Low-Fat Cinnamon Energy Balls
These delicious, low-fat cinnamon energy balls require just 4 simple ingredients to make: medjool dates, oats, maple syrup and cinnamon. Loads of cinnamon flavour pairs perfectly with sea salt and hints of caramel from fresh, soft medjool dates. Bonus: they’re very low in fat with under 1 gram per serving and they make a healthy and energizing snack, breakfast or dessert. You can also crumble them up to make cookie dough bits for your next batch of vegan ice cream.
Macro-Friendly Snacks
When I’m tracking macros, I find it helps to have snacks on hand that are made of up either just carbs or just fat. That way, if I need to get more of a particular macronutrient, it’s an easy way to do so and enjoy a little treat while I’m at it. My favourite snacks for this are basic oatmeal cookies, date balls and fat bombs.
These Fat-Free Cinnamon Balls are mostly all carbohydrates so they’re perfect pre or post-workout as a sweet, little energizing treat.
That being said, macro-balanced and higher-protein snacks are great to have on hand too. My Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls are a good one for that. It just depends on what else I’m eating that day and what I feel like.
Nut-Free & Low-Fat
I love nuts and fats but depending on the day, I like having low-fat options too. Chances are all pair these with some healthy fats anyway. They’re especially delicious chopped up and used as a topping for smoothie bowls like my Salted Tahini Maca Smoothie.
If you prefer a more balanced treat, try cutting these in half, adding a dab of almond butter or coconut butter and making a little mini energy ball sandwich. Uh, YUM.
I know some of you have nut allergies so I like sharing nut-free recipes from time to time. For more nut-free snacks you can try my Nut-Free Chewy Granola Bars or Nut-Free Gingerbread Energy Balls.
Tahini, sunflower seeds, coconut butter, coconut, hemp seeds and sunflower seed butter are my favourite go-to nut replacements so you can always play around with those to make my other no-bake energy ball recipes nut-free if needed.
Easy Cinnamon Energy Balls
I made these cinnamon energy balls for my husband because he’s trying to gain muscle and has a ton of carbs to eat right now. These are helpful because they’re dense and he can easily pop a couple to get more carbs on-the-go. Aside from the nutrition, these little treats also taste amazing. If love caramel, cinnamon and sea salt, you will love these energy bites!
The dates give them a beautiful, caramel-esque flavour and the sweet maple syrup and cinnamon just take it next level. I used oats to hold it all together and for a low-fat, high-fiber source of energizing carbohydrates for. I’d highly recommend adding the sea salt, it really enhances the other flavours in these.
How to Make No-Bake Balls
You can make these in a high-speed blender or food processor. All you need to do is toss in all the ingredients, process until it forms a thick dough and then roll it into balls. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months or in the fridge for a week or so.
They travel well so make a good snack to take on-the-go or keep them stashed away for a sweet treat in the evening. They’re also amazing crumbled or chopped up over oats, dairy-free yogurt, banana ice cream or smoothie bowls.
Nutritional Details
- gluten-free
- naturally sweetened with no refined sugar
- vegan
- fat-free (under 1 gram of fat per serving)
- 80 calories each with 18 grams carbohydrates, 1.7 grams protein each and 0.7 grams fat
Low-Fat Cinnamon Energy Balls
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Prep Time: 10 mins -
Total Time: 10 mins
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Yield: 20 balls 1x
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Category: Snack, Dessert
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Method: Blender
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Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-Free
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:These yummy little cinnamon energy balls are just 80 calories a pop so you can go ahead and enjoy a couple anytime for a healthy sweet treat. Try them straight from the freezer, YUM! They’re also awesome crumbled over smoothie bowls or banana nice cream.
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups (200 g) oats
- 1.5 cups (283 g) packed, pitted soft dates
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Add the oats to a high-speed blender or food processor and pulse a few times to break down a bit.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until it forms a thick dough.
- Roll into balls and store in the fridge.
Notes
- It’s important to use soft, moist dates in this recipe. If your dates are dry, or hard soak them in “just boiled” water for 15 minutes and then drain well before using in the recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 80
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fat: 0.7 grams
- Carbohydrates: 18 grams
- Protein: 1.7 grams
Keywords: nut-free, bites, healthy, no-bake
These balls were a hit with the whole family. I rolled them in coconut.
★★★★★
So glad everyone enjoyed them!
