Easy Vegan Cacao Nib Truffles and What Else Can I Cook with Cacao Nibs?
These easy vegan cacao nib truffles make for a healthy yet decadent treat that will satisfy any chocolate lover’s cravings, plus all the information you could ever need on how to cook with Cacao Nibs!
When I first heard about raw chocolate, years before converting to a plant-based diet, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to source any of the above raw chocolate ingredients anywhere. Back in those early experimental days, you had to purchase things online. No popping to Tesco or Sainsburys for your Maca Powder or Cacao Nibs back then. How things have changed.
Nowadays, whole foods have become the norm, and I don’t have to order unusual ingredients online and wait for them to arrive (generally). That is the beauty of the plant-based food movement: so much is now available to us that there is really no excuse for not giving it a try.
I admit, being a major chocolate fan, that I was incredibly excited to try cacao nibs. I had heard interesting things about how they can be good for you but more importantly (to me anyway), their taste! Little did I know that raw chocolate and only the purest, unrefined chocolate would become an integral part of the vegan baker’s repertoire!
I love to deeply inhale the rich, earthy smell of raw cacao nibs, more redolent of purest cocoa powder than chocolate bars.
Table of Contents
Facts About Cacao Nibs
- Taste wise they are much like a bar of high cocoa content chocolate: the flavour doesn’t come through straight away, but it gets stronger as it melts and the taste lingers on your tongue. There is a slight smokiness to the nibs and they leave a not unpleasant bitter taste in the mouth.
- Cocoa nibs do not contain sugar.
- They are unprocessed chocolate.
- They are made from raw cacao beans
- Cacao Nibs do not melt during baking
- The nibs themselves resemble tiny wood chips and their texture is not far off wood either (not that I am a secret wood nibbler). Very crunchy but in a very pleasant way.
- They are a healthy snack on their own, or make your own trail mix, adding them to some dried fruits and coconut flakes
- They smell amazing!
- Throw them in your smoothie for a delicious boost.
- Add them to the top of ice cream for a yummy but grown up treat.
- Stir them into muffin batter instead of normal chocolate chips.
- They are a great addition to a spicy chili
- In this purest of form, they are apparently a great aphrodisiac, a source of anti-oxidants and are good for boosting your mood. I can’t vouch for any of these claims but I can wholeheartedly confirm their intensely delicious taste when cooked or mixed with a natural sweetener.
- Cacao Nibs are a truly raw form of chocolate, although you can also buy them roasted
Jennifer Murray has written an excellent article over at The Spruce explaining the scientific differences between Cacao and Cocoa, and I highly recommend that you check that out!
Utilising unusual ingredients into ‘normal’ recipes such as cookies, or even chilli is important as a cook. To familiarise yourself with recherché ingredients, and to use them in everyday recipes is the best way of achieving this familiarity.
What Can I Cook With Cacao Nibs?
I thought it would be interesting to use the cacao nibs in truffles, using pureed dates for moistness and sweetness, nibs for the chocolate hit and sesame seeds as added texture. A dash of Vanilla Extract adds a delicate flavour, but you could add coffee, orange, peppermint essences too.
These are made using a simple combination of nibs, vanilla, dates and sesame seeds, taking no longer than five minutes from start to finish. Therefore, it is feasible that you can be sitting down, bowl of truffles on your lap, watching The Crown before the craving has barely kicked in. I like this kind of cooking!
Don’t be fooled by the ingredients: will these taste like some mealy-mouthed, flavourless substitute for rich, dairy truffles? Far from it! Whilst the texture is unlike that of creamy truffles, my cacao nib truffle recipe has a grainy bite that is not at all unpleasant. They taste substantial, and the caffeine in the nibs gives you a great sense of well-being. My cacao nib truffle recipe is an instant good mood hit. The sesame seeds add a tasty nutty flavour and, when rolled in some deep, dark cocoa powder, taste sensational, perfect for those chocolate cravings.
Also try my raw fudgy brownie recipe that uses cacao nibs, my super-easy peanut butter cacao nib protein balls or stir them into banana bread.
Can Cacao Nibs be used in Baking?
Yes! I decided to bake a batch of simple sugar chocolate chip cookies using half a cupful of the cocoa nibs used instead of chocolate chips. If you are expecting an overt chocolate flavour, you will be disappointed though. In much the same way that 100% dark chocolate is very bitter and tastes less like the chocolate we know, so too is the cacao nib flavor. You might like to try mixing in some normal chocolate chips for a textural difference: the crunch of the nib and the melt of the normal chocolate.
Interestingly, nibs don’t melt like chocolate chips but retain their crunchy texture. For people with nut intolerances, the texture is redolent of chopped hazelnuts with the flavour of rich, dark chocolate. I love these little bits of chocolate that you find in cookies.
Ingredients
- Cacao Nibs
- Dates
- Sesame Seeds
- Vanilla Extract
- Olive Oil, if mixture is a little dry (you can also use some coconut oil)
- Maple Syrup, optional, but to taste
This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please see recipe card below for complete printable recipe.
