These delicious chocolate covered dates with almond butter are soft, full of good fat and flavour and are a perfect afternoon snack while pregnant or in postpartum.

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I love this treat. It is sweet from the dates with that full, dense texture and flavour from the almond butter and richness and creaminess from the dark chocolate. It is one of those sweet snacks that hits the spot for me every time.

I made this often when I was pregnant with my third baby. When my third baby came along, I hired a postpartum doula named Maria who made these for me, but with chickpea butter. It tasted just as good!

Eating for pregnancy and postpartum is so important for not just your baby, but for you, too. Eating nutrient-dense foods help to stabilise your blood sugar levels, satiate hunger hormones, provide you with macronutrients and micronutrients that you need and provide you with energy.

This snack in particular is a great way to incorporate healthy fat (from the nuts and chocolate) and carbohydrates (from the dates) into your diet (no, carbs are not always bad!).

What I will cover in this post

Tools that you need for chocolate covered dates with almond butter
The Ingredients List
Method
Notes

Tools that you need for the chocolate covered dates with almond butter

Because this is such a simple recipe, you don’t need much. I use a chopping board to cut the dates, a knife to slice them and place the almond butter, a fork to hold the dates while dipping them into the chocolate, some baking paper to place on top of a plate or in a container to store the chocolate covered dates.

These are the tools needed:

Chopping board
Knife
Fork
Saucepan
Baking paper
Container (a bundle of glass containers here).

Ingredients List

There are only four ingredients in this recipe, three if you omit the sea salt.

Medjool dates
Dark chocolate
Almond butter
Sea salt

Method

You want to make sure your dates are good quality medjool dates that are soft and chewy. When they are soft, it is easier to slice into. The same goes for your almond butter: a good quality almond butter will be soft and gooey and easy to assemble into the sliced dates.

For the dark chocolate, I use no less than 70% dark chocolate. It not only has less sugar, but has the depth and richness that compliments the sweetness of the dates.

Once you have sliced the dates in the middle (just enough to fit a slather of almond butter in there), heat a small saucepan over low heat and place your dark chocolate pieces in there. Stir continuously until the chocolate is fully melted.

Then, dip the dates in the melted chocolate until all covered (or as covered as you desire) and transfer the dates onto the baking paper.

You can then refrigerate the dates straight away. After 30 minutes, they will be ready to eat!

On a chopping board, slice the dates down the middle.
Using a knife or spoon, place a dollop of almond butter down the middle of the date.
On low heat, heat up a small saucepan and pop the dark chocolate pieces in the saucepan to melt (stir continuously).
Pop the dates in the melted chocolate until fully covered.
Transfer the chocolate covered dates onto some baking paper on a plate and pop into the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
Serve as a delicious afternoon snack (or any time of the day snack, really!).

Notes

Dates: you want to ensure that you are using medjool dates. I find that medjool dates are a lot softer and malleable than pitted dates. Of course, if you only have pitted dates on hand, then you can still use them for this recipe.

Almond butter: I love almond butter for this recipe. I’m actually allergic to peanuts, which is why you will never find peanuts in my recipes. However, if you prefer peanut butter, then it will still taste delicious. I recommend using a pure almond or peanut butter with no extra oils or sugars.

Dark chocolate: As mentioned before, I love using no less than 70% dark chocolate, for its richness and less sugar content. It complements the sweetness of the dates and tastes so flavoursome together.

Sea salt: You can omit the sea salt if desired. The almond butter adds that savoury taste to the recipe already, but I personally love the combination of sea salt and dark chocolate. I also love sea salt flakes, so you could use that too, if you have that on hand.

When dipping the dates in the melted chocolate, I like to cover the whole date with chocolate, however, if you prefer it less chocolatey, then I would suggest dipping half of the date into the melted chocolate.

This is a wonderful snack for when you are pregnant and in need of a sweet snack without all the sugar. Dates are great for softening the cervix in time for labour, so this is a great way to get your date intake in (suggested dose is about 6 dates a day, which sounds excessive, but if you pair it with good fats like almond butter, it is much better to eat).

It is also an easy snack to have on hand when you are postpartum and in need of a treat, especially if you are breastfeeding and building your milk supply. I remember craving sugary foods in the early days of breastfeeding, mainly because I was burning lots of calories. So this is an ideal snack for those sugar cravings.

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