Chocolate Hazelnut Balls (Copycat Ferrero Rocher)

Homemade chocolate hazelnut balls made with only six real-food ingredients. They taste like Ferrero Rocher candies but are healthier, gluten-free, vegan and paleo-friendly.

Ohh man. I don’t know if you’re ready for these chocolate hazelnut balls. They’re my take on homemade Ferrero Rocher (aka one of my favorite candies growing up). They’re such an easy dessert to make and are guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.

Ferrero Rocher Made Healthier

Store-bought Ferrero Rocher are delicious, but they’re made with some not-so-healthy-for-you ingredients like milk chocolate, white sugar and palm oil. In true EBF fashion, I decided to make a homemade version that’s sweetened with just a touch of pure maple syrup (and chocolate chips if you use them) and made with only SIX real-food ingredients. They taste just like the real deal… some taste-testers have even said that they like them better than the original candies. Go figure! 🙂

Chocolate Hazelnut Balls Ingredients:

You only need six simple ingredients to make this tasty treat:

• hazelnuts
• cacao or cocoa powder
• maple syrup – you can swap in honey if you don’t need these balls to be vegan.
• vanilla extract
• sea salt
• chocolate chips – using Lily’s dark chocolate chips keeps this recipe low in sugar and dairy-free.

How to Make Chocolate Hazelnut Balls

Chop hazelnuts – add 1 cup hazelnuts into a food processor fitted with the S-blade and process until hazelnuts are chopped into small pieces.

Combine ingredients – add cacao powder, maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt and chocolate (if using) into the processor and pulse a few more times, until the ingredients start to stick together. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little water, 1 teaspoon at a time until the mixture holds together well enough to be formed into balls. Be sure not to add too much water.

Form into balls – roll mixture into bite-size balls and insert one hazelnut into the center of each, forming the ball around it. This step is totally optional, but makes the bites more like the traditional Ferrero Rocher.

Coat balls with hazelnuts – chop remaining 4 hazelnuts into tiny pieces. Roll each ball in the mixture to coat the outside. Enjoy energy bites right away and/or store remaining bites in the fridge for later.

How to Store Chocolate Hazelnut Balls

Store chocolate hazelnut balls in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you store them in the freezer, make sure to let them thaw a bit before eating otherwise they’ll probably be too hard.

More Healthy No Bake Treats:

• 4-Ingredient Samoas
• Brownie Energy Balls
• Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
• Peanut Butter Cups
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

If you make these chocolate hazelnut balls please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how they turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers.

Chocolate hazelnut balls

4 from 13 votes

Chocolate hazelnut balls made with only six real food ingredients. They taste like Ferrero Rocher candies but are healthier, gluten-free and vegan. 

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 12 individual hazelnuts, raw or toasted
• 2 Tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon diary-free mini chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks, optional

Instructions

 

• Add 1 cup hazelnuts into a food processor fitted with the S-blade and process until hazelnuts are chopped into small pieces.
• Add cacao powder, maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt and chocolate (if using) into the processor and pulse a few more times, until the ingredients start to stick together. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little water, 1 teaspoon at a time until the mixture holds together well enough to be formed into balls. Be sure not to add too much water.
• Roll mixture into bite-size balls and insert one hazelnut into the center of each, forming the ball around it. This step is totally optional, but makes the bites more like the traditional Ferrero Rocher.
• Chop remaining 4 hazelnuts into tiny pieces. Roll each ball in the mixture to coat the outside. Enjoy energy bites right away and/or store remaining bites in the fridge for later.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1energy bite Calories: 151kcal Carbohydrates: 8g Protein: 3g Fat: 12g Saturated Fat: 1g Sodium: 29mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 4g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: vegan

Keyword: chocolate hazelnut energy bites, healthy Ferrero Rocher

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