Have you ever made your own almond milk at home and wondered what to do with the leftover pulp?! This recipe is for you!
Let us show you how easy it is to make these 7-ingredient, 20-minute bliss bites, made entirely in the food processor!
This recipe starts with leftover almond pulp from making homemade almond milk. We haven’t tested it with nut (or coconut) pulps, but we assume others would work! Check out our Guide to Making Dairy-Free Milk for more inspiration.
These bliss balls get their natural sweetness from dates, chocolate flavor from cacao powder, and nuttiness from raw walnuts.
Almond pulp adds moisture and a subtle vanilla-almond flavor, while hemp seeds add plenty of plant-based protein and healthy fats!
Last but not least, almond butter (or another nut butter of choice) is added for binding and even more nutty flavor.
Simply form your dough into balls, then roll with cacao powder, hemp seeds, or cacao nibs!
We hope you LOVE these bites! They’re:
Hearty
Wholesome
Chocolatey
Fudgy
Rich
& A great use of almond pulp!
These would make the perfect healthier snack or dessert to have on hand throughout the week. Pair with our 5-Minute Mushroom Latte, Feel Good Hot Chocolate, or Golden Milk Latte for the ultimate afternoon treat or evening wind-down.
Into bliss balls and energy bites? Be sure to check out our Matcha Bliss Balls, Golden Milk Snack Bites, No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites, and No-Bake Vanilla Cake Bites!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
7-Ingredient Brownie Bliss Balls (Made from Almond Pulp!)
Incredibly fudgy, rich brownie bliss balls made with wholesome ingredients, including almond pulp leftover from making homemade almond milk! Just 20 minutes, 7 ingredients, and 1 food processor required!
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw walnuts*
- 1/2 cup packed pitted dates (medjool is best // measured after pitting)
- 2/3 cup almond pulp* (or sub almond meal)
- 1/3 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder (plus more for rolling)
- 3 Tbsp hemp seeds (plus more for rolling)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp creamy almond butter (or other nut or seed butter)
Instructions
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Add walnuts to the food processor and pulse into a meal. Then add dates, almond pulp (or almond meal), cacao or cocoa powder, hemp seeds, sea salt, and almond butter. Mix/pulse to combine. The result should be a moist, dough-like mixture. If too wet, add a bit more cacao powder or hemp seeds.
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Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Then scoop out rounded Tablespoon amounts (we like this scoop) and carefully form into balls — about 14 (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). The dough will be somewhat stiff, so use the warmth of your hands to gently form/roll into balls.
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Roll in extra hemp seeds or cacao powder (optional). Note: The bites get a fudgy, sticky outer texture when rolled in cacao powder — which we liked. For less-sticky bites, roll in hemp seeds, or even cacao nibs!
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Store leftovers in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator up to 1 week or in the freezer up to 1 month.
Notes
*Though we haven't tested it, we think cashews, almonds, or sunflower seeds would work in place of the walnuts.
*See our tutorial on How to Make Almond Meal from Almond Pulp.
*Recipe adapted from our Dark Chocolate Hemp Energy Bites.
Nutrition Per Serving (1 of 14 balls)
- Calories: 138
- Fat: 10.4g
- Saturated fat: 0.9g
- Sodium: 2.4mg
- Potassium: 210mg
- Carbohydrates: 9.6g
- Fiber: 2.4g
- Sugar: 5.3g
- Protein: 4.2g
Another round of brownie balls were made today! Gosh, these are so easy and GOOD.
I didn’t go with the dreamed-of cherries this time (see my review below), but being short on walnuts, I tried this with peanuts plus some walnut oil to ensure the sticky quotient. I also used homemade peanut butter. Oh my goodness, it’s GOOD! You do have to fiddle with the consistency going this way, but it works beautifully!
So amazing! Thanks for sharing!! xo
I just made my third batch of these! They’re amazing as a pre-workout snack or dessert!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Whitney. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
I made this with almonds instead of walnuts(dont like walnuts) and part almond and peanut butter. I had 3 teen boys over and they all liked them. My husband did too. They are fantastic! Thank you
Lovely – thanks for sharing, Shelly!
I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts and “normal” dates (not medjool) and I think it made the consistency not sticky enough. It was still tasty but I was looking for more of a chewy texture :) Next time I’ll stick to the recipe better. But this was a great way to use my almond pulp!
Thanks for sharing, Sonia! Fresh, sticky dates make a big difference :D
Hi can I use package dates ? If so do I need to soak it beforehand? It looks yummy can’t wait to try!
Yep! As long as they aren’t too dry or hard there’s no need for soaking.
Amazing! I had a chocolate craving and these were so satisfying. I used almond flour instead of the pulp and I didn’t have hemp seeds, but I kept everything else the same. Thank you for this great recipe.
Whoop! Thanks for sharing!