Just made this and I’m impressed how good they taste! I added an extra tbsp of pure cacao powder and 2 tbsp of water since the cacao is usually quite thirsty. I’m going on a bike packing trip tomorrow, any suggestions on how to carry them around? Thanks a lot!
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed them. I’d freeze them before you go so they stay cool as long as possible, then pack them in any sealable container. Have fun!
So yummy! I ended up using 1 cup dates, 1/2 cup peanut butter and 4 tablespoons water. Love love love the strong cinnamon flavor! Thanks for the delicious inspo 🙂
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed them, Alex! Thanks for the review!
Hi Deryn, Cinnamon energy balls are my favorites. My daddy loves it soooo much. Please share more recipes like this. Much love and Regards.
Mine are so dry I couldn’t roll them into balls. The mixture is crumbs. I’ve added more syrup then 1/2 cup water. Very disappointed.
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Were your dates soft and moist? Did you follow the recipe exactly? I can’t imagine needing to add 1/2 cup of water. I’ve made these dozens of times and they always come out great, and they have many happy reviews, so I’m not sure what went wrong for you. Sorry!
Easy Peasy Sweet Treat (and healthy). Great Taste. Great Texture. Will definitely make this often. Looks like a tempting treat: stored in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a lid. Hungry snackers think they’re cheating. Thank you.
★★★★
Hi,do you think I can omit maple syrup please as dates look enough for me for sweetness?
Yes, you can omit it. You may need a few extra dates or a splash of water to roll the balls though. Just make as is first, then add a bit if it’s too dry.
Hi,
I just made these and they are delicious. I did add chia seeds, and an extra tsp of maple syrup. My question in how did you get 80 calories per serving. I just entered the recipe into myfitnesspal and it shows 224 calories, the chia seeds, and extra maple syrup only add 90 calories to the entire recipe, so according to the calculations here, making mine about 85 or so. I appreciate the info! I working on cutting calories and was surprised at the difference.
Hi Trish, I’m glad you enjoyed them. How many balls did you make? I made 20 balls, which worked about to about 80 calories per ball. I would check the entry you’re using for dates as well. With my calculations, the dates add 720 calories.
Do you know how much sugar each bite has?
★★★★★
Hi Emily, it should be just under 10 grams per serving. Enjoy!
What did you use to dust the outside of the energy balls in the photos?
I believe it’s just some coconut mixed with cinnamon. 🙂
Woooh… These balls my god… I loved the recipe completely. The picture of this dates ball looks so delicious! I will surely gonna try this Cinnamon energy balls asap for my hubby.In so love with the healthy food. Thanks for sharing this awesome and Healthy recipe with all of us. Best wishes and Regards.
Hi, could these be made in advance and frozen??
Yes, definitely.
Hello Deryn,
Can you substitute the dates with something else? Just wondering if you have and with what. Thank you!
You could try it with raisins, dried figs, dried apricot or dried cherries but I haven’t tried it so I can’t guarantee how they’ll turn out. Depending on how dry the fruit you use, you may need to soak it in hot water before using. They should be nice and soft. Hope that helps.
Now this easy peasy recipes.The picture of this dates ball look delicious! I am surely gonna try this.I love healthy food.Is it okay if apply some chocolate syrup on top?
Haha, sure, if you want to! Hope you enjoy them.
Did you mean for the cinnamon to be two tablespoons instead of two teaspoons? We made a batch of these last night and followed the recipe but it was way too much cinnamon for us. Anyway, thanks for the healthy idea! It was nice too see a date ball without nuts. 🙂
I actually did use 2 tablespoons in this recipe and that was good for me. I’ll make a note to start with 1 tablespoon and add more if you want. Thanks for your feedback!
These look so good! I like the ingredients you used, too. So much lighter and still delicious!
These are genius! I also favor macro-counting and it really is excellent to have some recipes that are heavy on a particular macro to fill in the gaps. I am definitely going to check out your other snack balls, but I JUST bought some dates and was trying to figure out what to do with them! Fantastic photos!
Thanks, girl! If only we always had loads of carbs left over…lol. Oh ya..if you have some dates, make all the energy balls! Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Something like those Cinnamon balls would be good to have on a full-marathon morning on an empty stomach if you must have something in your gut at the running start line right before they fire the marathon gun to start the race.
Totally, they’d be perfect for that.
These look so good! It’s hard to go wrong with cinnamon.