Medjool dates stuffed with peanut butter and peanuts and coated in chocolate. These chocolate covered snickers stuffed dates are made with real food ingredients and taste even better than an actual Snickers bar.
Another health coach tip for you today . . . it’s all about sugar! Halloween is right around the corner and I know Halloween is the start of the crazy holiday eating habits. We get hooked on sugar at Halloween, figure why not keep indulging for Thanksgiving, and by the time the New Years rolls around we realize we’ve been living in stretchy pants and don’t recognize the girl in the mirror. Been there, done that – but for the past few years I’ve made it my mission to stick with simple healthy habits and cut back on my sugar intake because I know how easy it for my sugar eating habits to spiral out of control.
My number one tip for “cutting back on sugar” is actually switching to natural sugars like maple syrup, honey and medjool dates. This recipe is the perfect example of that. Like I said, Halloween is riiiiight around the corner and seeing those snack-size candies right when you walk in the grocery store is so tempting! Thankfully it’s easy to make something that tastes just as good (if not better) with real food ingredients. I’ve shared my 5-ingredient peanut butter cups and these healthy Twix bars before, but today I’ve got a healthier Snickers recipe for ya!
These incredible chocolate covered snickers stuffed dates taste like snickers and are made with real, whole food ingredients. If you’re hosting a Halloween party or want to make a fun dessert with kiddos, give this a try! This recipe really doesn’t get any easier. I’ll walk you through step by step (including steps for mama and steps for kids!) . . .
1. Cut a slit in the dates and remove the pit (mamas, you can cut the slit and have your kiddos use their little fingers to grab the pits out!).
2. Fill each date with a spoonful of peanut butter (mamas, this step is probably best for you unless you have older kids!). Kids, you’re in charge with sprinkling each date with crushed peanuts.
3. Kids, dump the chocolate chips into a bowl and moms, you add the coconut oil. Heat until mixture is melted and combined.
4. This might have to be a team effort unless your kids are older. The final step is to take each peanut butter filled and peanut topped date and dunk it in the chocolate. I used a toothpick to hold the date together while dipping. Pop the covered dates on parchment and place in the fridge until the chocolate sets.
5. Enjoy this healthy, delicious treat as a family!
More Date Recipes
If you make these chocolate stuffed dates please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how they turn out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers.
Medjool dates stuffed with peanut butter and peanuts and coated in chocolate. These chocolate covered snickers stuffed dates are made with real food ingredients and taste better than an actual Snickers bar.
Ingredients
10 medjool dates
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped/crushed peanuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
Cut a slit in each date to remove the pit, then fill each with peanut butter (about 1/2 teaspoon) and a sprinkle of crushed peanuts. Set aside.
Place the dark chocolate and the coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave in 15 second increments, stirring between each. It should take longer than 1-2 minutes total.
Using a toothpick, dip each date into melted chocolate and use a spoon to coat the date until completely covered. Place chocolate covered date on a platter lined with parchment. Sprinkle remaining crushed peanuts on top of each date. Place the dates in the fridge to allow the chocolate to set.
Keep leftover chocolate covered dates in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
Need a single-serving treat? Just use 1 date, 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter, 1 teaspoon crushed peanuts and about 1 Tablespoon of melted chocolate.
I’m not going to lie, I kind of side-eyed the recipe description when it was claimed these taste as good as a Snickers bar. I never should have been so skeptical! Dates and peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Warning: very easy to eat too many! They are high in calories so just be mindful of your portions, and it’s quite a tasty treat.
