A delicious and healthy treat. Dried prunes stuffed with almonds and dipped in dark chocolate. A perfect way to satisfy a sweet craving. They are also egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free, so appropriate for almost anyone!

Chocolate covered prunes with almonds on a white plate.

Poor prunes! They really do have a shitty reputation. One of their most amazing health benefits (relieving constipation) is also one of the reasons people cringe at the idea of them. But honestly, everyone poops, and if you can get some help in that department, why the heck wouldn’t you want it!? Prunes elicit such a negative reaction that they are sometimes rebranded as dried plums in marketing strategies. Call them what you want, prunes are actually delicious, healthy and keep much longer than the fresh fruit they derive from. Stuffed with an almond and dipped in chocolate, I would even call them decadent!

This amazing recipe is being brought to you straight from Kalamata, Greece. After church service one day we sat for a Greek coffee and some paximadia with our aunt and uncle, the cantors and some ladies from the church. As we recounted our adventures in olive picking, one of the ladies shared that she and her family had just finished picking chestnuts! I then shared that we had tried chocolate covered chestnuts in the village of Portoria (Go there if you can! It is amazing!). Chocolate covered then led her to share this recipe. She described how she made the chocolate covered prunes with almonds and encouraged us to try them. So, here it is! And boy, am I happy we stayed for coffee that day.

Why I love this recipe

Food is always wrapped in memories, and every time I make these chocolate covered prunes with almonds I remember sitting with my aunt and uncle and their friends after church service with Helen and my husband. It was a beautiful morning and being in my uncle’s church always warms my heart and soul. The mood was relaxed, friendly and joyful, and when talk turned to food, well, you know that things got even better!

This recipe is so simple to make, and you can easily adjust it to make more or fewer chocolate covered prunes with almonds. I love that they keep well and long stored in the refrigerator, or even longer in the freezer. That way, you can make a big batch and have them available whenever you crave something sweet.

These chocolate covered prunes with almonds are vegan! So long as you use dairy-free chocolate, then these are perfect for anyone who is vegan, gluten-free and also, they are perfect for periods of Orthodox Lent when many faithful eat nistisima or lenten foods.

Ingredients

Prunes I use already pitted dried prunes to make these delicious treats. This makes the job so much easier!

Almonds I use whole, unpeeled almonds that are unsalted and either raw or toasted.

Dark chocolate I usually use dark chocolate chips to coat the prunes. The bitterness from the chocolate combined with the sweetness of the prunes is 100% delicious. I like to keep this recipe lenten (vegan) so I use dairy-free chocolate.

Avocado oil A bit of avocado oil mixed in with the chocolate helps it to melt evenly and smoothly.

How to make them

The hardest part of making these one or two bite treats is pitting the prunes. Solution?! Buy already pitted prunes and you are in business! Here are the simple steps you need to follow to make these chocolate covered prunes with almonds.

Step 1
You want to peel your almonds. The easiest way to do this is to boil them for about 5 minutes and then rinse them under cold water. The peels should slip off pretty easily by hand.

Step 2
Next you want to toast your almonds to bring out the lovely toasty flavour! I like to do this on a dry skillet, stirring them regularly so that they do not burn.

Step 3
Once your almonds are ready, place one in the center of each prune.

Step 4
Melt the chocolate by combining the chocolate and the oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat and stir well until melted. Dip the prunes into the melted chocolate one at a time and allow the chocolate to set on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Recipe substitutions

You can use already peeled almonds if you can find them. You can also use pecans or walnuts instead of the almonds but I like the firm bite that the almonds give best.

I like the flavour of the dark chocolate in this recipe (plus, it is healthier than milk chocolate), but any chocolate will do actually. I like to use chocolate chips because I find that they melt easily, but you can also use chocolate chunks or a bar that you chop up. In Greece they use what they call couvertura, (or couverture chocolate) which is a high quality chocolate used for dipping and coating ingredients.

I use a bit of avocado oil when I melt the chocolate. You can use coconut oil, a mild flavoured seed oil or even extra virgin olive oil.

Helpful hints

Toasting the almonds really is an important step. First of all, you will have boiled the almonds to remove the peels, so toasting them also dries them out, which is good. The heat also brings out the toasted flavour, which is also great. It is however easy to burn your almonds. The trick is, keep the heat on low and stir them regularly. As soon as they get slightly browned and you start to smell them, remove from heat.

I cannot recommend this enough…buy pitted prunes! Life is too short to start pitting prunes. Unlike dates, where the pit comes out easily, the prune itself is really stuck onto the pit. Removing the pit is messy and not so easy.

Sometimes when you buy pitted prunes they will be all smashed up and flattened. That is fine too. The prune is so sticky that you can practically mold it around the almond if you have to.

You can melt your chocolate in a double boiler, but I find that melting chocolate works really well in a microwave safe bowl with a bit of oil added to the chocolate. Microwave it in 30 second intervals to make sure that you do not overheat your chocolate; that can cause it to ruin.

If you want to get fancy, drizzle some extra chocolate across your chocolate coated prunes to make a simple design.

Recipe variations

If you like the idea of stuffed dried fruit, then you have probably also thought about stuffing dates! There are two delicious way that I like to do this. The first is Dates stuffed with almond butter and coconut and also Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with feta. Both of these are great!

Frequently asked questions

What is a prune?

A prune is a dried plum. Not all varieties of plums can be dried into prunes however. Usually the European plum variety is used to make dried prunes.

Are prunes good for you?

They actually are! They are high in fiber, rich in many vitamins like Vitamin K, Copper, Potassium and Magnesium.

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Storing

These chocolate covered prunes are not going to last long, but while they do, they are best kept in the refrigerator, or freezer. Honestly, I like to keep them in the freezer and eat them almost straight out of the freezer! They are so good. If you want them a little less cold, simply allow them to sit at room temperature for about 5 – 10 minutes before enjoying.

Gift giving

Grab yourself a pretty jar or container and pack some of these lovely treats for your next hostess gift or token of appreciation. They are fun to eat and people are usually pretty surprised by how much they like them!

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