If you’re looking for an easy, no bake treat that’s ready in just about 15-20 minutes, then I’ve got the perfect one for you. Meet my crispy toasted quinoa chocolate peanut butter truffles made with only 7 ingredients!
If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself obsessing over the crispy, crunchy texture of these truffles and how they resemble the taste of peanut butter cup. Plus it doesn’t hurt that they’re both vegan, gluten free, grain free and naturally packed with protein.
What makes these peanut butter truffles healthier?
Traditional peanut butter truffles usually call for powdered sugar, butter and sometimes shortening. These quinoa peanut butter truffles are naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup and just have a bit of coconut oil.
So easy and packed with delicious protein you can feel good about!
Ingredients in this quinoa peanut butter truffles
These delicious truffles are made with super simple ingredients you might already have on-hand. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Quinoa: the toasted quinoa makes these truffles truly magical. They’ll taste like a crispy Reese’s cup!
- Coconut oil: you’ll just need a bit of coconut oil to help toast the quinoa.
- Maple syrup: we’re adding a little maple syrup to the toasted quinoa (yum) and to the truffle filling.
- Peanut butter: use an all natural, drippy peanut butter for this recipe.
- Vanilla: for a boost of delicious flavor.
- Oat flour: you’ll also need some oat flour to help bind the truffles and keep them gluten free. Feel free to sub almond flour or even a little bit of coconut flour (although I wouldn’t use as much coconut flour)
- Dark chocolate: I like to use an 3.5 oz dark chocolate bar, but feel free to use dark chocolate chips or your fav chocolate. Go for a dairy free chocolate to keep these vegan!
- Sea salt: optional, but I love sprinkling a little coarse sea salt on top. YUM.
How to toast quinoa
Toasted quinoa might just be my new favorite thing, and it’s super easy to make:
- Add uncooked quinoa to a skillet over medium low heat with a little coconut oil.
- Toast the quinoa for about 5 minutes or until it starts to pop and turn just a slightly golden brown; be sure to stir frequently.
- Once it’s toasted, turn off the heat, immediately add in 1 teaspoon of pure maple syrup, and stir for 30 more seconds.
- Finally, remove quinoa from heat and transfer to wax or parchment paper and spread in an even layer to cool slightly.
The toasted quinoa is mixed with the peanut butter to create the best crunch EVER, then of course they’re covered in antioxidant-rich dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt. It’s as if I made a healthy & crispy Reese’s Egg.
CAN I GET A HELL YES?!
Make your own oat flour
Don’t have oat flour on hand? No problem! Simply place rolled oats (gluten free if desired) into a blender and blend or pulse until they’re smooth and resemble flour. This is a super easy & affordable option. Check out my tutorial with all of my best tips & tricks. So easy!
You’ll only need a couple of tablespoons in these truffles, so feel free to use extra oat flour in any of my delicious oat flour recipes!
Easy ingredient swaps
- Try them with regular butter. Instead of coconut oil, you can also toast the quinoa in a bit of butter or vegan butter.
- Swap your nut butter. Try these truffles with flavored peanut butter or another nut butter! I think a chocolate peanut butter or chocolate almond butter would be delicious.
- Easily change the flour. Feel free to swap the oat flour with almond flour or coconut flour (I’d maybe use less coconut flour.)
- Chocolate party. These peanut butter quinoa truffles would be delicious with different chocolate flavors, too! Try out a sea salt chocolate or even a caramel flavor. Remember to use a vegan & dairy free chocolate to keep them vegan.
Tips for making a chocolate coating
It can be tricky to make these quinoa peanut butter truffles look nice when dunking them in melted chocolate, but I have the best tips for doing so!
- Instead of using your hands, place a fork under each truffle and gently place the truffle in the melted chocolate.
- Have a spoon with you as well so that you can spoon chocolate over the truffle.
- Lift the truffle up and tap the fork against the top of the saucepan then transfer to a baking sheet and slide the fork out. Done!
How to store & freeze
In the fridge: feel free to keep these quinoa peanut butter truffles in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
In the freezer: these truffles will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat one, let it soften just a bit at room temp and enjoy!
More no bake treats to try
Salted Dark Chocolate Pistachio Quinoa Crunch Bars
Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Vegan No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
Homemade Healthy Peanut Butter Cups
I hope you love these crispy toasted quinoa chocolate peanut butter truffles! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Crispy Toasted Quinoa Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup all natural drippy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons gluten free oat flour
- 3.5 ounces of 72% or higher dark chocolate (I used an 85% bar)
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Add 1 teaspoon coconut oil to a skillet and place over medium low heat. Once coconut oil melts, add in quinoa and toast for approximately 5 minutes or until the quinoa begins to pop and turn just a slightly golden brown; be sure to stir frequently. Once quinoa is toasted, turn off the heat and immediately add in 1 teaspoon of pure maple syrup; stir for 30 more seconds, then remove quinoa from heat and transfer to wax or parchment paper and spread in an even layer to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, stir together peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract until well combined. Add in oat flour and stir to combine. Fold in toasted quinoa. The dough should be soft.
