Dark Chocolate Truffles

Jun 1, 2020 -May contain affiliate links

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe· 4.8 from 19 reviews

When you want a chocolate treat but want to keep the calories low, make a batch of these dreamy, creamy dark chocolate truffles. These homemade chocolate truffles will become your go-to 55-calorie guilt-free treat. Trust us, try them, and you will thank us later.

Side view of 2 stacked white bowls filled with chocolate truffles

What are Chocolate Truffles?

Chocolate truffles are traditionally made with chocolate ganache. Chocolate ganache is made by pouring hot heavy whipping cream into chopped chocolate, letting the hot cream melt the chocolate, and then mixing it into a rich melted chocolate sauce. The creamy chocolate mixture is chilled, rolled into balls, and then rolled again in cocoa powder, nuts, cookies, coconut, etc. To make a vegan ganache use coconut milk instead of cream.

What makes truffles so irresistible is their creaminess and intense chocolate flavor. If you are looking for a non-traditional and super decadent chocolate truffle recipe, check out the tahini truffles from our cookbook Tahini and Turmeric, (page 234). You will not be disappointed.

Bird's eye view of chocolate truffles coated with coconut, pistachio, sesame seeds, cocoa powder and beet powder

Tahini Chocolate Truffles from our cookbook Tahini and Turmeric

How Did We Lighten Up Our Dark Chocolate Truffles?

Simple Ingredients for the Best Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate chips or Chopped chocolate- at least 60% cocoa.
Fat-Free Greek yogurt - we swap the traditional ganache made with heavy cream normally used when making chocolate truffles, with Greek yogurt to lighten up the recipe and reduce the calories. We used plain Greek yogurt, but you may use vanilla Greek yogurt if you like your chocolate truffles sweeter. You can also use the full-fat version. Just take into consideration that the calories will change. Are you vegan? Use a dairy-free Greek-style yogurt.
Peanut Butter or almond butter - to add creaminess to the truffles, and because we love combining chocolate and nut butter!
Cocoa powder - to coat the truffles.

Three Bowls containing chocolate chips, Greek yogurt and peanut butter

How to Make Dark Chocolate Truffles

Begin by melting the chocolate and pouring it into a bowl with the Greek yogurt and nut butter.

pouring melted chocolate in a bowl with Greek yogurt and peanut butter

Bird's eye view of melted chocolate, yogurt and peanut butter in a glass bowl

Whisk all the ingredients well and refrigerate until firm.

Bird's eye view of the chocolate mixture for truffles

Using a 2-teaspoon ice cream scoop, form the truffles into balls and roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate until you are ready to serve them.

Bird's eye view of an small ice cream scoop with chocolate and a small dish with cocoa power and a chocolate truffle

Tips and Tricks for Making Gourmet Dark Chocolate Truffles

Use High-Quality Chocolate. Our truffles are truly gourmet - the level of distinction you would find in a fine bakery or candy shop. Don't skimp on the chocolate because the better quality you purchase, the better your truffles will taste.
Chill your truffles for at least a couple of hours so that all of the ingredients can fully meld and deepen together.
Want a more stable truffle to leave out at room temperature? Dip your truffles in a chocolate that will harden on the outside.
Store extras in an airtight container in the refrigerator and keep them for up to one week or freeze them for up to three months.
These gorgeous ruffles make great gifts! Place them in a gifting container tied with a bow.

Variations for Vegan Chocolate Truffles

Add Sprinkles. If you are making these gorgeous truffles for a specific holiday or theme, you can dress them up with sprinkles for the occasion.
Add flavoring. A little peppermint, rum, bourbon, or caramel will change the flavor and provide variety.
Change up the coating. Besides cocoa powder, you may also coat them with roasted nuts such as crushed pecans, pistachios, coconut flakes, or sesame seeds.

What Inspired This Recipe?

We came up with this skinny chocolate truffle recipe in February 2013, to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of our blog. It became one of our most shared and popular recipes on our blog. So much so, that a so-called weight loss celebrity "borrowed" the recipe without permission and put it on her site. Thanks to social media pressure applied by our loyal followers, she gave us credit for the recipe. You can read all about HERE.

More Chocolate Desserts

Did you like these chocolate truffles?

If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.