Vegan Truffles
Make the chocolate lover in your life ecstatic with these decadent vegan truffles. It’s a super-easy recipe with only 4 ingredients plus toppings. Enjoy these creamy, smooth vegan chocolate truffles for the holidays, Valentine’s Day, or whenever you’re ready for some chocolate indulgence.
I’ve seen so many delicious chocolate truffles recipes that it seemed easy to veganize. I love chocolate truffles, so the idea of having homemade vegan truffles was too tempting to ignore!
Want more vegan chocolate treats? Make these Peanut Butter Balls Dipped in Chocolate!
Vegan Truffles
At the very core, these truffles are basically a ganache, chocolate melted with cream. I’ve shared an assortment of vegan ganache recipes, including this vegan chocolate pie.
Of course, we’ll roll this “ganache” into balls and various toppings, like nuts, sprinkles, and more. That’s what makes chocolate truffles so unique!
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Let’s talk about the ingredients.
- Unsweetened chocolate — You can find this in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. I love using high-quality chocolate like Guittard. Look at the ingredients to ensure they’re vegan, but most are made without dairy.
- Full-fat coconut milk — This coconut milk is from a can. The ingredients should indicate 12+ grams of fat. That’s how you’ll know it’s full fat.
- Medjool dates — These are the big dates that make everything so deliciously sweet. Because we use dates, this recipe has no added sugar. Dates add a bit of texture and sweetness. You can buy my dates at Costco, or in most health food stores, and grocery stores.
- Toppings — Roll the truffles in cocoa powder. See below for some more ideas on toppings.
These are naturally gluten-free truffles. However, if you serve them to people with severe gluten issues, I recommend buying certified gluten-free ingredients.
Marly’s Tips
If your dates are older and/or dried out, heat them up in the microwave for 20 seconds or so. Or you can also let them sit in hot water for 10 minutes.
Rolling Tip – If you find the scoops of chocolate are too soft to roll, simply transfer the pan to the fridge for 30 minutes to help firm up the chocolate. Then re-roll the balls after they’re chilled.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Using dates adds a smooth texture while also making these treats a healthy option because there are minimal refined sugars
- High-quality dark chocolate is easily accessible and makes this recipe rich and delicious
- Full-fat coconut milk adds the perfect creamy texture to these vegan truffles, making every bite irresistible!
Truffle Toppings
Roll those truffle balls in your favorite toppings.
Here are some of the best toppings for vegan truffles:
- Cocoa powder — take a more natural look with simple cocoa powder.
- Nuts — Finely-chopped nuts, like walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, etc.
- Himalayan Salt — combining chopped almonds with Himalayan salt is so good!
- Coconut flakes — pulse coconut flakes in a food processor to make them smaller.
- Cookie crumbs — these can add a sweet touch and texture as well.
- Sprinkles — colorful truffles can be a lot of fun!
Why are they called Truffles?
These small chocolate confections are often unevenly shaped and, when dipped in cocoa powder, resemble the expensive delicacy truffles (a fungus) that grow near the base of trees.
What is a truffle?
A truffle is basically a chocolate ganache that’s been rolled in an assortment of toppings, such as cocoa powder or chopped nuts.
Can vegans eat dark chocolate?
Vegans can eat any chocolate as long as it’s made without dairy or other animal products. High-quality dark chocolate with more than 50% chocolate is a great option. Always read the labels to ensure it’s made without dairy.
Making Vegan Lindt Chocolates
If you fancy vegan chocolate candies, you can dip the vegan truffles in melted dark chocolate.
To make a dark chocolate candy coating, combine 1 cup of vegan chocolate chips with a teaspoon of coconut oil (the kind that’s firm at room temperature). Melt these two together and dip the chilled truffle balls in the melted chocolate.
Set them on a pan covered in waxed paper for the chocolate to set. I usually put them in the fridge to speed the setting process.
Vegan Chocolate Candy Favorites
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Chocolate Vegan Truffles
Ingredients
For the Ganache:
- 8 ounces Unsweetened chocolate squares (see note)
- 1 ¼ cups full fat coconut milk (see note)
- 1 cup Medjool dates (8 – 12 dates, pitted)
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract (or vanilla)
- Topping ideas: cocoa powder, finely chopped nuts, shredded coconut, sprinkles. (see note)
Instructions
- Use a serrated knife to chop the chocolate bars. The smaller pieces, the faster the chocolate will melt. Transfer the chopped chocolate into a heat-resistant bowl.
- Canned coconut milk usually has the fat separated from the milk part. So, pour and scoop it all into a blender and pulse a few times to combine it. Then measure out 1 ¼ cups. You can use the unused portion of the milk in smoothies or other recipes. Pour the measured quantity back into the blender.
- Remove the pits from the dates and add them to the blender. Note: If your dates are older and thus dried out a little, it helps to heat them up in the microwave for 20 seconds. Or you can also let them sit in hot water for 10 minutes.
- Pulse the coconut milk and dates together. Remove the lid and use a rubber spatula to push down contents from the side of the bowl. Pulse again. Continue this process until the mixture is relatively smooth.
- Transfer the coconut date mixture to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 minute. Be sure to use oven mitts to remove it from the microwave because the bowl will be hot. Pour this mixture over the chopped chocolate. Cover the chocolate and set aside for 1 to 3 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Then stir it all together. If the chocolate isn't entirely melted, place the bowl in the microwave and heat for 1 minute. Stir again. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours or up to overnight.
- When you're ready to roll the truffles, place a sheet of parchment paper over a pan. Use a cookie dough scoop to scoop the chocolate. I filled each scoop about a little more than halfway. Place scoops on prepared pan. Roll each scoop into a rough ball shape. Place the tray in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
- Once the balls have chilled, roll them again to create a more precise ball shape. Then roll balls in your favorite toppings, like cocoa powder, finely-chopped nuts, sprinkles, and more.
- Store truffles in the fridge. They will keep up to 5 days there. They can also be frozen where they'll keep up to 2 months.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2009 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2020.
These truffles are so smooth and chocolatey! I made a double batch for the holidays!
Okay, these sound delicious and I don’t really even care for truffles! Maybe I should try the vegan version…although I don’t really need any additional food addictions! =)
Mindy
So glad you like these! I agree with you, life’s too short, we should enjoy good food!