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These carrot cake energy balls combine the flavors you love in carrot cake into portable, vegan energy bite form. Raw carrot cake bites are made with carrot, dates, oats, coconut oil and spices, and an easy snack for on the go or a healthy dessert!

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I’m no stranger to easy no bake recipes, given the variety of them I’ve shared on the blog. Being a mom, I’m always thinking about easy snacks I can make quickly for the kids and bring places.

I relied heavily on these carrot cake energy balls when we’re in a busy kid activity season – soccer, basketball and t-ball. They’re so easy to take on the go in a stasher bag, plus I get to sneak in some veggies and fiber for the kids!

What spurred these carrot cake bites is the simple fact that my husband came home from the grocery store with a 5 lb bag of large carrots. 5 POUNDS!

So, I’ve been on the lookout for lots of carrot recipe ideas (we certainly love these cheesy potatoes and carrots and carrot banana smoothie), and carrot cake energy bites were on that list. In experimenting with a no bake recipe for Easter, I wanted these healthy carrot cake balls to taste like carrot cake, but in miniature form.

After a few different testing variations where I played around with the amount of dates and various spices, these carrot cake oat balls were a huge success!

Why You’ll Love Carrot Cake Energy Balls

• Easy toddler snack – They make great on-the-go snacks, homemade toddler snacks and easy, nutritious additions to lunch boxes. 
• No oven needed – Meaning they come together quickly when you need them! Ready in 30 minutes!
• Great nutrient-dense snack for mom – Personally, I loved these carrot date balls in the postpartum period when I had constant breastfeeding hunger. Healthy no bake recipes are always my go-to for nursing. 
• Balanced snack idea – Each carrot cake bite has 3 grams of protein + 3 grams of fiber. They offer a serving of fruits, veggies, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats, which are good for the growing brain. Also a great snack for long endurance exercise!
• Can be baby-friendly – Since there is no added sugar or honey, these bites can be good to offer older babies. If you’re searching for some baby led weaning carrots recipes, these baby energy balls are perfect because the carrots are shredded and there are no hard parts.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make these carrot cake balls.

• shredded carrots
• pitted dates – great as a natural sweetener and for quick energy. You could also use raisins.
• oats – a complex carbohydrate for longer-lasting energy. Use certified gluten-free oats to make these carrot cake bites gluten-free.
• coconut oil – sustaining fat and helps keep everything together.
• drippy peanut butter – You can also use almond butter or any nut/seed butter to provide fat and flavor and holds these carrot cake energy balls together.
• spices – I chose to use a blend of ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt

Optional add-in’s include ground flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, or coconut flakes.

How to Make Carrot Cake Bites

First things first: if your dates aren’t pitted, you’ll want to soak them in warm water to soften them – just 10-15 minutes. You can even do this the night before to save time.

Then, shred your carrots. I used my boxed grater to do so, which made it nice and quick. 

Next, add in your other ingredients to a food processor. I tried a high speed blender and it took forever and kept sticking, so I think a quality food processor is the way to go. 

Process everything until you get your ingredients ground up and slightly sticky. You may go through a few iterations to get to your final raw carrot cake balls.

The batter will form a big ball and then will process into smaller and finer pieces that you’ll then be able to roll into balls.

I recommend putting these carrot cake bites in the fridge right after you roll them to let them firm up. 

If you prefer no bake healthy carrot cake bars, I’ve got those too. 

This carrot cake balls recipe is also GREAT for kids and one of my favorite energy balls for toddlers, like these pumpkin peanut butter balls!

How to Store Carrot Date Balls

You can store carrot cake bites in the fridge in a stasher bag or tupperware container. They are good up to 5 days if stored properly.

You can also freeze them for up to three months.

Servings 12 balls

No Bake Vegan Carrot Cake Energy Balls

Sarah Schlichter, MPH, RDN

These carrot cake energy balls combine the flavors you love in carrot cake into portable, vegan energy bite form. Raw carrot cake bites are made with carrot, dates, oats, coconut oil and spices, and an easy snack for on the go or a healthy dessert!

4.84 from 6 ratings

Print Pin

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Additional Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups shredded carrots about 2-3 medium carrots
• 1 cup pitted dates soaked and softened
• 1 ¼ cups rolled oats
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions 

1. Soak dates in water to soften them, if needed.
2. Add shredded carrots and softened and pitted dates to food processor and pulse until chopped and combined.
3. Add rolled oats, coconut oil, peanut butter, ginger, cinnamon and salt to processor.
4. Pulse for 2-4 minutes, or until all ingredients are mixed and well combined.
5. Form into ball shape and store in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up.

Notes

*If dough is too sticky, you may want to let it sit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before forming into balls to allow it to stiffen up.

Equipment

Joolies – Organic Medjool Dates, Whole (14 Ounce) – 2 Pack, California Grown, Good Source of Fiber

Kirkland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter U.S. Valencia Peanuts 28 Ounce Each Jar 2 Pack

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 117kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 136mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9g

Did you make this recipe?Let us know how it was!