No Bake Almond Butter Balls
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These Almond Butter Balls are an easy healthy treat. They come together in a flash and taste great and you likely have everything you need to make them sitting in your pantry and fridge right now.
Before I was eating healthy, grabbing a box of whatever was in the kitchen or making quick bread from a boxed mix was what I turned to whenever I wanted a sweet treat.
And I used to make sugar and chocolate-laden truffles as Christmas gifts years ago. I hope to share a healthified version of those soon but decadent chocolate truffles aren't something to snack on every day.
These almond butter balls, however, are. They're basically like an energy ball, but you can also coat them in chocolate or other things like chopped nuts or coconut shreds to make a healthy truffle recipe. You and your family can indulge in these while knowing that they are really good for you and there's a great money-saving tip included as well.
And while these are very special-diet friendly, we once had friends over who don't have any dietary restrictions and they LOVED them. In fact, my dear friend's daughter can be a really picky eater and she kept calling them cookies and asking for more.
Call 'em cookies or truffles or energy balls, doesn't matter. They're good.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
These almond butter balls are:
- simple to prepare – no baking required
- flexible so you can “make do” with whatever you have in your home
- packed with nutrition from nuts or seeds, coconut, and flax
- delicious
They are so easy to make that kids can make these on their own or with only a little bit of help from adults.
Recipe Notes
- Money Saving Tip: Instead of buying coconut flour, you can simply grind shredded coconut. 3 cups coconut will yield approximately 1 1/2 cups once ground. I use my Vitamix to grind it and it works great. Ground coconut isn’t really coconut flour but it works pretty well in this recipe.
- Almond Butter Alternatives: Almond butter is wonderful in this recipe, but any nut or seed butter will work.
- Sweeteners: Any healthy sweetener can work, but if you use a liquid sweetener you should omit the water, and you may need to use a different amount of sweetener if using a liquid, so read this post for tips on substituting sweeteners. If using pre-sweetened nut or seed butters like SunButter, reduce sweetener accordingly. If using stevia extract, try using about 1/8 teaspoon.
- Note that some readers have found that these balls are too dry after following the directions. Even when I make my own nut and seed butters I have found that some batches are more dry than others. If your balls turn out too dry, simply add a light oil like avocado oil to the dough using just enough to make the dough stick together. You could try adding a non-dairy milk or water too, but that might not work as well.
Almond Butter Balls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups coconut flour
- 3/4 cup almond butter
- 9 tablespoons low-carb sweetener
- 1/4 cup water (add more if needed)
- 3 tablespoons ground flax
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Extra carob and/or shredded coconut for rolling
Instructions
- Add all ingredients (except sweetener, if using granulated) to a medium-size bowl.
- If using granulated sweetener, mix sweetener and water in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until sweetener dissolves. You could also powder the sweetener to make it easier to blend.
- Mix well until all ingredients are blended.
- Add more water (non dairy milk is fine too) if needed to keep balls together).
- Roll mixture into small balls. You can also use a small stainless scoop (I love this one) for easier and less messy rolling.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
Ahhhh…hating myself for coming across this page:(
At a time when I am trying my best to curb my sugar cravings & cut down on my sugar intake.
How I hate you for tempting me into sinful stuff!
$%^&*()(*&^%
Please don’t use sugar. I never do. :).
In my experience ground coconut is not really a straight substitute for coconut flour. True coconut flour is much, much more absorbent then finely ground coconut and needs a lot more liquid. I made these with honey and maple syrup and had to add almost a 1/2 cup of water to get them to stick together. Next time I make them I will go use equal quantities of coconut flour and almond butter and see how that works.
Rebecca, you are right that in general ground coconut is not a good substitute for coconut flour. But since this is not a baking recipe and it worked for me, I recommended it as an option I’ll have to give it another run to see – I haven’t made them in awhile. Now I have coconut flour in my pantry so I can try it that way too :-). I have a friend whose daughter loved these and I was hoping to bless her with some anyway :-).
Adrienne, yes i dissolved the sugar in the water.I’ll try making them again with ground coconut instead of flour and see if that makes a difference.
Please let me know how it goes. I can give it another run if need be. I haven’t made them in awhile :-).
I used brown sugar and added the water. I’ll probably try to use less coconut flour next time.My husband later told me he liked them and i think they got better with standing overnight.
Hi Kathy. Glad to hear you liked them better the next day. The only other thing I can think of is – did you dissolve the sweetener in the water? I don’t think it could be the coconut flour quality since I just used ground coconut as I didn’t have coconut flour on hand. ??
TRUFFLES REVIEW- Don’t know if i did something but my mixture was very crumbly.I had a hard time forming balls.The texture was not smooth at all, kind of grainy.Taste was tolerable considering its healthy.
Kathy, which kind of sweetener did you use? If granulated, did you add the additional water as recommended? Maybe try adding just a tad of water regardless. Let me know :-).
Mine did the same thing. I also used coconut flour. I ended up adding more almond butter and then just kept adding water until they stuck together. All in all my boyfriend liked them so I will make them again. I will probably try the chopped coconut next time and maybe some other extract flavors, like almond.
My husband is a big almond butter fan. We have several jars in the kitchen. I might make some of these to use it up. They look delicious! Thanks for sharing on Sweet Indulgences Sunday.
If you remember, tell me how you like them :-). Did you see my post on Homemade Nut Butters? It’s a great money saver.
If you remember, let me know how you like them :-).
Your truffles look marvelous! I love that they are naturally gluten-free. I will be sharing a link to this post on my highlights from the Hearth and Soul Hop tonight.
How wonderful – a truffle recipe that is full of good for you things! Your truffles look really delicious – thank you for sharing them with the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.
Amazing, a healthy Truffle, wow these look delicious. I will have to try your recipe. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you next week!
Clever use of healthy ingredients–in a cute little ball of yum! Thanks for linking this creative recipe to Food on Fridays!