Chocolate Protein Bites

Chocolate protein bites are full of protein from black beans! A snack that helps with energy, weightloss, even for restoring muscle. This recipe is free of dairy, gluten, and refined or processed sweeteners.

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Chocolate Protein Bites

These chocolate protein bites are easy to make, only 3 ingredients. And dairy free as well as gluten free.

I love protein bites made with beans. Especially chocolate.

The benefits are immediately apparent both during and after my workout and day! I have been spinning this past year and it takes a lot of energy. And these workout snacks are easy to make and full of energizing ingredients.

You might have noticed my strawberry flavored Energy Snack.

Well, I thought, why not use beans in chocolate for either a pre-work out snack or post-workout. And that’s how I came up with the recipe. Because, well, chocolate.

How Healthy are Beans in Workout Snacks?

Beans are really the perfect energizing snack, full of protein, fiber and a slew of other nutritional benefits. These include:
1. potassium and iron, good for shiny hair among other effects;
2. thiamine for a boost to your cognitive abilities;
3. heart-supporting folate and magnesium, and
4. copper to fight inflammation and antioxidants galore!

And chocolate, raw cacao, is also full of antioxidants, and mood-boosting magnesium.

How Are These Chocolate Protein Workout Snacks Made?

Easy! Just blend up ingredients, pour into molds or mini cupcake papers and freeze.

These snacks can be made with either date paste and maple syrup as the sweetener. I found maple syrup to sweeten the flavor a bit more than dates, so if you don’t have dates or paste around, you can use maple syrup instead but reduce by half.

Try to find dates for this snack, though. The reason is with only 3 ingredients, you want each ingredient to contribute heavily to the nutrition of the recipe. While maple syrup certainly isn’t as harmful as refined sugar, it doesn’t have the considerable fiber and iron of dates.

I like to make date paste and store it in the freezer so I always have some one hand. My homemade date paste recipe is coming HERE!!.

What Substitutions Can Be Made With The Ingredients

There are a few.

If you don’t have date paste, or dates to make date paste, use maple syrup instead. I give portions in the recipe below.

You can use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of cacao powder. Cacao powder is raw and a bit more nutritious. Unsweetened cocoa powder is more processed. You can also replace cocoa powder with chocolate protein for a higher level of protein.

And you can use either black or white beans.

Tips to Making These Chocolate Protein Snacks

They really taste best with date paste. And date paste is easy to make. I have a recipe here, but all you do is buy fresh Medjool dates. I find mind in the produce section of supermarkets, usually in a plastic case. Soak them in water overnight, pit them, and blend with water into a paste. Refrigerate that paste for recipes like this or to use a sweetener for other recipes and smoothies.

Dates add a ton more nutrition and fiber then other sweeteners.
I hope you love the easy protein recipe!

Here are My Reader Favorite Chocolate Recipes

• Vegan Cookie Dough
• Crunch Bars
• Chocolate Chickpea Clusters
• 2-Ingredient Fudge

And Try More of My Protein Snacks

• Chocolate Protein Workout Snacks
• Strawberry Protein Energy Snack
• Cantaloupe Carrot Protein Bites
• Dragon Fruit Protein Bites
• Protein Bite Blueberry Recipe
• Tropical Protein Cauliflower Snacks
• Cashew Spirulina Protein Snack
• Butterfly Pea Flower Protein Bites

Enjoy your workout! Interested in sharing on pinterest? Perhaps use this image…

or

So, I hope you enjoy my new bean experiment and may your workout be wildly successful!
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Chocolate Protein Bites

Pop in the mouth chocolate protein bites that is full of protein of black beans! A terrific energizing snack that is free of dairy, gluten, and refined or processed sweeteners.

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Course: Snack

Cuisine: vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

Keyword: 3-ingredients, black beans, chocolate, chocolate protein snack, white beans, workout snacks

Does it keep?: freezer-friendly

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Servings: 12

Calories: 54kcal

Author: Dee Dine

Ingredients

• 1 can (15oz/425gms) beans (organic & precooked, black or white - I have used Eden and Whole Foods 365 brand)
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 3 tbsp date paste (or 2 tbsp maple syrup)

Useful Equipment

• Heart mold

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make chocolate protein bites

• Rinse the beans, blend them with the other ingredients, and and taste test. If you'd like them sweeter, add a bit more date paste or maple syrup.

  Pour mixture into molds or mini cupcake papercups.
• Freeze for an hour (or longer depending on your freezer temperature) and then unmold and store in an air tight container! Keep frozen until ready to eat.
• Made in small molds, I can pop them in my mouth straight from the freezer and they melt in my mouth like little pieces of fudge.
• Made in paper mini-cups, the bite is bigger so you might want to let it thaw 10 minutes or so before eating, then it's fudgy and you can bite it..

Nutrition

Calories: 54kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Dee Dine

Dee Dine is founder of Green Smoothie Gourmet, a plant based  recipe blog, and author of the recent cookbook, Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients . On this blog you’ll find incredibly easy recipes with hidden veggies for anyone wanting to eat healthier, regardless of diet. Dee has graduate degrees in biology, immunology and  journalism. More about Dee Dine here.