Making vegan chocolates at home is much easier than it looks. None of the three recipes below need an oven or years of pastry experience. What you do need is a little patience for tempering chocolate and good base ingredients. The result: little treats that look like and taste like they came from a fancy shop, but come together in your own kitchen in minutes.
Here are my three favourite recipes for homemade vegan chocolates without refined sugar, with ingredients like nut butter, dates, maple syrup, matcha, and chocolate. All three keep well in the fridge for at least a week, make a lovely gift in a pretty jar, and you don’t need any fancy pastry equipment.
What you need for vegan chocolates
Tempering chocolate is the key step for that classic chocolate-shop look: glossy, snappy, not grey and soft. The easiest method at home is the seeding method: melt in a water bath, then bring the temperature back down by stirring in unmelted chocolate. You’ll need a melting pot, or the quick DIY version. A thermometer helps too, but you can manage without one if needed. Tempering sounds more complicated than it is, I’ll walk you through it step by step in each of the three recipes.
Good base ingredients: with so few ingredients, every single one matters. For vegan chocolates, I like to use Vego Melts or iChoc White Vanilla best. But dark chocolate from 60% upwards is almost always vegan too, so that works well. For almond or peanut butter, I prefer natural nut butters without added sugar.
All three vegan chocolate recipes here come together completely without an oven, which also makes them perfect for summer or spontaneous gifts.
Date Energy Balls with or without Chocolate Coating
The caramel-sweet, protein-rich variation, completely without added sugar: the natural sweetness comes entirely from the dates. With almonds, oats, and cocoa powder, optionally with a tempered chocolate coating for that classic chocolate-shop look. A satisfying snack on the go or as a gift in a jar.
Get the recipe: Date Energy Balls
Crispy Matcha Pralines
The elegant, vibrant green variation with matcha chocolate and a crispy crunch. A real eye-catcher on any dessert table, and these vegan chocolates have a pleasantly bittersweet flavour from the matcha. Perfect if you’re looking for something special for a celebration or as a gift.
Get the recipe: Crispy Matcha Pralines
Almond Butter Cups or Peanut Butter Cups with Fleur de Sel
The nutty-salty variation that tastes like Snickers or salted caramel chocolates. Almond butter, maple syrup and a pinch of fleur de sel, wrapped in tempered chocolate. My boyfriend says this is his favourite recipe of all of them.
Get the recipe: Nut Butter Cups with Fleur de Sel
Looking for more gift ideas? Check out my post with vegan gifts for more inspiration to make yourself or buy.
