butter for the homemade caramel but if you want to experiment, I would try a neutral-flavored nut butter such as cashew butter or sunflower butter. I wouldn't recommend peanut butter because it wouldn't really taste like caramel anymore.

Medjool Dates: I used these not only as the natural sweetener in the recipe but also to bind the ingredients together. I would not recommend using a liquid or granular sweeter. Make sure to remove the pits from the dates before adding them to your food processor or blender.

Coconut Oil: I used this ingredient also as a binder. If you don't like the taste or smell of coconut oil, you can use "refined" coconut oil which has zero coconut taste or smell and will still bind the other ingredients once it hardens.

Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips: I like to use these because they are vegan and dairy-free. However, feel free to substitute with your favorite non-dairy chocolate chips. You could even try dark chocolate, semi-sweet, or sugar-free.

To keep this recipe 100% Lectin-Free, substitute with Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels.

Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, feel free to use sea salt or whatever you have on hand.

Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately 14 pieces. Nutritional information is if (1) piece which is (1) serving.

Nutrition