- Roll dough into 9 balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- After peanut butter balls have been frozen and are ready to be coated: melt dark chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat. Alternatively you can melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring at each interval until chocolate is melted. Once chocolate is melted, transfer to a small bowl. Dip each ball in chocolate until it is fully coated. Tip: Place a fork under each truffle and gently place the truffle in the melted chocolate. I always have a spoon with me as well to ensure that I can spoon chocolate over the truffle. Lift the truffle up and tap the fork against the top of the saucepan then transfer to a baking sheet and slide fork out. It sounds easy, but it can be difficult to get truffles to be pretty looking.
- Sprinkle truffles with coarse sea salt then place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes or until the chocolate hardens. Makes 9 truffles. Feel free to double the recipe if you are making it for a party.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by:Â Eat Love Eats
This dessert is awesome and easy to make. I will be making this often for gatherings as well as for gifts.
So happy to hear that!
This recipe came into my email inbox this morning, and I had everything on hand already to make it! Don’t you just love when that happens? It was a perfect activity to do to avoid doing my leg workout. 😂 Instead of nine large balls, I actually made super tiny ones (I used the smallest cookie scoop they make) so it made 50. I already had crispy quinoa so I didn’t even have to make my own. I ended up using 6 tablespoons because I didn’t know how much a quarter cup uncooked quinoa makes once it is puffed. I used Ghirardelli Couverture 72% chocolate for coating. I substituted quinoa flour for the oat flour since I didn’t want to take the time to make oat flour with my oats.
These are the perfect 28 calorie treat (according to ChatGPT when I plugged in all the ingredients and divided by 50) when you just need that little something.
Thank you for this recipe. It is absolutely delicious and the crispy quinoa truly is the magic ingredient! (I gave one to my daughter and she got the biggest goosebumps that wouldn’t go away!)
Thanks again! This is going in my clean treats recipe book!!
Correction, I used GUITTARD Couverture 72% chocolate.
Amazing!! Love when that happens 🙂 Glad these were a hit!
The flavor was super good, but it was difficult to form the balls because the dough was very soft and sticky. I had to put the dough in the freezer before forming the balls. Then, when I covered them in chocolate, they deformed with the heat. The chocolate then solidified, but the inside remained super soft. I watched a Hannah McNeely video, and she had no problem forming the balls. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe step by step. Can you help me?
Hi Gloria! If your dough is too soft and sticky, add 1-2 tbsp more oat flour and try rolling again. The chocolate when melted shouldn’t be that hot so I would wait about 5 minutes before covering the balls then pop them right into the freezer for about 5 minutes before going into the fridge. That should help 🙂
Amazing treat! I did mine pb cup style in mini-cupcake liners. A little chocolate, then pressed the pb mixture in, then another layer of chocolate. They were a big hit – thank you!
YUM that sounds amazing!!
Do these have to be refrigerated? Or could they be left at room temp?
I’d recommend storing them in the fridge!
Honestly this is the perfect dessert to help me keep focused on eating healthy. The only substitute I make is using using protein powder in place of flour.
Absolutely! Great idea to boost the protein.
I am allergic to oats so I made with almond flour. I made the first batch and my two daughters came home from college and took them all back with them! These were a huge hit!! Plan on making again now that they are home from school.
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
Can quinoa be replaced with anything? I’d love to make these but oddly have a quinoa sensitivity. TY!
Try these cookie dough bites and use peanut butter instead of tahini!
Thanks Monique, these truffles are the best. I used chunky chilli peanut butter, chilli honey instead of maple syrup and almond flour instead of oat flour. Will definitely be making them again. They are so good
Perfect! Glad you loved them!
Thanks Monique, these are the best. I used chunky chilli peanut butter, chilli honey instead maple syrup and almond flour instead of oat flour as that’s what I had in the kitchen.
So good. Will definitely be making these again
Super yummy. Love all of your recipes. Thank you for sharing your gifts and talents with the world.
Mary Helen
Absolutely! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Hi there! If I wanted to make these more of a snack and less of a treat could I omit the chocolate coating and perhaps stir in a smaller quantity of chocolate chips like you would in an energy bite? Thanks! These look so good and like they could be a really nice snack!
Yes, that should work perfectly!
These are amazing. I made them as a Christmas treat for myself since they are GF and DF. I didn’t even want to share them because they were so good!
I rolled them a little smaller and was able to get 16. I also used 1T of Screwball (peanut butter whiskey) in place of the vanilla. They’re perfect right out of the refrigerator or freezer depending on your preference of texture.
Thank you for this new addition to my holiday favorites
Ah THIS!!! The screwball is such a brilliant idea, thank you for sharing. So glad you are loving this recipe!
Such an easy simple but delicious recipe. I used 85% dark chocolate as well and I think it’s balanced the sweetness of the the truffle.
So happy to hear that. Easy and delicious 🙌
I only have tri-color quinoa on hand, would this work? Thanks!
Yes definitely! Enjoy!
These are amazing! Followed the recipe exactly, though made 15 smaller balls.
Nice! So glad you loved them 🙂
So good & so easy to make! I love that the quinoa adds a little bit of crunch to the inside