Carrot Cake Energy Balls
These carrot cake energy balls take minutes to make with just 4 simple ingredients and are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and nut-free!
Table of Contents
Recipe Features
- dietary needs – vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and nut-free (they do contain coconut though)
- naturally sweetened – soft and sweet dates naturally sweeten the balls so they have no added sugar
- nutritious – they make a great snack for kids and a sneaky way to get in some veggies
- healthier snacking – they’re the perfect, healthy treat to satisfy your sweet tooth while sticking to your nutrition goals
Ingredient Notes
- oats – you can use minute, quick, rolled or old fashioned oats in this recipe
- dates – make sure they’re soft and moist, if not, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes then drain before using in the recipe
- carrot – finely grated is best
- coconut – look for unsweetened fine or medium dried coconut, it may be labelled desiccated coconut
Step by Step Instructions
Start by processing the oats into a coarse, grainy flour. Next, add the rest of the ingredients and process into a thick, sticky dough.
Quick Tip: If the mixture isn’t forming a dough, add 1 tbsp of warm water and process again. That should do the trick!
Now that you’ve made the dough, it’s time to roll! Use your hands to roll the dough into about 20 balls.
If you like, you can roll each ball in shredded coconut for an extra treat.
Tips for Success
- It’s important to use soft, moist dates in this recipe. If your dates are dry they won’t bind the dough. Soak dry dates in hot water for 10 minutes and drain well before using in the recipe.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients for best results.
- A food processor works best but you can use a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec if needed.
How to Store
Store the finished energy bites in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe Variations
If you feel like switching things up, the dough can either be pressed into bars or made into raw granola.
Carrot Cake Energy Bars
To make carrot cake energy bars, line a 7-8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, press the dough into the pan, place in the freezer for an hour until firm and then lift out and cut into bars.
For other easy energy bar recipes, try these superfood energy bars or sesame hemp seed bars.
Carrot Cake Rawnola
Another way to use this recipe is to press and crumble the batter into bits so it resembles chunky carrot cake raw granola.
My favorite way to use this is crumbled over smoothie bowls, into banana ice cream or enjoyed with yogurt or a splash of dairy-free milk. It’s seriously amazing.Rawnola can be stored in the fridge for a week or so.
Related Recipes
- Lime Coconut Energy Bites
- Raw Vegan Cashew Coconut Balls
- Chocolate Superfood Energy Balls
- Low-Fat Cinnamon Energy Balls
- Coconut Goji Berry Balls
Did you make this recipe? Click here to leave a review!
PrintCarrot Cake Energy Balls
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Prep Time: 10 mins
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Cook Time: 0 mins
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Total Time: 10 minutes
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Yield: 20 1x
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Category: Snack
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Method: Food Processor
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Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
These delicious energy balls take just minutes to make and taste like little bites of carrot cake. Enjoy these for a healthy snack anytime, at home or on-the-go.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 g) rolled oats (use gluten-free certified if needed)
- 2 cups (450 g) tightly packed, soft pitted dates
- 3/4 cup (75 g, approx. 1 medium carrot) lightly packed, finely grated carrot
- 1 cup (70 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Add the oats to a food processor or high-speed blender and pulse a few times to break them down a bit.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until it forms a thick, sticky dough. If it’s not sticking together, add 1 tbsp of warm water and process again.
- Roll the mixture into approximately 20 energy balls.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
It’s important to use soft, fresh dates in this recipe. If your dates are dry, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes then drain well before using.
It’s important to use soft, moist dates in this recipe. If your dates are very dry they won’t bind the dough. Soak dry dates in hot water for 10 minutes and drain well before using.
Use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients for best results.
A food processor works best but you can use a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec if needed.
Keywords: carrot cake balls, carrot cake energy bites
Update Note: Originally published on May 4, 2017. Updated in April 2020 with new photos and text.
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while since we never seem to eat all of our carrots. Once I took the lid off of the food processor, after pulsing it all together, I could tell from the delicious smell alone it would be a hit! My daughter and I agree that it has a real cinnamon roll quality. Delicious!! This will be a regular at our house. The first batch I rolled into balls. But the second batch I patted into a rectangle on top of a pan sprinkled with coconut. Then added more coconut on top and cut it up into squares. Much faster and easier!
★★★★★
Coconut is considered a tree nut for allergy labeling purposes by the FDA. So you can’t claim these are nut-free to kids who have tree-nut allergies!
Thanks for the input. Coconut is not considered a tree nut for the purposes of food allergen labelling in Canada and typically people allergic to tree nuts can safely consume it, since it is a seed of a fruit. I can add a note that they do contain coconut and to be aware if you have a coconut allergy. The FDA does recognize it as a tree nut for food packaging in the US, even though it’s a fruit.
Par of the recipe is missing. “1 cup unsweetened ” What?
It’s not missing so I’m not sure why you aren’t able to see it but it reads “1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (70 g). Thanks!
These were perfect! Can’t believe how tasty they were. Awesome that they’re nut-free too because we have nut allergies in this house. Thanks for this recipe!
★★★★★
These are my favorite! We make them all the time and love how easy and yummy they are. Also a great to get kids to eat carrots..haha. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
I have made this recipe over and over again. I cannot seem to have enough because I share it with everyone and they always want more. Thank you for such a good recipe. I am a vegan and also gluten free. This is perfect.
★★★★★
Are the dates suppose to be blended?
The dates are added to the food processor with the rest of the ingredients, so yes, they get blended in that process. Enjoy!
Just made these into bars. Added extra carrot and spices and a little coconut flour to account for the extra moisture. My 3 year old daughter would have eaten the entire container at once if I let her! Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s awesome! These are great as bars too. Good idea to add coconut flour and extra carrots – they sound great! So glad you enjoyed them.
I make these often and they’re perfect for a pre-workout snack! I have a nut allergy and it’s hard to find nut-free energy ball recipes…so thanks for these!
★★★★★
These are amazing, absolutely so tasty and I couldn’t believe how quick\ easy they were to make! Definitely becoming a staple snack in our house. Thanks,
★★★★★
You are so welcome! Glad you guys liked them. 🙂
I just tried these and they’re AMAZING! I love that they’re “no bake” and that they have so few ingredients. They taste delicious and they’re so convenient to have around. I’ll be having them for breakfast all week 🙂
YES! These are my fave. So glad you liked them!!
I’ve made these once a week since you posted the recipe. Hubby loves them. They are now a staple in our house. Thanks for another healthy snack recipe!
Yay! So happy you guys like them and for the reminder that I need to make them!
Really good! I rolled the balls in coconut for decoration. I also froze some of them and took one out as I needed them.
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Yum!! I love them rolled in coconut! Sounds amazing. Thanks for your comment. 🙂