If you're in the mood for carrot cake, but not for baking, then these no-bake carrot cake bites are absolutely perfect. Not only are they healthy (no sugar!), but they're also delicious. Bet you can't eat just one!
These carrot cake bites require no baking, no sugar, and no fuss. You just assemble six ingredients, pulse them in the *food processor,
and then roll them in coconut. Boom! Done! Each bite is sweetened by the dates, gets an earthy richness from the pecans and walnuts, and a little kick from the allspice and cinnamon.
Bliss balls are perfect for a healthy dessert, holiday brunch, or lunchbox treat. Or store them in the refrigerator for quick snacks throughout the day--because even though they're scrumptious cake bites, they're also super healthy. That's a magical combination if ever there was one!
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This recipe is
- Simple
- Healthy
- Quick & Easy
- Made with just 7 i
ngredients - Require absolutely no baking
- Absolutely delicious!
Are these called energy balls, bliss balls, or cake bites?
Some people would call them Carrot Cake Energy Balls, other people call them Bliss Balls, and still others might say Protein Balls. All of those names are fine, but I prefer to think of them as cake bites because, well, CAKE. Whoever said you can't have your cake and eat it too, never tried these heavenly bites.
Ingredients
- Carrots (peeled and washed): These are the star of the show. I use baby carrots, so no washing or peeling is necessary.
- Dried, pitted dates: This is where the sweetness comes from. A word of advice, make sure there are no pits because they can damage your food processor blade!
- Walnuts and Pecans: For a protein and flavor boost.
- Cinnamon and Allspice: These spices really add depth and complexity to the flavor!
- Coconut flakes: For rolling and an extra touch of sweetness
Instructions
If you use baby carrots, then there's zero prep work. Just assemble your ingredients, pop everything (except the coconut) into the *food processor and pulse until a slightly damp dough
Now that you've assembled your carrot cake bites, just refrigerate for an hour and they're ready to eat! Serve as a dessert at your Easter brunch or store in the fridge for easy grab-and-go snacks throughout the week.
Substitutions
One of the things I love about this recipe is how versatile it is. So if you don't have all of these ingredients, if you have special dietary need/food allergies, or you just don't like one of the ingredients, don't fear! I've talked to a lot of readers about substitutions. Here are a few I can recommend:
- If you don't have both walnuts and pecans, you can just use one or the other (just double the amount).
- If you are allergic to nuts, you can try this recipe using sunflower seeds or a combination of sunflower seeds and rolled oats.
- Don't have dates? Just use raisins.
- Don't like or don't have coconut? You can roll these carrot cake bites in hemp hearts, cinnamon, crushed nuts, cocoa powder, powdered sugar . . . or nothing at all!
If you have a question or you've tried a substitution not listed above, let me know in the comments!
How to serve
Even though you can eat these carrot cake bites right away, I recommend chilling for at least an hour before eating, as they will be denser and the flavors will be more pronounced. Serve on a platter as part of a holiday brunch or dessert spread, or keep these in the fridge for a quick snack throughout the week. These little bites would make the perfect addition to a healthy lunch box. You could even eat them for breakfast! Who says you can't have dessert in the AM?
How to store
You can store these carrot cake bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. I haven't tried freezing the carrot cake bites, but I'm sure it can be done. My only concern would be that the exterior moisture during thawing could impact the color and texture of the coconut. If you try it, let me know in the comments, and I'll update the post.
Related recipes:
- Girl Scout Cookie Inspired Bliss Balls
- Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- No-Bake Pretzel Brownie Bites
- Strawberry Citrus Popsicles
- Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
- Vegan Zucchini Muffins
More tips for plant-based eating:
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the carrots in the food processor and pulse for 30 to 60 seconds or until they are broken down into small pieces and just starting the release their liquid.
- Add the dates, walnuts, pecans, cinnamon, allspice to the food processor and run on high for several minutes, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides, until the ingredients and fully combined and have formed a damp dough.
- Taking about 2 tbps of the dough at a time, roll the dough into balls. To do this, place the dough in the palm of one hand, and then close your other hand over the dough so that you can use the palms of both hands to gently shape the dough into balls. The balls should be about the size of a large chesnut (a little smaller than a golfball).
- Pour the coconut onto a plate. Roll the balls in the coconut, making sure to coat all the sides. Use the palms of your hands to reshape the ball, and then roll in the coconut again.
- The carrot cake bites can be eaten right away, but they are denser if you chill in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- If you're not a fan of coconut, substitute cocoa powder, powdered sugar, or crushed nuts.
- If your dried dates are hard, you can soak in warm water for ten minutes to soften them up. Just be sure to drain off the water and pat them dry before adding to the food processor.
- If you don't have dried dates on hand, you can substitute with raisins.
Nutrition
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Diana
The Carrot Bites are absolutely delicious! I didn’t have dates but prunes worked really well.
Julianne Lynch
Thanks, Diana! They are delicious and versatile. I'm so glad you liked them!
Jude
I don't have a food processor. Will a Vitamix do the trick?
Julianne Lynch
Hi Jude! I have actually never used a Vitamix (Blasphemy!), but I think it could work--you'd just want to be really careful not to over blend. So maybe do the ingredients in batches (carrots, then nuts and spices, then dates) and then do a quick blend of all together. Or maybe you could even mix them together by hand at the end. You just don't want the mixture to turn into pure mush since you won't be baking them. Thanks for the question and please let me know how they turn out!
Lisa
These are soon good! So easy to make and just the right balance of sweetness and texture. I happened to have all the ingredients, from farmer's markets and even coconut from Maui. Relish! I work with blind and visually impaired and I think this recipe would be a good one for a cooking class because it's so tactile and simple to measure the ingredients.
Julianne Lynch
Wow! Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked it, and I'm honored that you would think of sharing this with the people you work with!
Brandy
Sounds good!
I’m not sure how to measure 1 cup of carrots. Do to dice them up and measure 1 cup?
Julianne Lynch
It depends. You can use regular carrots and roughly chop them. Or you could use baby carrots and just stand them up the in measuring cup. This is an older recipe and a good reminder to me to get a weight measurement into the recipe card. Thanks for your interest!
Jon
Tried this out yesterday and there are a very yummy vegan snack. Accidently used the chopping blade instead of the dough blade (first time using a food processor) so it came out a big chunky. Can't wait to try it more doughy.
Julianne Lynch
I'm so glad you liked it even though it was chunky!
Kerry DuPont
I made these for my Daniel Fast and these were amazing!! I toasted the nuts a bit but otherwise made no changes. I want to see if I can get some crushed pineapple (well drained) in and see how that is. Excited by this!
Julianne Lynch
Great! I'm so glad you liked it! I've never tried it with pineapple, but it sounds like it would be good!