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These Carrot Cake Energy Balls are a healthy snack that tastes like cake! I love how easy they are to prepare, using simple, whole food ingredients. All you need is a food processor and about 10 minutes of time.
How to Make Carrot Cake Energy Balls
To make these energy balls, you’ll just need to process the ingredients in a food processor until sticky. I usually start with the walnuts and coconut, to quickly grind them into a flour, but I’ve also added ALL of the ingredients into the food processor at once with good results.
What I love about no-bake recipes like this one is that it’s hard to mess it up! I’ve made this particular recipe using rolled oats instead of the coconut, and it still turns out great that way. You can always taste and adjust until they taste just how you want them to.
Beware of Over-Processing
One way you can mess up a date ball recipe is by over-processing the mixture. Nuts release their natural oils when they are processed for too long. This is a good thing when you’re making homemade almond butter, but it’s a bad thing if you’re making date balls.
If you over-process these carrot cake energy balls, they will become very greasy and there’s no way to “undo” the grease factor once it happens. The dates balls are still edible if it happens, but it’s not fun to have greasy hands while handling them.
I think these Carrot Cake Energy Balls look especially pretty when rolled in extra shredded coconut, but that’s totally optional. (My kids don’t like the texture, so I do half rolled in coconut and the other half without.)
Carrot Cake Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw walnuts (or pecans)
- 1 cup shredded unsweetened dried coconut (plus extra for rolling, if desired)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 carrot , shredded (about 1/2 cup)
- 12 Medjool dates , pitted (if not soft, soak in hot water for 10 minutes)
Instructions
- In a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade, combine the walnuts and coconut. Process briefly until crumbly.
- Add in the cinnamon, ginger, salt, vanilla, carrot and dates and process again until the mixture begins to stick together. Stop and scrape the sides as needed.
- Once the mixture sticks together when pressed between your fingers, it's ready to roll into balls. Be careful not to over-process the mixture, as that can make the dough oily.
- Scoop the batter using a tablespoon and roll it between your hands to make a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture and arrange the balls on a pan lined with parchment paper. Roll the balls in extra coconut, if desired.
- Place the pan in the fridge or freezer to let the carrot cake balls firm up. Once chilled, you can transfer the balls to an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to a week. I recommend eating these straight from the fridge, but they'll also hold up well in a packed lunch. (Just be careful not t squish them-- they will get softer the longer they sit out.)
Nutrition
Per ball: Calories: 92, Fat: 5g, Carbohydrates: 10g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 1g
Recipe Notes:
- If you need a nut-free recipe, try using hulled sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds instead of the walnuts.
- For a lower-fat content, I’ve use rolled oats in place of the shredded coconut. Feel free to use what you have on hand!
As always, if you try something different with this recipe, please leave a comment below letting us know what you tried. We can all benefit from YOUR experience!
More Energy Ball recipes to try:
- Date Energy Balls
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites
- Raw Brownie Bites
- 3-Ingredient Nut-Free Energy Bites
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite healthy snack right now?
Kelsey
YUM!!! Is it 92 calories per ball?
Megan Gilmore
Yes, if you make 24 balls. You could make them smaller or bigger, depending on how big of a snack you need!
Tammy
Can I use nut flour instead of whole nuts? If so, would you be able to tell me how much I should use? Thanks so much.
Thera
These things are the “B-O-M-B”! I made these tonight because I wanted something sweet to eat. I now have to hide them from myself so that I don’t eat them all in one sitting! Love, love, LOVE these! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!!
Allison
These are PERFECT! Thank you so much for sharing.
grace
SO. GOOD. I ran out of coconut, so I used half coconut and half oats, and the texture was perfect! Thanks for sharing.
lori
Love that you added a veggie to date balls! The carrot cake flavor is spot-on, and I can see this batch lasting me a while. I got a few more than 24 balls in my batch!
Jen
These are delicious! I made mine with 1.5 cups pitted dates (not Medjool) because that’s what I had in hand. I used one cup oats in place of the nuts so they’re school-friendly. Though I have a feeling I’ll be eating more of them than the kids 🙂
Gillian
These are way too good! They taste better than carrot cake!
Marissa
These are absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing!
EJ
These are amazing! I have made a batch twice in a row now, it actually gives me a boost of energy and is the PERFECT pre-workout snack. Since I want to make these regularly now, do you think i can double this and freeze some of the balls and just take them out when I need them? or will keeping them frozen for longer than they need to chill be bad?
thank you!
(duplicating my post because I forgot to rate these 5 stars!)
Samantha Trainum
Amazing! And so easy. My family loves your recipes. I made these for my daughter’s birthday. Do you think they will transport ok? I plan to ship them 2-day priority mail. Any suggestions on how to package will be appreciated!
Megan Gilmore
This is probably a great time of the year to ship them with the cold weather! The carrots in this recipe would concern me a little bit (I pack carrots in my son’s lunch box, and they start to release moisture after an 8-hour school day), so I think my classic date energy balls would ship a little easier, but maybe if you pack them with some sort of towel to help absorb any extra moisture? Let me know how it works out!
Juanita
I made these today. Me and my 8 yo enjoyed them a lot.
Ellie L.
These are delightful! I am chilling them now, but I took a taste before I put them in the fridge, and I am very pleased with them! I used deglet noor dates instead of medjool, but I weighed them and used about 5.5 oz, which would be less than the amount called for if using 12 medjool dates (The google machine says that 12 medjool would weigh about 8 oz), so I think this would work with maybe 8 dates instead of 12. I added a few other spices as well, but I made sure they all amounted 1 tablespoon in total. The amount of salt recommended in the recipe was perfect! Normally I have to add a bit more salt when I bake, but it was perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Christy
I made these as an Easter treat and was so glad I did. The only thing I didn’t have was the shredded coconut. I had to use flaked, which worked OK in the mix. It didn’t work so well to roll in, LOL. Some stuck but a lot fell off. Still tasted delicious and satisfied my craving for a sweet treat on the holiday.