So glad you enjoyed these, Kenna!! Thanks for giving them a chance and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. The reviews are super helpful to other readers, so I appreciate it. 🙂
These are SO GOOD! My family really liked these. I can always use more high-energy snack ideas now that my teen is home all the time because of the pandemic. I absolutely love these. Yes, they have some added sugar from the chocolate but (unlike Snickers) these can be made in a way that avoids ultra-processed foods. A+
So glad these stuffed dates are a hit, Summer!! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment + star rating. The reviews are super helpful for other readers, so I appreciate it. <3
I was looking for some date recipes as I’m 37 wks pregnant and wanted to get some of the benefits from dates as I get closer to delivery. And these little bites of deliciousness are sooooo good! They were simple to make and are the perfect little snack/dessert. Hardest part is trying not to eat a bunch at once! Would definitely recommend!
Well, these are certainly delicious, but please do not consider them a health food, or even a healthy alternative to a snickers bar.
The body does not differentiate between ‘natural’ and refined sugars when digesting them – sugar is sugar and it all ends up as glucose in the end. Indeed, dates give you a bit of a head start in this respect, consisting primarily of glucose and fructose which are simple monosaccharide carbohydrates, readily available to the body (dry weight dates are 80% sugar with a roughly 50/50 split between fructose and glucose). For context, the Glycemic Index for dates is 62; pure table sugar is 63. Notwithstanding all the additional sugar in the chocolate coating.
Let’s take a look at the Snickers comparison. The nutritional info above is given for a single date making like for like comparisons difficult, however a medjool date weighs approx. 24g, a snickers 57g. The date includes the stone, which is then removed and replaced with peanut butter and covered in chocolate. Let’s assume that you would get approximately 2 finished date candies to each snickers bar, weight for weight (visually, this looks like an equivalent serving size too). You could of course only eat 1 date, but you could also only eat half a snickers, you will just feel less satiated.
To return to the comparison, each snickers bar comprises 271 calories, 28.8g sugar and 13.6g fat. If you were to consume 2 of these date candies, you would (according to the nutritional data provided) ingest 42g sugar, 12g fat and 294 calories. So you’re taking on quite a lot more sugar, slightly less fat and a slightly more calories with 2 date candies than you are a snickers bar.
Now I’m not preaching, I love these and will eat them again. But not because it’s a healthier snacking option, because they’re delicious. It’s misleading to promote such foodstuffs as ‘healthier’ alternatives to other snacks, and may ultimately encourage increased intake of sugar and calories in the false belief that they’re somehow better for you than something like a Snickers. There is nothing healthy about this recipe.
Hey Gareth – I know these might not seem “healthier” than Snickers when you look at the calories / sugar content, but in this recipe we’re using healthier, all-natural ingredients and only 5 of them. A regular Snickers bar contains artificial flavors, corn syrup, white sugar, palm oil and other ingredients that aren’t the greatest.
And yes, dates do contain natural sugar, but they have a low/medium glycemic index score because they also contain a good amount of fiber, which slows the release of the carbohydrates and gives you sustained energy rather spiking your blood sugar crazy high. They’re also low in fat and packed with nutrients like potassium (50% more potassium by weight than a banana), copper, magnesium, vitamin B6, niacin, calcium, iron and vitamin K.
These have been on my list to make for awhile and finally did so this weekend. Can’t believe I waited so long…they are amazing! Taste just like the snickers eggs but much better for you! I have a feeling these will become a regular treat staple for me!
OMG!!! These are awesome! I have made them numerous times and they completely satisfy my craving for something sweet. Thank you for a great recipe that I will be using forever.
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I’m not going to lie, I kind of side-eyed the recipe description when it was claimed these taste as good as a Snickers bar. I never should have been so skeptical! Dates and peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Warning: very easy to eat too many! They are high in calories so just be mindful of your portions, and it’s quite a tasty treat.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed these, Kenna!! Thanks for giving them a chance and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. The reviews are super helpful to other readers, so I appreciate it. 🙂
These are SO GOOD! My family really liked these. I can always use more high-energy snack ideas now that my teen is home all the time because of the pandemic. I absolutely love these. Yes, they have some added sugar from the chocolate but (unlike Snickers) these can be made in a way that avoids ultra-processed foods. A+
★★★★★
So glad these stuffed dates are a hit, Summer!! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment + star rating. The reviews are super helpful for other readers, so I appreciate it. <3
I was looking for some date recipes as I’m 37 wks pregnant and wanted to get some of the benefits from dates as I get closer to delivery. And these little bites of deliciousness are sooooo good! They were simple to make and are the perfect little snack/dessert. Hardest part is trying not to eat a bunch at once! Would definitely recommend!
