Stuffed Dates Recipe: How to Make Vegan Snickers

If you loved Snickers candy bars as a child, or even as a grown-up, but are looking for a healthier version, this recipe is for you. These delicious stuffed dates mimic a Snickers candy bar in flavor and texture, but they are made entirely with whole-food, plant-based ingredients—so you can enjoy these snacks without regrets.

This stuffed date recipe is both gluten-free and dairy-free and made with vegan dark chocolate. It's also filled with dietary fiber, which supports digestive health and heart health, and antioxidant compounds.

If you're looking to satisfy a craving, reach for these healthy bars, which make the perfect snack, dessert, and even work as appetizers.

Vegan Snickers recipe

This whole-food treat recipe is easy to make and includes just four ingredients, but one of those is peanuts. If you have a peanut allergy, I recommend substituting sunflower butter for the peanut butter and sunflower seeds for the peanuts. Other options would be almonds, walnuts, pecans or even pistachios.

Makes 6 servings (2 dates per serving)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 Medjool dates
• ½ cup peanut butter with no added salt, sugar or oils
• ½ cup peanuts, chopped
• 1 cup vegan dark chocolate, melted

Preparation

• Prepare the dates. To pit your dates, carefully slice them halfway through lengthwise and then remove the pit with your fingers. It comes out very easily. Open the two sides wide like a book to create a cavity for stuffing. For faster preparation, buy the dates pitted and just open them to prepare for easy stuffing.
• Chop the peanuts. Spill the whole peanuts (or almonds or other nut of choice) onto a cutting board or flat surface appropriate for cutting. With a sharp knife, carefully chop the nuts into smaller pieces that will be easy to sprinkle and for stuffing the dates. Alternately, put the nuts in a food chopper and pulse 2-3 times to quickly chop small. If choosing this method, be sure to not over process or turn the nuts into dust.
• Stuff the Medjool dates. Mix half of the chopped nuts into the peanut butter for more texture and save the rest for topping. With a teaspoon, take the peanut butter and peanut mixture and fill the cavity in the dates. Distribute the mixture evenly between the 12 dates.
• Chill. Place the stuffed dates onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the freezer to set for 15 minutes.
• Melt the chocolate. My favorite method for melting chocolate is in the microwave. (Forget that old-fashioned double boiler and thermometer!) Add the dark chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl and get ready for the quickest melting ever. The microwave makes easy work of tasks like melting. The only caveat is that you must melt in 40 second increments, stirring between each round, until the chocolate is melted and ready to drizzle.
• Chocolate bath. Now that the stuffed dates have set in the fridge, and the chocolate is melted, it's time to make magic. Simply take two forks to grab the dates and submerge them in the melty, chocolatey goodness. Give them a roll in the chocolate bath, then place them one by one onto the paper-lined baking sheet. Before they have a chance to cool, sprinkle the tops with some of the chopped nuts.
• Chill until set. Once all of the dates are stuffed, rolled in chocolate and garnished with peanuts, you are ready to put them back in the refrigerator. Let them set in the fridge for as long as you can stand before eating them. I recommend at least an hour, but can you resist?

Nutrition

Calories: 465
Carbohydrates: 64 g
Protein: 12 g
Fat: 23 g
Saturated Fat: 8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g
Sodium: 119 mg
Potassium: 568 mg
Fiber: 8 g
Sugar: 48 g
Vitamin A: 72 IU (22 mcg)
Calcium: 90 mg
Iron: 3 mg

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes.

Tips for success

These gluten-free, vegan stuffed dates are one of the easiest appetizers you will ever make. However, there are a few essential tips that will make or break this recipe.

Choose Medjool dates

Other dates are delicious and nutritious, but Medjool dates are the best for this appetizer because they taste exactly like caramel. They are dark in color and have a deep, rich and sweet flavor. Dates are high in fiber and antioxidants, are a good source of potassium, and are naturally sweet, which makes them a beloved ingredient for healthy recipes. Also, they are easily pitted to leave a good-size cavity for stuffing, and their texture when cold is not unlike Snickers nougat.

Buy natural peanut butter

Peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in sweet tooth heaven, and peanut butter is nutritious. It is high in plant-based protein and healthy fats. But not all peanut butter (or almond butter if you don't consume peanuts) is created equal. Be sure to read the label and buy one with only one ingredient: peanuts. Many peanut butters contain ungodly amounts of added sugars and salt, and some even contain unhealthy oils. Choose wisely and this will be a healthy treat.

Don't skimp on the nuts

Chopped peanuts give this snack a crunchy and satisfying texture. Use roasted and unsalted peanuts for the healthiest version. Remember, if you want to avoid a peanut allergy, use unsalted sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, pecans or pistachios instead.

Use dark chocolate

Dark chocolate is delicious and good for you, too. For this vegan appetizer, we use vegan chocolate chips that are milk-free. But as with peanut butter, not all chocolate chips are created equally. Be sure to read the label and avoid unhealthy additives.

Be careful not to burn it

Chocolate will burn very quickly if it is not melted properly. That's why it is necessary to microwave it carefully for 40 seconds at a time, and it is imperative to stir it between each round. For this recipe, to keep it as healthy as possible, I used the chocolate without adding any oils that would help make the melting process quicker and easier. You can add 1 tbsp of coconut oil to the chocolate to help it melt faster and to prevent burning.

Plan for easy cleanup

Cleanup from this recipe can be quite tricky if you have dripped chocolate all over the counters or floors. I recommend putting some parchment paper on the counter under your workspace to prevent the dreaded, hard to scrape off chocolate drizzle. Also be sure to put the dirty bowl from the chocolate under hot water immediately to rinse away the excess before it hardens and is much more difficult to wash.

Do vegan Snickers taste like the real thing?

Vegan Snickers are deceptively decadent and delicious. That poses a reasonable question: Do they taste the same as real Snickers? Well, that depends on whom you ask. Someone who eats Snickers every day would probably say no. But a person who seldom eats candy or sweet treats likely will say these appetizers taste a lot like the real thing, or maybe better.

They have the essence of Snickers but are missing the caramel and nougat part. The high fiber dates are a substitute for both the caramel and nougat. A health food lover like me prefers this version, as the original candy bar is much too sweet for my taste buds and lacks nutritional value. This is sweet, too, but not the kind of sweet that hurts your teeth! Plus there is much healthier nutrition in the dates than in a candy bar.

Are dates good for you?

Dates are high in beneficial dietary fiber and antioxidants, and they are delicious. Adding dates to your diet supports healthy digestion and regularity, heart health, brain health and more. Just remember, dates are healthy, but they contain a lot of natural sugars and calories, so you don't want to eat too many.

The benefit of consuming nutritional fiber, as found in fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains, has been well-documented. But fiber's support for digestive health is just the beginning. It also helps to maintain already-healthy cholesterol levels and blood-sugar levels, promotes heart health, and more. So keep looking for opportunities to add fiber to your diet in delicious ways.

References

• "Dates, medjool." U.S. Department of Agriculture. April 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168191/nutrients
• "Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet." Mayo Clinic. November 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fiber/art-20043983
• "The Sweet Health Benefits of Dates." Cleveland Clinic. June 2023. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-dates