Chocolate Ginger Crunch Protein Balls
A slightly more grown up version of energy balls, these Chocolate Ginger Crunch Protein Balls are just utterly addictive, yet super healthy. Made mainly out of dates, hazelnuts, protein powder and ginger, they pack a serious punch both in terms of nutrition and flavor with the heat of the ginger coming through in every bite. On top of that they give you a serious crunch factor from the coating of cacao nibs. What more could you want in a snack?
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Why You Will Love This
Like Dark Chocolate Ginger Sticks in Energy Ball Form
My family might be an oddity, or rather the women in it, as every single one of us is obsessed with Dark Chocolate- Ginger sticks. They would always be on the gift table on occasions like birthdays or Christmas. First for my Grandma, then for my Mom too and in the end I joined in. Essentially we just gifted each other bags of it.
There is just something about cracking the dark shell, having the bitter-sweet notes melting on your tongue while you chew on the crystallized ginger with its warmth slowly spreading through your mouth. Sometimes milder, other times seriously hot. A bit of a surprise every time.
A healthier Version
With my weight loss journey I kind of gave up on them, though probably mainly because I just could not find the sticks in Ireland. Weird if you think about how many ginger treats we have here and that they seem pretty common in the UK. But hey, maybe the Irish warm up to them at some point.
Anyway, as with so many of my recipes, I wondered how I could replicate the flavor and mouthfeel but add some benefits to them. Along came energy balls.
They are mostly made from wholefoods, with exception of the crystallized ginger. But let’s be honest, even that is on the healthier side, considering the benefits of ginger.
To Quote:
“Ginger has a long history of use in various forms of traditional and alternative medicine. It’s been used to aid digestion, reduce nausea, and help fight the flu and common cold, to name a few of its purposes.
Ginger may play a role in weight loss, according to studies in humans and animals.One 2019 reviewTrusted Source concluded that ginger supplementation significantly reduced body weight, the waist-hip ratio, and the hip ratio in people with overweight or obesity.”
If you ever needed a reason to make these, apart from the sheer addictiveness of them, that’s a pretty good one, isn’t it?
Super Quick to make
I’m a little lazy about snacks (Is it just me?). I mean…I really don’t want to spend hours preparing a grab and go snack, that I’ll just inhale in two bites. And I have a serious weakness for truffles!
That’s where Energy and Protein Balls come in: They can be made within 5 minutes in the food processor*, then just quickly rolled in either crunchy cacao nibs or even cacao powder for that extra-truffle-feeling (is that a thing? Ah well, I’m here by declaring it a thing.) and kept in the fridge to snack on over the week.
Perfect gift for the fitness and health food lovers in your life
Each of these crunch balls contains about 5g of protein, so they are a perfect sweet gift for the health and fitness obsessed in your life.
I mean, not only them. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love these. But if you mention the protein and wholefoods used to make these, everyone will feel even better about eating them, right? Even the gym rats. No need to just munch chicken, rice and broccoli. They deserve a treat too!
Why Do I Add Protein?
You mean apart from the well known physical benefits of protein for the body like helping you to build muscle, keeping your bones strong and increasing satiation, meaning you stay fuller for longer and with that can maintain your weight easier?
Lesser known is, that it also effects the brain by helping it to effectively transport information through neuropathways using the amino acods found in Protein.
This even has been shown to help protect from age related dementia.If you’d like to read more about how and why I use protein, I wrote a blog post about it.
What I changed
I adapted my recipe with the Hazelnut Chocolate Bliss Balls from Dash of Honey as a starting point.
I changed 4 main things:
- I soaked the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes, finding in my tests that this gives a truffle-like bite to the finished Chocolate Ginger Crunch Protein Balls
- Added 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder for more nutritional value
- Stirred in roughly chopped crystallized ginger to emulate the ginger sticks
- Coated them in cacao nibs to get the crunch factor
The Ingredients
- Dates – Medjool are best, because they are really lovely and soft already. But I’ve made these Chocolate Ginger Crunch Protein Balls with any dates I had lying around, and they always turned out perfectly.
- Hazelnuts – You could use almonds if you prefer. I just really like the chocolate-hazelnut combo. Reminds me of Ferrero Rocher but spiked with ginger. I think Ferrero should consider making that!
- Protein Powder – I’m using Gold Standard Whey here, as I once bought a huge tub of their chocolate flavored version that I’m slowly using up. Any yummy tasting chocolate protein powder will do. Maybe even Vanilla, but I would suggest adding more cacao in that case.
- Cacao powder – You can use whatever cacao or cocoa powder you have at home. Though ideally avoid “drinking chocolate” as they usually come with added sugar and sometimes even corn flour to thicken the drink. Not ideal for what we have in mind. I used 2 tbsp raw cacao powder and, for extra dark chocolate oomph 2 tbsp Valrhona Pure Cocoa Powder.
- Almond butter – Most nut butters will work fine for these crunch balls. I used almond butter, as I had a huge tub of it. I’d probably avoid peanut butter, due to its strong and very particular flavor. But if you decide to use it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
- Maple syrup – Considering the dates and protein powder already add a lot of sweetness, very little is needed. I found using maple syrup not just adds sweetness, but also helps these balls stay together. You could use honey instead. Or try a sugar free syrup.
- Salt and vanilla extract – Bring out even more flavor.
Add-in
- Crystallized Ginger – Puts these snacks straight into more of a grown up territory due to the heat it adds.