★★★★★
Ahh yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Erika. I basically lived on these during my pregnancy. 🙂
Well, these are certainly delicious, but please do not consider them a health food, or even a healthy alternative to a snickers bar.
The body does not differentiate between ‘natural’ and refined sugars when digesting them – sugar is sugar and it all ends up as glucose in the end. Indeed, dates give you a bit of a head start in this respect, consisting primarily of glucose and fructose which are simple monosaccharide carbohydrates, readily available to the body (dry weight dates are 80% sugar with a roughly 50/50 split between fructose and glucose). For context, the Glycemic Index for dates is 62; pure table sugar is 63. Notwithstanding all the additional sugar in the chocolate coating.
Let’s take a look at the Snickers comparison. The nutritional info above is given for a single date making like for like comparisons difficult, however a medjool date weighs approx. 24g, a snickers 57g. The date includes the stone, which is then removed and replaced with peanut butter and covered in chocolate. Let’s assume that you would get approximately 2 finished date candies to each snickers bar, weight for weight (visually, this looks like an equivalent serving size too). You could of course only eat 1 date, but you could also only eat half a snickers, you will just feel less satiated.
To return to the comparison, each snickers bar comprises 271 calories, 28.8g sugar and 13.6g fat. If you were to consume 2 of these date candies, you would (according to the nutritional data provided) ingest 42g sugar, 12g fat and 294 calories. So you’re taking on quite a lot more sugar, slightly less fat and a slightly more calories with 2 date candies than you are a snickers bar.
Now I’m not preaching, I love these and will eat them again. But not because it’s a healthier snacking option, because they’re delicious. It’s misleading to promote such foodstuffs as ‘healthier’ alternatives to other snacks, and may ultimately encourage increased intake of sugar and calories in the false belief that they’re somehow better for you than something like a Snickers. There is nothing healthy about this recipe.
Hey Gareth – I know these might not seem “healthier” than Snickers when you look at the calories / sugar content, but in this recipe we’re using healthier, all-natural ingredients and only 5 of them. A regular Snickers bar contains artificial flavors, corn syrup, white sugar, palm oil and other ingredients that aren’t the greatest.
And yes, dates do contain natural sugar, but they have a low/medium glycemic index score because they also contain a good amount of fiber, which slows the release of the carbohydrates and gives you sustained energy rather spiking your blood sugar crazy high. They’re also low in fat and packed with nutrients like potassium (50% more potassium by weight than a banana), copper, magnesium, vitamin B6, niacin, calcium, iron and vitamin K.
This is easy to make and very good!!!!
★★★★★
These stuffed date snickers are so yummy! The perfect snack for a sweet tooth without all of the added sugars!
★★★★★
Yay!! I’m so glad you’re loving these stuffed dates, Claire. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, I so appreciate it!
These are delicious! Far better then an actual snickers bar!
★★★★★
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that. 🙂 Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Kacee. I so appreciate it! <3
These have been on my list to make for awhile and finally did so this weekend. Can’t believe I waited so long…they are amazing! Taste just like the snickers eggs but much better for you! I have a feeling these will become a regular treat staple for me!
★★★★★
If I could give these 20 stars I would! Amazing! Thanks Brittany for another great recipe.
★★★★★
Oh my goodness, yay!! I’m so glad you loved them.
OMG!!! These are awesome! I have made them numerous times and they completely satisfy my craving for something sweet. Thank you for a great recipe that I will be using forever.
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