Homemade chocolate truffles are easy-to-make, bite-sized treats, perfect for fall and winter celebrations.
This recipe is 100% Italian, gluten–free, raw, vegan, and delicious. The truffles are sweet, soft, chocolatey, and with a bit of crunch.
Check out our best raw vegan recipes collection!
What are chocolate and chestnut truffles?
Chocolate chestnut truffles are a traditional Italian recipe popular in fall and winter.
Chestnuts are very popular in Italy and are used to make sweet and savory dishes, such as roasted chestnuts, chestnut pasta, and chestnut cake.
This recipe uses chestnut flour, hazelnuts, and chocolate spread to make these delicious and irresistible truffles.
This recipe is raw, naturally vegan, and gluten-free. It is still a genuinely indulgent, 100% Italian, delicious dessert recipe everyone will love.
Also, in Italy, we often add liqueur to recipes like this.
I added rum in this recipe, but if you don’t drink alcohol, feel free to leave it out. The truffles will still be delicious.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chestnut flour: You can find chestnut flour in the gluten-free section of your supermarket or in the organic, healthy section.
Sometimes, you can find it next to chestnuts. It is generally sold during the fall and winter seasons. - Hazelnut chocolate spread: This would be similar to Nutella, but it is best if it is vegan and without palm oil. There are many options these days. If you want to make it yourself at home, we have a recipe for hazelnut chocolate spread.
- Hazelnuts: peeled and toasted.
- Sugar: You can use any sugar for this recipe. However, I like to use unrefined cane sugar because the sugar crystals are coarser than regular white sugar, which adds a slight crunch to the truffles.
- Coffee: We recommend Italian coffee made with a Moka, but you can use any espresso or black coffee.
- Soy milk: or other plant milk like oats, almonds, etc.
- Rum: I like adding a little rum to this recipe, but feel free to leave it out.
- Unsweetened cacao powder and shredded coconut: I use those two ingredients to coat the truffles, but you can also use just one.
Equipment
To blend the hazelnuts into coarse flour, you’ll need a blender. Any blender will do; it doesn’t have to be particularly powerful.
How to make chestnuts truffles
Blend the hazelnuts in a blender for a few seconds. It would be best if you got a coarse hazelnut powder.
Add the hazelnut powder to a bowl, then sift in the chestnut flour.
Mix with a spoon, then add sugar, coffee, soy milk, hazelnut chocolate spread, and rum (optional).
With a silicone spatula, or with a spoon, mix the ingredients together. You can also mix with your hands to be faster.
Mix until you get a compact, slightly sticky dough. This should take a couple of minutes.
Divide the dough into small pieces of about 22 grams each. I like to use a scale here.
That is the best weight to make these truffles bite-size. You should be able to get about 25 pieces.
Shape the dough pieces into smooth balls with the palms of your hands.
Add the cacao powder to a small plate, and the shredded coconut to another small plate. Roll each ball into either the cacao powder or the shredded coconut.
Set aside on a serving plate and serve. If you don’t serve them immediately, you can put them in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days.
Storage
Store these homemade chocolate hazelnut truffles in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
It is best to store them without coating them with cacao powder or coconut and then coat them at the last minute before eating them.
Dinner ideas
Pasta with chestnut pesto and mushrooms as a main dish.
Kale chips in the oven with lemon and garlic dressing as a side dish.
Castagnaccio – Italian chestnut flour cake
For many more easy dessert ideas, check out our desserts category page.
Chocolate chestnut truffles
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups chestnut flour
- 5 ounces hazelnut chocolate spread dairy-free/vegan
- ¾ cup hazelnuts toasted
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- ⅓ cup coffee best if espresso
- 2 tablespoons soy milk
- 1 – 2 tablespoons rum optional
For coating the truffles
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
Instructions
- Blend the hazelnuts in a blender for a few seconds. You should get a coarse hazelnut powder.
- Add the hazelnut powder to a bowl, then sift in the chestnut flour.
- Mix with a spoon, then add sugar, coffee, soy milk, hazelnut chocolate spread, and rum (optional).
- With a silicone spatula, or with a spoon, mix the ingredients together. You can also mix with your hands to be faster.
- Mix till you get a compact dough, that is a little sticky. It should take a couple of minutes.
- Divide the dough into small pieces of about 22 grams each. I like to use a scale here. That is the best weight to make these truffles bite-size. You should be able to get about 25 pieces.
- With the palms of your hands, shape the dough pieces into smooth balls.
- On a small plate add the cacao powder, on another small plate add the shredded coconut. Roll each ball into either the cacao powder or the shredded coconut.
- Set aside on a serving plate and serve. If you don't serve them immediately you can put them in the refrigerator for up to 3 – 4 days.
I think these would make a wonderful Christmas gift. I’m wondering why they would only keep for 4 days…the ingredients would make me think they could keep a bit longer in the fridge…? Do you think they could be kept in freezer?
Hi there, thank you for commenting! The truffle balls would definitely make a cute gift idea.
We have never tried freezing them, but my guess is that it’s possible. If you try freezing them, make sure to pop the truffles into a zip-top bag and then store that bag inside an airtight container, this should keep the flavor of the chocolate for longer. Although I’d highly recommend testing one of them (thawed) before gifting them, just to ensure quality and flavor 🙂
Regarding storage in the fridge, they will keep their flavor for up to a week. I hope this helps, let us know if you have any other questions.
Kindest, Louise