Preparation Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 0 minutes Servings: 1
These No-Bake Peanut Butter Date Bites are my go-to for a healthy (yes, healthy…see below), quick sweet treat.
No long prep time, no need for fancy equipment, no messy kitchen, no cooking, and it’s delicious! I’d say this is definitely a winner.
Who doesn’t love chocolate and peanut butter? You could also add in coconut flakes or pecans or even sprinkle on a little cayenne pepper!!
The options are endless with this simple, healthy, sweet treat!
Ingredients
- 2 Medjool Dates
- 2 tbs. All Natural Peanut Butter (sugar-free)
- 3-4 Unsweetened Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Cut open each Medjool date lengthwise on one side only and remove the seeds.
- Put 1 tbs. of peanut butter in each date (or more or less depending on taste).
- Push 3-4 chocolate chips into the peanut butter of each date.
- Add in any additional toppings (see optional toppings below).
Specific Ingredients that I used for this recipe
- Nature’s Delight Medjool Dates (non-pitted*)
- All Natural Peanut Butter (sugar-free); I use Smuckers All Natural Peanut Butter but, I also really like Adams Natural Peanut Butter
- Pascha Unsweetened Chocolate chips*
Optional ideas for toppings
- Unsweetened coconut flakes
- Finely chopped pecans
- Dash of cayenne pepper
- Drizzled melted chocolate
*I prefer non-pitted when I buy dates. It could just be me, but when I buy the pitted kind they are always drier than I like. I like my dates moist (I said it….moist, don’t hate….haha!).
The non-pitted is really not that much more work, they are moister (moist equals sweeter), and they are cheaper. Win, win, win!
*First off, yes this recipe uses unsweetened chocolate chips. Trust me on this one.
The sweetness from the dates counteracts the bitterness from the unsweetened chocolate chips. As long as you don’t overdo it. A little bit goes a long way.
Three to four unsweetened chocolate chips per date is the perfect amount. Of course, you can always try chocolate chips sweetened with stevia like Lilly’s Semi-sweet Baking Chips.
However, just know that they also contain erythritol which is a sugar alcohol.
A lot of people are sensitive to sugar alcohols or just don’t like the taste (me, included).
Side note: Don’t try the unsweetened chocolate chips sans dates. You cannot undo that taste! I once bet my son he couldn’t eat a handful of them. He did but gagged the whole time. I didn’t believe him that it was really gag-worthy. Trust me, it is. I could barely keep them down and I usually have no problem with bitterness.
Now back to the optional toppings
The addition of coconut flakes reminded me of 7 layer bars (oohhh…that gives me an idea for another recipe!).
And the drizzled melted chocolate (I used unsweetened chocolate chips that I melted with a small bit of coconut oil and then let them harden in the fridge) gave it a little bit of a crunch when completely hardened. I’m sure this list can go on and on.
Peanut allergy? Try cashew butter in its place (yum, that sounds really good, too). That is an easy swap!
Not in the mood for chocolate? Check out my Cayenne Ginger Date Bites here.
They require a bit more time and a good food processor but are still fairly short on time and are no-bake. These are sweet and spicy!
Yes, a healthy sweet treat
As I mentioned above, this is a healthy recipe!! Can you believe it? Dates are full of antioxidants and loads of fiber.
If you want to find out more about all of the health benefits of dates check out my article “Fuel, Snack, and Bake with Dates: Your Quick and Easy Guide” here.
Along with the fiber from the dates, peanut butter contains a good amount of heart-healthy fats and protein for the serving size.
There is approximately 8g of protein and 16g of fat per 2 tbs. of peanut butter. All of this combined helps sustain energy levels without the hard crash that “regular” sweet treats give you.
I really love sharing my recipe ideas with you all and I love hearing feedback. Please feel free to comment or email me with your thoughts or any ideas that you may have.
I am always looking for new ideas and always looking to improve. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
