These no-bake carrot cake energy bites taste just like carrot cake while being packed full of energy and are good for you!
If you love carrot cake, you’re going to love these carrot cake energy bites! Not only are they quick and easy to prepare, but they have all of the flavors and spices of carrot cake while being naturally sweetened and healthy. Whip up a batch, store them in the fridge, and you’ll have a healthy snack ready whenever you need them.
There are lots of natural sweeteners on the market, and as the need to remove refined sugar becomes increasingly more common, so do alternatives for sugar. If you walk into your local health food store, there is often an entire shelve dedicated to natural sweeteners so deciding the best from the worst can sometimes be confusing.
In my opinion, the more unprocessed the sweetener is the better it is for you, so choices like maple syrup, honey, or fruit are always the best options. However, it is important to keep in mind that even the best natural sweeteners are still sweeteners and should be treated as an occasional treat, not an everyday indulgence. Just because something is made out of dates or honey doesn’t mean we can eat as many as we want, they are just a slightly healthier option than the ones made of plain white sugar. Moderation is the key to success. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t eat them at all, we just need to be mindful of how frequently we are actually eating them.
These healthy carrot cake energy bites are a quick and easy recipe that doesn’t require much skill in the kitchen. Simply toss the ingredients into a food processor, roll them into balls, and you will have tasty on-the-go treats for weeks ahead.
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Carrot Cake Energy Bites
These carrot cake energy bites call for a combination of dried dates and apricots, however, if needed you could omit the apricots altogether and simply use one whole cup of dates.
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Prep Time: 20 minutes -
Total Time: 20 minutes
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Yield: 12 energy bites 1x
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Category: Snack
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Method: By Hand
- Diet: Gluten Free
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots, shredded (about 3/4 cup)
- 3/4 cup walnuts
- 3/4 cup pecans
- 3/4 cup dates
- 1/4 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine walnuts, pecans and spices, pulse into a coarse meal.
- Once nuts have been ground, add dried dates, apricots, vanilla extract, maple syrup, shredded carrots and sea salt. Blend in food processor to combine until a thick paste is formed.
- The addition of maple syrup is optional, taste your batter for sweetness and add a splash of maple syrup as needed.
- Once batter is formed, roll into golf ball size balls and set aside.
- Add shredded coconut to a small bowl and add rolled balls to the shredded coconut one at a time and toss to coat.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. The bites will keep in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for a few months.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 energy bite
- Calories: 142 calories
- Sugar: 7 grams
- Fat: 11 grams
- Carbohydrates: 11 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Protein: 2 grams
When do the carrots get added in?
Sorry about that, just updated the instructions! They can be added in with the dates 🙂
Hi Steph,
Made these yesterday for my little pregnant daughter – she loved them and so did I . Keep up the good work – your recipes work for me.
Awesome! So happy to hear it 🙂
So easy and yummy, thank you for this!! Will be a staple in my house from now on. YUM!
Awesome! These little energy bites are pretty addictive, I’ll see if I can come up with some new flavours 😉
These are delicious and easy to make. My 5 yrs old loves them. Thanks for another great snack idea!!
Awesome, so happy you both liked them!
Would it be possible to add a nutritive breakdown with the recipe. It could help determine what sugars, fibre and calories we are consuming. Thanks Stephanie!
I actually don’t share the nutritional values of my recipes on purpose, I simply focusing on ensuring they are made of whole foods. Moreover, it’s difficult to share them for a recipe like this one, because it really depends on how big you make the individual energy bites. If you really want to know, I would suggest using an app like MyFitnessPal to determine how much you are personally consuming 🙂
You are can actually read about my logic and philosophy here: https://kaynutrition.com/2017/05/is-calorie-counting-necessary/ and here https://kaynutrition.com/2018/10/why-a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie/
Tastes fantastic! I used raisins instead of dates and did not add maple syrup.