Charoset Recipe Sephardic Style

This recipe is part of our Vegan Passover Seder Menu. Get the free ebook!

These Sephardic Charoset Bites are not just a Passover charoset recipe. You can make and enjoy these sugar-free, vegan, and gluten-free date and nut bites all year long. As children growing up in a Jewish household, we begged for charoset year round! Bursting with energy, this is a powerful protein snack perfect to eat after a workout or after a long, busy day when you need a pick-me-up.

You will love our delicious vegan and Kosher for Passover Sephardic charoset recipe!  It is nutty, sweet, and is actually super easy to make, which is helpful. No more babysitting a pan on the stove! As a result, this recipe will become a welcome addition to your Passover Seder from our Jewish kitchen.

What is Charoset?

Charoset (pronounced har-o-set) is a traditional Jewish food that is eaten during the Passover Seder. It is a sweet and very tasty symbolic Passover food. The word itself means "clay" and the food represents the mortar used by the Israelites to make bricks in Egypt.

There are many different charoset recipes depending on the Jewish family's origin. Most Ashkenazi Charoset recipes are made with apples, sweet red wine, and nuts. Our charoset recipe is made with dates, raisins, nuts, and spices and has Sephardic influences. Our Sephardic grandmother taught us how to make Charoset, and it has been a family staple in our homes as long as we can remember. You can make a Charoset recipe without wine by using grape juice instead, as we have done in this recipe.

Charoset Ingredients

• Medjool Dates: Pitted and cut in half lengthwise, if you are using smaller date, just use more.
• Grape Juice: we used it instead of sweet wine, but feel free to use wine if you prefer.
• Raisins: They add sweetness and a slight balancing tartness.
• Cinnamon. This spice is used in Moroccan charoset variations and we really liked it!
• Toasted Hazelnuts and walnuts: add texture and flavor to our charoset recipe.
• Almond Flour: Add flavor and binds all the charoset bites ingredients together.

How to Make Charoset

The charoset recipe we use every Passover comes from our great grandmother and it takes many hours cooking on the stove to be ready. If anyone is interested we can pass along the recipe as well. However, we decided to make a simplified version of our great-grandmother's recipe.

We've taken the same flavors of our traditional recipe and added some cinnamon influenced by the Moroccan charoset recipe that we tasted at our friend's house, and made charoset that is ready quickly.

Here's how the recipe comes together. First, you will soak the dates in warmed grape juice for fifteen minutes. This allows the grape flavor to soak into the dates, rehydrating them and plumping up the dates. Next, combine the dates, remaining grape juice, raisins, and cinnamon in the food processor. Pulse the resulting mixture until these classic charoset ingredients are fully pureed.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the puree with the roughly chopped hazelnuts, roughly chopped walnuts, and almond meal. Mix this really well so that all of the ingredients are evenly mixed. Add more almond flour as needed so that you can form it into balls. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

How to Serve This Charoset Recipe

In addition to eating charoset for Passover, you can also serve it with lettuce or carrots or spread it on matza as a special treat.

If you have leftover Charoset, you could cut the bites up, and use them as a sweet element in a leafy green salad with balsamic vinaigrette or a fruity vinaigrette. These soft charoset bites could also be smashed into the bottom of a pan to form a sugar-free pie.

How to Store Charoset

Keep your prepared charoset bites in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. Keep them in a container for which you have a tight lid. Keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or freeze for up to 3 months. Frozen Charoset bites are a great Passover snack.

More Passover Recipes

Be sure to check out our very popular round-up of vegetarian Passover recipes: 63 Amazing Vegetarian Passover Recipes You'll Want to Make All-Year-Round. and our round-up of all Vegan Passover Recipes

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