These are amazing and so addictive! No almond pulp here, so I processed cashew pieces with the walnuts and added a dash of water. They came out the perfect consistency. I have a feeling that these will be a weekly occurrence in my house! Thank you!
THanks for sharing, Abby!!
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try them!
Can I use date paste in place of whole dates?
Yes, however, I’m not sure exactly how much date paste that would equal. Maybe 1/4 – 1/3 cup?
You’ve done it again Dana! These are really good! I subbed in cashews, almond meal and peanut butter. Then I rolled the balls in Ghost Whey protein powder (milk chocolate flavor). Wow! These are definitely going to be my chocolatey treats when the mood strikes.
Yay! These are definitely new faves of ours, too! So glad you enjoyed them, Amanda.
These were lovely and easy to make! Mine were a bit dry, so I added another tablespoon of nut butter and a teeny bit of water. Worked perfectly! The fudgy and not-too-sweet taste is just what I like in a chocolate treat.
Thanks, Sarah!
This is my new favorite snack to keep in the freezer for our busy lives on the go. Didn’t have hemp seeds on hand and used the sub almond meal and cacao powder, turned out great! Seriously delicious and satisfying.
Hello! I just made these Brownie Bliss Balls and they are amazing! Pure ingredients and great flavour and easy to make too! I used almond meal and cocoa powder. I thought my “dough” would be dry without using the pulp, but it wasn’t. They were easy to roll and stayed together, no cracking or crumbling! Can’t wait to share these with my family!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Margo! Next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful to us and other readers. xoxo!
Quick, easy, and fantastically delish! Used half almond pulp (all that I had from yesterday morning’s batch of almond milk), and topped off with Bob’s Red Mill “Super-fine natural almond flour from whole almonds”. Whew — what a mouthful! The almond flour from skinless, blanched almonds would probably work, but it just seemed that those wouldn’t help in the flavor department.
These bliss balls are an absolute mouthful of wonderful! I like the taste better after they chill. Popped one in my mouth while making them (how could I possibly resist?), but the taste of hemp seeds was a bit pronounced. After chilling overnight, everything was perfectly balanced.
Thank you, Dana — you’re keeping us chocoholics very, very happy!
Thanks for sharing, Mary! So glad you enjoyed.
Yes, yes, YES!!!
I’ve just recently discovered home made almond milk and it tastes soooo much better than the store-bought ones. But didn’t know what to do with the pulp. I saw some ideas on other blogs but many of them required “dehydrating” the pulp in a low-temperature oven or dehydrator (summer is too hot for the oven and I don’t have fancy gadgets like a dehydrator) plus I trust YOUR recipes because they always turn out amazing. So this one is definitely on my “make it ASAP” list. Thanks a million!
SO kind! Thanks, Andrea! xoxo
These turned out fabulous with almond meal. They look and taste decadent, five stars!
Thanks, Jade!
Struggling to get this wet enough to form a dough…. I subbed almond pulp with almond flour which is obviously drier. I’ve added a few more dates and a load more almond butter so hopefully! It smells delicious it’s just more of a crumble at the moment! 🙈
Hmm, I’d say a little coconut oil (melted) may be your friend here! Otherwise, more dates or almond butter would help as well :D
I also subbed the almond pulp with almond flour and found the dough to be too dry so I added another 1/2 cup of dates (for a total of 1 cup) and 2 TBSP of coconut oil and they were perfect! Next time I’ll see if I can get my hands on some almond pulp.
Can the brownie bites be made without a food processor? I have a magic bullet…
A magic bullet may work. It’s not our favorite tool for recipes like this, but if you try it let us know how it goes!
I make homemade soymilk and wonder if this would work with okara, the pulp left form the soybeans?
Hmm, we’re not sure about that. But if you give it a try let us know!
Your recipe for homemade almond milk lists several flavoring options. What type of almond milk do you use for these brownie balls?
Plain!
Holy cats, this gorgeous stuff barely made it to the fridge! The boys ATTACKED them when I finally mustered the generosity to serve them. LOL!
Yet another terrific recipe! I look forward to tweaking it, because it deserves many versions – with dried cherries, perhaps? Oh yes, that’s got to be the first one. Thank you!
haha, yay! Thanks for sharing! Smart idea with cherries! Let us know if you try.
Hi Dana,
Can raw almonds be used instead of almond pulp? If one doesn’t make their own almond milk, can they still make these appetizing bites? Thank you! (Love your recipes!)
I’d say almond meal be used in place of the pulp! Let us know how it goes!
Oh this is great! I love homemade almond milk, but it seems like such a waste to throw out that pulp!
For the almond pulp- does this need to be dried out after making the almond milk, or can you use it as-is? I’m looking forward to trying the recipe!
In this recipe you use it as is – kind of wet :D (but almond meal would also work here).