Coating
- Cacao nibs – They act similar to chocolate sprinkles, but without all the sugar! In simply being crushed cacao beans, they have an intense chocolate flavor, yet are minimally processed with all nutrients still intact, making them a fantastic choice for snacking.
- Optional – If you’d like more of a truffle feel instead of crunch, you could roll the Ginger balls in more cacao powder instead, as I did with some in the pictures
The Process
This might be the quickest recipe I’ve posted so far. Here we go:
- Soak the destoned dates in hot water for about 10 minutes, while you gather the rest of the ingredients. Drain.
- If your hazelnuts still have their skins, toast them in the oven at 350°F/175°C for about 20 minutes until they smell lovely. Let cool for a few minutes, then wrap in a clean cotton towel and rub until the skins come off. Doesn’t have to be perfect, just try to get most of it.
- In the small bowl of your food processor* briefly pulse the cacao nibs until they are a bit smaller in size and some powdery bits. This is no exact science. Just go with the size you feel might taste good as coating. Set aside in a deep plate.
- Roughly chop your crystallized ginger. Set aside a few pieces for decorating later
- Add your hazelnuts to the food processor * (the large bowl of it is better at this point) and pulse until roughly chopped. They will get finer when adding the remaining ingredients. We just want to give them a head start.
- Add the drained dates and all remaining ingredients except the ginger and cacao nibs.
- Process for about a minute or until the mass comes together in a sort of dough. Continue until the nuts are about the size you like them.
- Transfer the mass into a glass bowl and, using a spoon or spatula, fold in your ginger
- Using either a small cookie scoop* or 2 tablespoons, scoop out portions the size of about 2 tbsp into the deep plate with the cacao nibs. Roll until coated, then shape with your hands. This avoids most of the messy hands I personally hate when making the typical energy balls.
- Alternatively roll in cacao powder for a softer coating.
- Put on a half sheet pan* lined with baking parchment and store in the fridge to firm up.
- Try one. Purr. Feel very virtuous for making such a healthy and delicious snack.
Meal Prep
Chocolate Ginger Crunch Protein Balls are best stored in a lidded container* in the fridge and will keep for at least a week. Probably longer. They freeze well for up to 3 months. Not that any ever lasted that long in my house, but maybe you have better self-control than me.
For Other Delicious and healthy snacks, check these:
Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars
Sourdough Pumpkin Apple Muffins with Protein
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.
Chocolate Ginger Crunch Protein Balls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 13-14 medjool dates kernel removed (approx 1 ¼ cup)
- 4 tbsp cacao powder
- 2 scoops protein powder chocolate
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Pinch salt
- ½ cup crystallized ginger roughly chopped
- 1 cup cacao nibs for coating
- ½ cup dark cacao powder Optional, for coating
Instructions
- Soak the destoned dates in hot water for about 10 minutes, while you gather the rest of the ingredients. Drain.
- If your hazelnuts still have their skins, toast them in the oven at 350°F/175°C for about 20 minutes until they smell lovely. Let cool for a few minutes, then wrap in a clean cotton towel and rub until the skins come off. Doesn’t have to be perfect, just try to get most of it.
- In the small bowl of your food processor * briefly pulse the cacao nibs until they are a bit smaller in size and some powdery bits. This is no exact science. Just go with the size you feel might taste good as coating. Set aside in a deep plate.
- Roughly chop your crystallized ginger. Set aside a few pieces for decorating later
- Add your hazelnuts to the food processor * (the large bowl of it is better at this point) and pulse until roughly chopped. They will get finer when adding the remaining ingredients. We just want to give them a head start.
- Add the drained dates and all remaining ingredients except the ginger and cacao nibs. Process for about a minute or until the mass comes together in a sort of dough. Continue until the nuts are about the size you like them.
- Transfer the mass into a bowl and, using a spoon or spatula, fold in your ginger
- Using either a small cookie scoop * or 2 tablespoons, scoop out portions the size of about 2 tbsp into the deep plate with the cacao nibs. Roll until coated, then shape with your hands. This avoids most of the messy hands I personally hate when making the typical energy balls.
- Alternatively roll in cacao powder for a softer coating.
- Put on a half sheet pan * lined with baking parchment and store in the fridge to firm up.
- Try one. Purr. Feel very virtuous for making such a healthy and delicious snack.
What a great flavor combo!
Thank you. 🙂
Ginger and chocolate are such an underrated duo! Spicy, chocolatey, and full of texture—just what I need to power through the day. 🙂
Thank you! I feel one of them really gives me energy for quite a while! Sounds like that’s working for you too. 🙂
Chocolate ginger crunch protein balls are yummy. I loved making it. This is a healthy snack also.
Thank you. 🙂
My kids tried those energy balls and loved them! I cut the ginger a bit and made perfect little bites for them!
Your kids have excellent taste. 😉
These protein balls have all my favorite ingredients dates, hazelnuts, ginger , the crunch from cocoa nibs and protein powder. It sure is nutritious , delicious and very addictive indeed.
Thank you, they are my favourites too. 🙂
I’m so in love with these. Anything that’s good for me but tastes bad for me is always a winner!
Thank you, isn’t it just! 😀
Another great recipe from you! I had a bag of cocoa nibs sitting in my cupboard for over a month, but I saw this recipe and decided to hive it a go. Safe to say, I’ll be making these weekly to take to the office as a snack. Delicious, and so simple to make.
Thank you, so glad you enjoy them! I used up all my cacao nibs at this point and need to get more!