A peek inside this post: Looking for a great lara ball recipe? You’ve got to try this chocolate lara ball! If you’re anything like me, you’ll fight over them with your kids! Seriously, so good! You’re probably wondering, “what do you put in lara balls that make them taste so good?”. Well, what if I told you they only have 5 ingredients… and you can pronounce them all!?
We have three growing boys who eat like they are getting paid for it. Our youngest son loves to eat so much that we sometimes have to tell him “you’re gonna be full after that.” Not because we are trying to be mean or watch his weight but because he gets stomach trouble after eating too much at one time (even with his “special diet” and taking enzymes when he eats).
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to make to feed the crew.
Over the years we have tried lots of recipes, several of which were complete flops. Today, I thought I would share my favorite “go to” snack that we make often: Chocolate Lara Balls!
Our kids love lara balls. They eat them sometimes for breakfast, put them in their lunches, for snacks, and sometimes as a dessert. You’ll want to, too after trying one!
Is it Cheaper to Make Your Own Larabars?
Lara bars are awesome and I love the simple ingredients but let’s be honest, they can get pricey when there is not a big sale. Some of our favorite flavors are apple pie, blueberry muffin, key lime pie, chocolate chip cookie dough, and coconut cream.
A couple years ago we figured out that we could make just about any lara bar flavor and that it was super convenient to have them shaped in the little balls to grab and go. And yes, they’re much cheaper homemade, just like most things.
>>> Read How to Stretch Meals and Snacks for more ideas!
What Do You Put in Lara Balls?
There are several lara ball recipes out there on the internet. What would we do without the internet these days? One of the favorites we make every week is a simple chocolate lara ball. They are filled with great protein and several minerals that are important to the body.
The ingredients for our favorite lara ball are nuts, dates, sea salt, cacao powder, and vanilla.
Very simple.
Nuts
We usually use a mix of nuts, with the majority of them being walnuts. Nuts are an excellent source of minerals that many of us aren’t getting enough of.
We have had one of our sons’ hair tested and he was low on several natural minerals. This boy eats salads every day and doesn’t get a lot of “junk food.” If he is lacking essential minerals, I can only imagine what’s going on in my body!
Our favorite nuts to use are walnuts, pecans, and almonds. We use a combination of those three in almost every lara bar/ball recipe. Calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, selenium, and some B vitamins are a few of the minerals packed into these nuts.
It seems like everybody has their opinions, and some stick with one brand or say they will only eat organic. We buy organic when possible but for us we figured out that the Aldi brand of nuts is best for our budget and that works well for us.
Dates
Dates are an excellent source of fiber as well as some other essential minerals (selenium, copper, potassium, magnesium, and manganese).
We get our dates at Aldi as well. They run about $5 for a tub.
Cacao Powder
For years we used cocoa powder, which we enjoyed, but we recently discovered cacao powder. Cacao is a superfood that is also jam packed with great nutrients and antioxidants that can be lost in the cocoa powder when it gets roasted.
From my understanding, cocoa powder is cacao powder that has been processed and heated. After learning that, we made the simple change to cacao powder.
We use the LIVfit organic cacao powder just because I saw it at our Wal-mart the day I really wanted some. Amazon has it for $8.50 and it lasts us quite a while.
Making the Chocolate Lara Ball in 4 Easy Steps
Our recipes are usually a combination of several recipes over the years and I rarely measure things like sea salt. Here is our chocolate lara balls recipe. It’s extremely simple.
Ingredients
● 1.5 cups of nuts (I like 1 cup walnuts and 1⁄2 cup almond/pecan mix)
● Dash of sea salt
● 1 cup of pitted dates
● 1 tsp vanilla
● 1⁄3 cup cacao powder
Directions
1| First, we blend the nuts in our ninja blender until they are fine. Some big chunks are ok. It’s a matter of preference.
2|Then, I pull the pits and tops off the dates. Please note, this is extremely important! If you forget to take your pits out or miss a couple top pieces to those precious dates, you are gonna hear all about it in your blender and your ingredients will be unusable. Who wants to break their teeth on hard date pits? Not me.
3| Toss those pitted dates in the blender with a dash of sea salt, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 1⁄3 cup cacao powder and give that blender a whirl. It should all blend together.
4| Next, we shape them into balls. This is my least favorite part because it is kind of boring and a little messy. It helps to have a great song or an audio book going for me. When the kids are home, it’s great to get them in on it!
That’s it, so simple. We love them.
We have stored them in several different containers over the years but right now we use a large Ball twist off plastic jar. The kids can get it open better than our glass containers and they don’t usually last very long anyway.
Blend the nuts in a food processor or blender until they are fine.
Pull the pits and tops off the dates.
Toss the pitted dates in the blender with sea salt, vanilla, and cacao powder and blend til the dough comes together.
Shape them into balls. They store in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for a few months.
Ingredients
Directions
Blend the nuts in a food processor or blender until they are fine.
Pull the pits and tops off the dates.
Toss the pitted dates in the blender with sea salt, vanilla, and cacao powder and blend til the dough comes together.
Shape them into balls. They store in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for a few months.
What Will You Add to Your Next Lara Ball Recipe?
We have also made several versions that include apples, cinnamon, unsweetened coconut, dairy free chocolate chips, strawberries, and blueberries.
The options are only limited to your taste buds, so see what tastes good to you!
Read Also:
Easy Gluten Free Dairy Free Dinners Change up your rotation of the same meals and give these a try!
10 Healthy Family Habits That Stick Start with one at a time, and build up to the other nine.
Easy Weeknight Crockpot Dinners We all need easier meals for Monday through Friday!
Simple Changes Toward Healthy Homemaking Create a healthier home and family with these easy-to-implement changes.
The Best Ginger Creams Bar Recipe Not so much on the healthy, but very much on the delicious! This old fashioned sheet cake is full of so much goodness!
Delicious Gourmet English Toffee You Can Make Yourself This is a sweet treat you’ll be glad to make and share!