We love snacking on these 7-ingredient carrot energy balls. They taste just like carrot cake, but they're nut-free, vegan, gluten-free, and easy to make!
It’s April which means – time for carrot desserts! Or, well, in this case, carrot snacks. These lightly sweetened carrot bites are great for 3pm snacktime or an on-the-go breakfast. They’re more carroty than cakey – and by that I mean that they’re not cake-like at all and there’s no baking required (if you’re really craving cake click here or here). They’re chewy little balls made from a mix of carrots, sunflower seeds, dates, coconut, and cinnamon.
By popular request, I made these nut free (as long as coconut is ok) – I was very tempted to try an almond version, but I held back because sunflower seeds hold these together quite nicely. For an almond-carrot recipe, remember these cookies?
These are super simple to put together. Just pulse all of the ingredients in the food processor and roll into balls. If you like, you can roll them into some shredded coconut – they’re delicious with or without the extra coconut. Pop them in the fridge for a convenient snack all week!
If you love these bliss balls, check out these energy balls, my homemade granola bars, or any of these 47 Best Healthy Snacks next!
Almost-Raw Carrot Cake Bliss Balls
- 1 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut + â…“ cup for rolling
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 12 soft Medjool dates, pitted and soaked if they’re very dry
- â…” cup chopped carrots
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup, more to taste
- In a food processor, combine the sunflower seeds, 1 cup shredded coconut, cinnamon and salt and pulse until it becomes a fine meal.
- Add the dates and carrots and pulse until the mixture combines and sticks together. Taste and add more maple syrup if you would like your bites sweeter. If the mixture is too dry, add more maple syrup; if it’s too moist, add more coconut and/or let the mix chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture, then use your hands to roll it into approximately 1-inch balls.
- Roll in the remaining coconut to coat the outside, if desired. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
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I’ve tried other recipes and they turned out well, but this recipe just did not work. My food processor would not blend the dates, despite soaking and adding liquid into the mix. I ended up hand chopping the dates, which was very messy and sticky after being soaked. It is now sitting in the fridge, drying out, because I had to add so much liquid. Hopefully, they can still be rolled into balls & will be tasty. Also, 1/3 cup extra coconut for rolling does not look enough for the amount of mixture.
Just tried this and found the flavour a little one-noted. So I added some ground ginger and nutmeg to make it closer to carrot cake flavours. Also added some sunbutter as binder and protein powder to bump up the protein. Next time I might try adding some pumpkin puree but otherwise I think they’ll turn out tasty!
Do they have to be in the fridge?
Why do you call them “almost” raw? Did I miss something is cooked there?
Hi Anna, there’s no cooking in this recipe, but they’re called “almost-raw” because maple syrup isn’t technically a raw ingredient. If you try them, I hope you enjoy!
Can you freeze these and if so for how long?
Hi Aubrey, you can freeze them for up to 3 months! Any longer, and they’ll start to lose their flavor.
Hey Jessica! All of your recipes are great, I’m just wondering if you’ll ever revise them to include nutritional information?
Hi Beth, I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition facts but you could plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
Hi is it raw carrots?
yep, the carrots are raw.
These sound great, but Im trying to advoid dried fruit. Can the dates be left out?
Hi Raven, not in this case since they’re the binder. Here’s another raw ball sort of treat that uses maple instead of fruit (I’m not sure if that’s better for you): https://www.loveandlemons.com/peanut-butter-no-bake-cookies/
Will these be good without using the shredded coconut at all? I do try to avoid coconut as it is very high in saturated fats. Thank you, 🙂
I think they could work, but they might be too wet – you might have to add more sunflower seeds or some walnuts or pecans to replace them. I haven’t tried, so I’m not exactly sure how much.
I recommend grinding the sunflower seeds very fine in the initial step, and grating the carrots instead of chopping to help with the final texture. The flavor and simplicity was nice.
Any suggestions for what to use as a substitute for sunflower seeds? I am allergic to them ? I REALLY REALLY want to make these!
Thank you in advance!
Hi Wendy, chopped pecans should work!
Fantastic ! I don’t have any food allergies or restrictions and I absolutely LOVE this snack! Crowd pleaser for sure.
Hi can you please tell me how many calories are in each ball please
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 is a great tool, just copy and paste a recipe that doesn’t already have nutrition info 🙂 you can even select your prefered brands for more accurate info
Hi!
I cannot seem to find nutrition information for these (calories etc)…is it somewhere I am missing? Thanks!
These look yum and I can’t wait to make them after work tonight! The dates I have are much sweeter so I’ll likely use 10 dates instead. Do you think adding a tablespoon or two of flaxseed meal would impact the texture of this? Thank you for all that you do!