10 minutes and 1 bowl are all you need to whip up these healthy No-Bake Carrot Cake Energy Bites! They’re nut-free, gluten-free, vegan, and taste like soft and doughy poppable bites of carrot cake!
Confession: I’m not really the biggest carrot cake fan.
In fact, it’s the only instance I can think of where I’d choose frosting over cake. Normally I’m a cake-over-frosting kind of girl, but carrot cake is one exception to that rule… which might have something to do with the fact that I kind of love cream cheese frosting and would happily just eat it by the spoonful. Who knows.
And it’s not even that I think carrot cake tastes bad — I just have some weird prejudice against putting vegetables in desserts.
The same goes for zucchini, although in that case it’s a strong prejudice against zucchini in general. So if you ever try feeding me some kind of chocolate zucchini loaf, just don’t tell me it’s in there… The list of veggies I don’t like isn’t overly long, but zucchini is definitely near the top. Along with eggplant. Nasty, squishy things.
But all prejudices aside, I do enjoy the occasional slice of carrot cake… when I actually get around to eating it. The problem is that if there’s chocolate and I see the chocolate, you better believe that I’m going straight for the chocolate. Which isn’t exactly a problem, per say, but you get what I’m saying. Chocolate trumps all, in my mind.
And while I’d be perfectly content with eating nothing but chocolate for the rest of my days, it never hurts to expand one’s horizons. I mean… how else would I have discovered that I adore these carrot cake energy bites?
They’re soft and doughy. They’re sweet and lightly spiced. And while I can’t claim that they taste exactly like a slice of carrot cake, neither do they contain all the added fats and refined sugars. They’re also vegan, nut free, and gluten-free as long as you use certified GF oats. Oh, and they only require 10 minutes and 1 bowl to clean up, as opposed to the 4+ hours and kitchen disaster zones that cakes involve. Just saying.
These balls are a lot lighter and fluffier than most of my other bites, probably because the base is made up of oats and coconut flour as opposed to the usual dates and nut butter — perfect for the warming temperatures and the coming of spring.
I didn’t include any protein powder in this recipe simply because I didn’t have any on hand, but you could probably get away with subbing out the coconut flour for a scoop of protein powder and calling it a day.
Happy eating!
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No-Bake Carrot Cake Energy Bites
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 12 balls 1x
Ingredients
- 3 large Medjool dates, pitted (~40g)
- 4 dried apricots (~26 g)
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) unsweetened applesauce
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (80 g) rolled oats
- 1/4 cup (28 g) coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamon
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (115 g) shredded carrots
- unsweetened shredded coconut, for garnish
Instructions
- Into the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender, add dates, apricots, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, processing until dates and apricots have broken down into smaller pieces and ingredients are well combined
- Add oats, coconut flour, spices, and shredded carrot, continuing to process until ingredients are well combined and the mixture sticks together easily.
- Add generous amount of shredded coconut to a shallow bowl. Using a heaping tablespoon, roll dough between your hands before rolling it in the coconut to coat. Set aside on a plate and repeat with remaining dough. Store balls in an airtight container in the fridge for best results, or freeze for longer periods of time.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Looking for more healthy no-bake bites? Try one of these!
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough {Bites}
Chunky Monkey Snack Bites
Vegan Cookie Dough Truffles
What would you sub for the coconut flour as I don’t have any on hand? Almond flour?
Almond flour or oat flour might work, Kimberly, but you might have to add a little bit extra since coconut flour is so much more absorbent and the bites might not hold together properly if they’re too liquidy or sticky. Use 1/4 cup at first and increase by 1, 2, or 3 tablespoons depending on how the consistency comes out.
Thank you! I have not ever used coconut flour, so I appreciate the tips!
Just made them, it definitely took some finagling (aka much more applesauce). I’m not sure whether to blame doubling the recipe or my terrible bargain rate food processor (which is now in the garbage), but they sure are tasty! The coconut flour alone smells so delicious. Will be trying again with a better food processor!
Thanks for the post!
Hi Amanda,
Awesome Carrot Bites. Made them last night and brought them to the office.
Everyone loved them, but the one question I cannot answer is how many calories
per bite ? Calories must be ridiculously better than a small sliver of carrot cake. However, my co-workers want to know. Especially those that ate five or more.
Thank goodness I doubled the recipe !
Thanks,
Karen
I’m so happy to hear that you and your co-workers enjoyed them! I don’t calculate the nutritional info for my recipes, but these are -definitely- nowhere near the amount of calories as a slice of carrot cake. If you need to know exactly how much is in them, you can enter the ingredients into a calculator like this one to figure them out — http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Hi Amanda ,
Congrats for your website . Great yummy recipes !!
Do your recipes have Nutrition Facts ie, calories, fats , sugars etc….
Thank you
I just made these delicious carrot bites and may i just say WOW! So easy, not too expensive (even though maple syrup is quite pricey in Europe).
Anyway, i shared my photo od this on Instagram (@estilodetamara) so you can check it out. Of course, i left a link to your website! Kisses from Belgrade
I made these today and love them! It was fast and easy. I didn’t have coconut on hand but they are still delicious!
I can not wait to try these babies! I look forward to a good slice of carrot cake every year for Easter – love how these are a healthier addition! Will be making these ASAP.
Hi
Can I use dried prunes instead of medjool dates?
You can definitely use prunes, but I find that they have a pretty strong taste compared to dates so it would alter the taste of these bites quite a bit.
Thank you Amanda. I think I’ll use date spread instead.
do i need to add the applesauce or can i substitute it for something else?
The applesauce adds moisture and helps these bites stick together without adding too much flavour or sweetness, so it’s definitely needed. I haven’t tried it personally, but you might be able to get away with just adding a spoon or two of almond milk. A pumpkin or sweet potato puree would probably work. And maybe even mashed banana!
Mmm I love carrot cake! Although I probably wouldn’t love it as much without the cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting is the BEST!
As for a veggie I don’t like, that would be asparagus. I’ll eat it if it’s served to me, but I have never bought it for myself to cook because I’d rather eat any other vegetable. 😛
Ok, it’s official – I hungry for fun now!!!
I love love love that these use beloved coconut flour and oats as the base! And the apricot addition? GENIUS. Confession–I don’t love carrot cake either. I’ll just eat the whole batch of these instead.
Neither cake nor frosting: ice cream it is! Or whipped cream. Or the kind of cream cheese frosting we have over here. I know it’s odd but to my knowledge pretty much every frosting in the US – correct me if it’s different in Canada 🙂 – is based on powdered sugar. And that’s just not for me. We typically frost our cakes with whipped cream around here and I -always- got to lick the beaters when my mum baked. Though it was hard competition with my siblings at times.
I like all the spices you added to your bites here. Just gives them that bit of an edge, right [can you notice my lame pun here, bites/balls versus edge 😉 ?!]. It also looks like you got over your dislike for shredded coconuts and how pretty does it make these appear?!
You’re right — I’m pretty sure most of our frostings are made with icing sugar which is a big part of the reason I’m not a fan either. My mom actually makes an awesome black forest cake from scratch which includes whipped cream instead of icing, and that’s just to.die.for.
These are SO creative I love it! And they look so delicious!! I absolutely love carrot cake, no bake, and energy bites so I need to make these ASAP. Gorgeous 🙂
I’d join you any day, eating cream cheese by the spoon! These look delicious, and loving the fluffier texture.