Chocolate bliss balls made with hazelnuts are delicious in their own right. But toast or roast those hazelnuts first and you get something totally irresistible. Roasted hazelnut bliss balls are the perfect healthy treat for Veganuary or banishing those winter blues.
I made these roasted hazelnut bliss balls for a vegan friend for Christmas. Luckily there were a few left over which served as a healthy (ish) pre-Christmas treat for us before we started to overindulge. Now I’m back on the Veganuary wagon, I may well make some again.
Veganuary
Yes, it’s Veganuary once again. The months turn forever faster and I sometimes find it hard to keep up. I took the Veganuary challenge for the first time last year and despite my concerns, I really enjoyed it. Even though many of my meals are often vegan, I still have to think a bit harder than usual about what I’m going to cook and eat.
But it’s a great time to get creative and I’m looking forward to coming up with some more useful and tasty recipes such as this mushroom pâté. It’s now more common than not to find a jar or two of it in our fridge.
Breakfast was one of the meals I found a little tricky to begin with last year. But luckily, I got over that pretty quickly. In case it’s something you’re struggling with, here are 31 healthy vegan breakfast recipes to inspire you.
Much as I love my eggs and dairy, I’m actually relishing a month without them. Do follow my second veganuary journey and as well as recipe ideas, you may find an exciting giveaway too.
Roasted Hazelnut Bliss Balls
Bliss balls are fabulous healthy (ish) snacks. They’re incredibly easy to make too and much nicer than any commercial ones I’ve tried. You may know them as energy balls, vegan truffles, protein balls or energy bites. Usually, they’re vegan or dairy-free and are made from a few healthy raw ingredients such as nuts, dried fruit and cacao.
They often contain extras such as oats, spices, nut butters or superfood powders.
When you read through the list of ingredients, they may not sound that good. But they’re one of those delights that are much greater than the sum of their parts. The clue is in the name and these roasted hazelnut bliss balls are delicious.
As well as a sumptuous treat, these roasted hazelnut bliss balls are the perfect pre or post workout snack. Pack them into lunch boxes. Kids and adults alike will be delighted. They’re high in fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. They’re also filling with their combination of protein, good carbs and healthy fats.
Apart from roasting the hazelnuts, it’s mostly a process of blitzing the ingredients and rolling the resulting mixture up into balls. You could use a power blender such as my splendid glass jugged Froothie Evolve or a small food processor.
Roasting Hazelnuts
You can buy ready roasted hazelnuts, but it’s quite simple to do it yourself. Just pop them into a hot oven for ten minutes then rub of the skins with a tea towel or piece of kitchen paper. I use my Froothie HealthyFry rapid air fryer to roast them as it does a good job and saves me having to turn the oven on.
Other Bliss Balls You Might Like
- Chilli chocolate chip cookie dough energy balls
- Christmas bliss balls
- Coconut bliss balls
- Goji berry bliss balls
- Organic chocolate oat truffles
- Raw chocolate truffles
If these aren’t enough to whet your appetite, I have a whole board full of energy bites on Pinterest.
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these roasted hazelnut bliss balls, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like more vegan recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Roasted Hazelnut Bliss Balls. PIN IT.
Roasted Hazelnut Bliss Balls – The Recipe
Roasted Hazelnut Bliss Balls
Equipment
- air fryer (affiliate link) optional
Ingredients
- 100 g hazelnuts
- 8 medjool dates (125g)
- 25 g oats ground into a flour
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
- 3 tsp coconut oil
- 1 pinch fine sea or rock salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- First roast the hazelnuts for 10 minutes at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4). I used my air-fryer at 160℃. Allow to cool slightly, then rub the skins off in a paper towel or clean tea towel.
- Blitz them to a near powder. But be careful, you don’t want to make nut butter. Place 75g into a mini food processor, setting the other 25g aside for coating.
- Add the remaining ingredients, making sure you take the stones out of the dates first. Blitz until everything is well combined.
- Take heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture and squeeze into balls with the palm of your hand. Roll into 20 uniform rounds.
- Place the remaining ground roasted hazelnuts into a bowl. Roll the bliss balls in the hazelnuts to coat.
- Makes 18-20 depending on the size of your balls.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing my energy balls made with roasted hazelnuts and other healthy ingredients with Recipes Made Easy for #CookBlogShare.
sherry says
roasted hazelnuts?! can there be anything nicer? well, if you add chocolate … cheers sherry
Choclette says
Agree Sherry, chocolate and roasted hazelnuts are a very fine match indeed.
Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook says
OMG!!! I love these!! I am always looking for healthy stuff to snack on. Thank you for sharing!
Choclette says
They are just fabulous for healthy snacks as they feel so decadent, but taste so delicious.
Sisley White says
I feel these are a great new perfect snack. So delicious and way to easy to eat.
Choclette says
Definitely easy to eat, but they’re quite rich too, so it’s harder to go completely overboard.
Kavita Favelle says
Totally with you, roasting hazelnuts really elevates their flavour, and I bet it makes them sing in these vegan truffles!
Choclette says
I fell in love with bliss balls the very first time I made some, but adding roasted hazelnuts is now a new favourite.
Sylvie says
Oh my, roasted hazelnuts in a bliss ball!? That sounds absolutely delicious, and I so have to try them ASAP!
Choclette says
Roasted hazelnuts have so many plus points. Just the scent wafting from them when they roast is phenomenal.
Chloe Edges says
I have a massive bag of hazelnuts just sitting in the conservatory right now. Finally I know what to do with them!
Choclette says
Oh for a massive bag of hazelnuts Chloe. They are one of the best nuts for baking and of course for these bliss balls too.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
i have never actually made bliss balls but these do sound good so maybe I should change that. Thank you for sharing #CookBlogShare
Choclette says
I was surprised at just how good they are the first time I tried them. I’ve not looked back since.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
This is so delicious! I love hazelnut and thanks for the tip about roasting the hazelnuts in the air fryer. I have not tried it yet and that will make it so much easier. This is loaded with flavor and will be a great snack!
Choclette says
Thanks Sandhya. I use my air fryer all the time for all sorts of things. The moment I think, I need the oven, I then think, but can I do it in the air fryer?
angiesrecipes says
These definitely make a perfect pre or post workout snack! Love the easy preparation and how perfect they turned out!
Choclette says
Thanks Angie. Now I’m doing Veganuary again, I’m all for delicious healthy vegan snacks.