Date Balls (Date Nut Balls)
Updated: March 1, 2024, By Swasthi
These Date balls are delicious guilt-free snack balls loaded with the goodness of dates, nuts, seeds and everything else you love! They are vegan, gluten-free and made with all natural ingredients. No added sweeteners and fats! If you don’t eat nuts, make these date balls with seeds or with rolled oats.
This recipe requires only 2 basic ingredients – good quality soft dates like medjool and your favorite nuts or seeds like almonds, pecans, walnuts or cashews.
Nut flours like almond or cashew flour also works here and keep the date nut balls lighter in texture.
You are free to use various kinds of seeds like sesame/ tahini, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, melon seeds or pumpkin seeds.
These date nut balls taste good even without any flavorings. But a dash of vanilla extract or little ground spices like cardamom, cinnamon or even chai spice will take the flavor profile to the next level.
Dehydrated coconut flakes, cocoa powder, dried fruits like figs, cranberries and apricots also add different flavor and texture to your date balls.
You can make the date nut balls in a food processor, chopper a mixer/grinder or even without any of these. If you have softer kind of dates like medjool, you just don’t need an electric appliance. Read my pro tips section below for that.
Photo Guide
How to Make Date Balls (Stepwise Photos)
It is optional to heat dates. Heating softens the dates and increases the shelf life if you want to store the date balls at room temperature.
1. Add 18 to 20 pitted dates to a pan and heat them on a medium flame until hot and soft. Alternately you may heat them in the oven. Pit the dates and spread them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place it in the center of your oven and heat for 7 to 10 mins at 350 F /175 C, until hot. You don’t need to preheat the oven.
2. Toast ¾ cup nuts in a pan until nutty and crunchy. Transfer to a cooling tray. Toast ¼ cup seeds on a medium heat until crunchy and nutty. Cool them completely. Here I used pistachios, 2 tablespoons flax seeds and 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds. You can use whatever you like.
3. Add the nuts and seeds to a food processor and pulse them until broken. I powder the flaxseeds separately to a fine powder, using a small grinder. We prefer a meal like texture in our date balls so I process them longer.
4. Add the dates, ½ to ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract or ground cardamom and process until the mixture comes together. Taste test and add more dates to make it sweeter or more nuts to make it less sweet.
5. Scoop out 1 heaped tablespoon of the mixture and roll to balls. Roll them in coconut if you want.
6. Store date balls in an air tight jar up to 2 weeks at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a couple of months.
Pro Tips
If you store your dates in refrigerator, you may heat them up in a pan, an oven or in the microwave for 60 seconds. This helps to soften them.
On a medium flame, toast the nuts in a pan until they smell nutty and turn crunchy. Alternately you may microwave them for 2 minutes. Cool them completely.
Roughly chop mixed nuts like almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans etc. If you want you may replace some of the nuts with seeds of choice.
Deseed medjool dates and add them to a plate. Mash them well with a fork or your fingers. Incorporate chopped nuts and desiccated coconut or coconut flakes if you wish.
Mix and knead them with your fingers to bring together.
Take portions of this and roll to balls. If you want roll them in coconut flakes or desiccated coconut.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Date Balls (Date Nut Seed Balls)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 18 to 20 (380 grams) medjool dates (pitted/deseeded)
- 1 cup (120 grams) nuts & seeds mixed (almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom or vanilla extract
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut (optional, to garnish)
Instructions
How to make Date Balls
- Soften dates: Add your dates to a pan and heat them on a medium flame until hot and soft. Or Place the dates over a baking tray and heat them at 350 F / 175 C for 7 to 10 mins, until hot. You don't need to preheat the oven. Cool them.
- Toast the nuts: Toast the nuts in a pan until nutty and crunchy. Transfer to a cooling tray. Toast the seeds on a medium heat until crunchy and nutty.
- Make Date Balls: Add the nuts and seeds to a food processor and pulse them until broken. If using flaxseeds, powder them fine in a small grinder separately & add here. Add the dates, vanilla or cardamom and process until the mixture comes together.
- Taste test and add more dates if you want them sweeter or add more nuts if you want them less sweet.
- Shape the balls: Scoop out 1 heaped tbsp of mixture and roll/shape them between your fingers or palms to balls. Roll them in coconut.
- Store date balls in a air tight jar for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a couple of months.
Notes
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
This post was first published in Sept 2014, updated and republished in March 2024
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Can I add any cardamom flavour do you think?
Yes, you can add about 1/3 to half teaspoon ground cardamom. Even vanilla extract goes well.
I am really very thanksful to you,i didn’t know cooking before ,now i am out of country and always search out your dishes and can’t explain how it was….??
So glad to know the recipes are helping. Thank you!
Hi wonderful recipes , this is a go to blog for me for any recipe I need always….
I have a doubt while blending dates in mixie jar it gets heated up n is often pretty hard to grind , do u suggest soaking dates overnight or grinding in food processor instead ???
Thanks a ton
Hi Rupa,
Thank you. Try using a food processor. I use soft dates like Medjool. You can soak them but they won’t last long. Dates often begin to ferment in a few days after coming in contact with moisture. They may smell sour too. So you need to cook the soaked dated which is a lot of work. Actually when you shop, try squeezing the pack to check the softness. Mine are so soft that I can mash them with my fingers. Hope this helps.
The dates and dry fruits ladoo recipe is wonderful
Thank you Ahmed
Glad you like them
Thanks for the recipe. Turned out great
Easy to make & delicious
Thank you
I just tried this recipe and the outcome was fantastic! I only had dried coconuts almonds and walnuts with me so that was what I used, but I want to try it again with different kind of nuts next time. Such a healthy snack too.
Thank you! Glad to know!
Yes you can use.
Thank you Swasti for all your amazing recipes and all the thorough descriptions on how to achieve the best results. So wonderful!
Welcome Marie
🙂
some of the best recipes for kids. I am a fan of your recipes.
Thank you so much Shalini
Hi mam,
Iam a great fan of your fast and simple recipes.one request from me is why don’t you create an app.it helps all of us to see your recipes more easily than searching from Google every time.
And if you all ready have an app pls do inform me.??
Hi Swetha
Thanks for following the recipes. We do not have a app yet.
🙂
This dry fruits ladoo is yummy one doubt if it is a bit watery can I add roasted poha and peanut powder for binding
Hi Swathi,
Yes you can add poha and peanut powder. But it doesn’t have moisture (watery) so it will be dry. If it is too sticky then you can add peanut powder, dry coconut , poha etc.
Thanks
Looks yummy and I can already feel the taste. Could you please tell if it is 1/4 cups of each nut or 1/4 cups of all the nuts mixed together?
Thanks Deepa
I have used 1 cup mixed nuts together
Lovely and tasty recipe
Thanks
Thanks. my kids love these
welcome Rani
hmmm yummy
Thanks
very good recipes
Thank you
Looking so good. I m gonna try this..
Hi Bhawya,
Do try 🙂