If you want an easy homemade gift for friends or family, then these easy salted caramel truffles make great little presents (and are a healthier alternative to shop bought chocolates).
The middle is a thick salted date caramel, mixed with lots of nuts and nut butter, and it’s all encased in a lovely dark chocolate layer. Topped with festive colours, they are the perfect homemade Christmas gift.
How to make vegan chocolate truffles
They are very simple to make. Blend the dates with the nuts and nut butter, shape into balls and dip in melted dark chocolate. With only 5 main ingredients they really are easy too.
You can use any combination of nuts for the middle but for the topping, the green of the pistachios with some red freeze-dried raspberries work really well as a festive topping. Particularly, if you are giving these as a Christmas gift. Otherwise, use whichever toppings you like and play around with the texture and colour.
Can you make chocolate truffles without butter and cream?
Absolutely! But replacing the butter and cream with nut butter and medjool dates, you get a lovely soft date caramel. This is an amazing, healthier alternative to regular truffles.
Do you need a food processor to make these easy salted caramel truffles?
Yes, you do. A good food processor is vital to ensure the dates and nuts blend down into a fine paste. If you use a blender, you will need to add more water to get the dates to blend fully. This will alter the finished texture of the truffles. You could also break your blender!
What ingredients are needed for easy salted caramel truffles?
- Medjool dates
- Almond butter
- Dark chocolate
- Nuts
- Sea salt
Medjool dates
As you might have guessed, I’m a big fan of medjool dates! Yes, they are quite high in sugar. But unlike processed sugars they tend not to spike your blood sugar as much. That’s because they are high in fibre and key minerals such potassium.
Almond butter
Almond butter provides a rich and creamy texture that helps bind all the ingredients together. It is a fantastic source of healthy fats, particularly monounsaturated fats. It’s also packed with protein, making these truffles quite filling too. It’s also rich in vitamin E. Try and ensure you use a natural nut butter with just nuts (and maybe a little sea salt).
Dark chocolate
A good quality dark chocolate is always my preferred choice for sweet treats. It’s a good source of antioxidants and contains minerals such as iron, magnesium, and copper. I also opt for one that has minimal sugar and at least 70% cocoa solids. The middle of the truffles is quite sweet with the dates, so the dark chocolate will balance this out well.
Nuts
I like to use a combination of nuts for these truffles. You get slightly different nutritional benefits from each one but use whichever nuts you have handy. For this particular recipe, I used a combination of almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios. Pistachios can be quite expensive so you can use some for the middle but mix with other less expensive nuts. Just make sure you keep the quantities similar.
Sea salt
You can’t have salted caramel without the salt! I use a natural sea salt in my kitchen rather than table salt. Most sea salts are minimally processed and retain trace minerals. Table salt can be heavily processed and often includes additives.
Recipe Tips
- Any nut butter works well in this recipe – I most often use peanut or almond.
- You really need lovely, soft dates for this recipe. If your dates are hard try soaking them in boiling water first. Alternatively, if you are short on time add a tbsp or two of water as you blend the dates to make the mixture soft.
- For the coating, I use a dark chocolate. If you can, try and use one that is at least 70% cocoa. It will have less sugar and more of the benefits of cocoa.
- I topped mine with some freeze-dried raspberries too as it makes them look beautiful, but this is entirely optional.
If you liked this recipe, why not try these other easy date recipes:
Easy Salted Caramel Truffles
Equipment
- Magimix food processor *affiliate link
Ingredients
Ingredients for the caramel:
- 1½ cups mixed nuts unsalted (190g)
- 1½ cups soft medjool dates (pitted) (225g)
- ¼ cup almond butter (60g)
- ½ – 1 tsp sea salt
Topping ingredients:
- 1 cup dark chocolate (140g)
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios (25g)
- Sprinkle of freeze dried raspberries optional
Instructions
- For the caramel, put the nuts, dates, nut butter and salt into a food processor and blend until sticky and soft (if it won’t stick together add 1-2 tbsp of water and mix again).
- Shape the mixture into 16 balls. Refrigerate them whilst you melt the chocolate.
- Put the chocolate in a bowl and melt over a pan of hot water. Coat each ball with chocolate and top with the chopped nuts and raspberries (and an additional sprinkling of sea salt, if you like).
Notes
- These are best kept in the fridge and will keep for at least 4-5 days.
- They also freeze well.
- The nutritional information is based on the combination of nuts I used pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts– this may differ slightly if use you a different combination.
- Adjust the amount of salt to your own tastes – I used 1 tsp.
- I use a dark chocolate that is minimum 70% cocoa.
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