Method
Place the sesame seeds and cacao nibs in a food processor and blend until you have a fine nubbly mixture
Add the chopped dates and vanilla extract and blend until smooth. You may need to add a little oil if the mixture seems dry.
Scoop out teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls.
Then roll into the coatings of your choice. That’s it!
Cacao Nib Substitutes
What can I use instead of cacao nibs? If you can’t find cacao nibs locally, Amazon supply them here, but there really isn’t anything too similar, except maybe toasted nuts or very dark chocolate chips. However, I hope to have given you a few cacao nib recipes to make it worth buying a small bag to try!
Try my other delicious chocolate/cacao recipes
- Keto Chocolate Truffles
- The Best Vegan Brownies Recipe
- Cacao Nib Peanut Butter Protein Balls
- Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cacao Nib Cookies
- Boozy Chocolate Truffles
Cacao Nib Truffles
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Scales or measuring cups
- 1 Food processor or mini chopper
Ingredients
- 100 g Cacao Nibs
- 60 g Sesame Seeds
- 90 g Dates - (stoned and soaked in a little water if dry)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 drops Olive Oil - if mixture seems dry
- ½ tsp Maple syrup - optional, to taste
- Cacao Powder, Sesame Seeds, Chia Seeds - for rolling
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, blend the nibs and sesame seeds until they form a dry, crumbly mixture. It will not be smooth, rather it will be quite pleasantly textured.
- Add the dates until finely processed. Depending on the age of the dates (mine were old and dried out that they resembled boot leather), the mixture may take a while to process. Tip: soak them in a little hot water for an hour beforehand.
- You can now form the mixture into small balls, the size of walnuts, and roll them into some cocoa powder or sesame seeds, depending on your preference. You can also roll them in some finely chopped nuts, coconut, chia seeds.
- TIP: No need to chill these before rolling!
Please note that where the recipe asks for milk, butter or yogurt, this refers to any plant-based version that you prefer.
This looks like a healthy and delicious snack to try – I love dark chocolate and nuts and it sounds like the flavour of cocao nibs is a combination of these. I’m definitely curious about how to purchase these in my area as I haven’t seen them before in stores. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So this is what cacao nib looks like haha. Never seen this before. Thank you for sharing your recipe! Looks like it’s easy to make and I’m actually curious about the taste. Keep up the good work!
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I don’t know much about cacao nibs, but I really appreciate your post. I’m glad you’ve been able to find out what works and doesn’t works when incorporating them into certain recipes. Great job!
Wow this is so cool! I had never seen these before. I’ll need to try cacao nibs! Super smart of you to try incorporating them into recipes like cookies. I’ll need to try this one! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve had cacao nibs in handmade chocolates (from a local chocolatier), but have never used them myself or tried them alone. I’ve always been worried about them tasting bitter. I love that you used pureed dates for your truffles — that sticky sweetness sounds like just the right thing to elevate the cacao.
This is a really cool recipe! I like to snack on cacao nibs myself, but because they don’t seem like the type of chocolate that melts, I wasn’t sure what else to do with them. Grinding them and adding them to truffles makes a lot of sense!
What a fantastically simple and tasty truffle recipe. I have so many cacao nibs and dates on hand – I can’t wait to try this.
I’m not sure I’ve actually tried cacao nibs before, but I’d really like to! I think the idea of using them with truffles is really appealing. I’d like to try my hand at making truffles at home, so I appreciate this informative post!
I love cacao nibs, and featuring them in these truffles is such a great idea! I always have some on hand, so I will definitely have to give these a try. I really love the combination of chocolate and sesame flavors to make these unique and satisfying.
I always knew these were a healthy option but the way you describe cacao nibs makes me want them now! I am definitely going to pick up and also try your truffle recipe (which I love to give as gifts).
So true that whole foods are so much more accessible now with entire aisles in our everyday supermarkets filled with such amazing goodies. Love these truffles. What a great little snack or treat.
My husband and I loved these. We’re having a tea party brunch for Mother’s Day, and I plan to make them for that. I think they’ll be a hit!
Oh that looks delicious! I must try them as soon as possible! Thanks for sharing!
I love chocolate and truffles but have never made them with cocoa nibs, time to try this treat as it looks amazing.
yum! I am a truffle lover and these checked every box for me! They were delicious and simple to make!
This is really informative! Thank you so much!
My stash of organic cocoa nibs is getting low, but I still have enough to make a few tasty truffles. Thanks for the recipe!
I love all about cacaos!:) It will be awesome to try your recipe.:) Thanks!
Love how nutritious AND delicious these little bites are!
Our favorite truffles!
My kids loved these truffles!
This was scrumptious. I used maybe 1/2 tsp of coconut oil instead of the olive oil. I added 1/2 tsp tangerine zest that had been rehydrating some piloncillo. Soaking the dates was a great suggestion. It was easier than I thought to make, and it was more delicious than I thought it would be. The sequential steps in your instructions were skillful and effective for me. I will be taking this to a vegan pot luck tomorrow. kudos!
Thank you so much Nancy, this is wonderful feedback!!
Can this Cocoa Nib Truffle recipe be made, frozen separately on wax paper and pulled out to thaw and roll in toppings as needed on the fly?
Yep, they definitely could!