I love healthy and delicious vegan treats. The easier the better! Ever since I had my first energy ball in a small vegan café in Montreal, I can’t get enough of them! The other day, I made these carrot no bake energy bites that turned out so delicious! Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who really loved them and they were gone super fast. But well, I guess this is a good sign and I should stop complaining and just make another batch, right?
To make these little carrot energy balls, you only need 5 main ingredients: Carrots (I used both orange and purple ones, but of course one color is good enough), almonds, dates, coconut flakes, and rolled oats. I also added one teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
They’re vegan, super healthy, sweet, cinnamony, and packed with nutrients. And most of all they’re free of sugar and artificial sweeteners. I just love using dates as a natural sweeteners for vegan desserts and smoothies. They’re like nature’s version of caramel. Just so much healthier than the real thing!
First grate the carrots and set them aside. Then put the almonds together with the dates into a food processor or blender and process until a sticky mixture forms. Add this to the grated carrots, stir in the rolled oats, the coconut flakes, the cinnamon, and the vanilla extract and knead it with your fingers, so it all sticks together. Form about 12-15 energy balls depending on the size you want.
After you’ve formed the balls, roll them in coconut flakes. This doesn’t only taste really good, but it also makes them look prettier. ;-)
I’ve already posted a couple of different variations on this site, such as apple cinnamon and popped amaranth energy balls, but these carrot cake balls are by far my favorite! In the summer, you can also put them in the freezer for a couple of minutes before you serve them. The preparation doesn’t take much longer than 10 minutes and they require no baking at all! So literally the perfect treat for busy days.
I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
I hope you like these carrot cake energy balls as much as we do around here. Also check out these 12 amazing vegan Easter recipes.
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to know what you think about it. Just leave me a comment and a star rating below. Your comments really make my day!
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Sina
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/2 cup grated orange carrots
- 1/2 cup grated purple carrots
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup coconut flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- First grate the carrots and set them aside.
- Then put the almonds together with the dates into a food processor or blender and process until a sticky mixture forms. Add this to the grated carrots, stir in the rolled oats, the coconut flakes, the cinnamon, and the vanilla extract and knead it with your fingers, so it all sticks together. Form about 12-15 energy balls depending on the size you want.
- After you've formed the balls, roll them in some more coconut flakes.
Lisa davis
So happy to find these yummy looking little treats . My daughter who is on a healthy kick just introduced me to fat bombs and healthier eating ,I’m working on it lol . Very Excited going to make these for her for Easter treats instead of all the easter candy .
Carol
Hi, just adding the recipe rating. I did not see it when I posted my first comment.
Tracy
These are the perfect snack! I make them almost every week for work. I can’t get enough of these…I already tried different kinds of nuts and it worked out every time. Great recipe.
Carol
Thank you for this recipe, Sina! I love it! I used walnuts instead of almonds. Delicious!
Celeste
Great recipe! Made a batch, they were gone within the hour. Can you freeze them?
sheetal
this is so great! it looks so tasty that I want this right now. will surely try this mate, thank you for sharing this. cheers!
Jessica
Hello,
I was wondering if I could substitute almonds for almond butter? And if so how much?
I want to make them but have no almonds left! :(
Thank you! :)
Andrea
These look delicious! Any ideas on what I could substitute for the almonds so I can send them to school with my son? (nut free zone)? Chia? another seed? more oats? or just leave the almonds out? Thanks!
Sina
Hi Andrea,
Thanks! So glad you like them. :-) Oh, that’s a though question. I haven’t tried making them without almonds, but you could try using other dried fruits like dried apples or apricots and more oats. Or you could use popped quinoa or amaranth instead. And chia seeds are also a great idea. I got another recipe for energy balls using chia seeds (it’s a really old one): https://veganheaven.org/recipe/apple-cinnamon-energy-balls/ . It isn’t nut-free either, but you could kinda combine both recipes.
Hope that helps and your son will like them! :-)
Best,
Sina
Thu
So I tried making these with cranberries instead and they didn’t hold:( idk what to do because I did a double batch. Help!
Sina
Hi Thu,
Oh, I haven’t tried making them with cranberries yet, but I think you’d definitely need to add more oats then. And I think it’s a lot easier with shredded fruit or carrots. Did you use fresh or dried cranberries? Maybe try them with carrots instead, it’s really delicious and easy to make. :-)
Dianne
Do you use unsweetened coconut flakes or sweetened
Sina
Hi Dianne, I used unsweetened coconut flakes. :-)