Easy Vegan Carrot Cake Bliss Balls
Sep 28, 2022 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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These quick and easy no-bake carrot cake bliss balls are a must-have homemade snack recipe. A simple, 10-minute treat that’s healthy, full of protein and fiber, and will satisfy your sweet tooth! Store them in the fridge or freezer for a grab-and-go vegan protein ball!
What Makes This Recipe Great
Also called protein balls, energy bites, date balls, or energy balls, this vegan bliss balls recipe is an easy, delicious, and healthy snack full of all the good stuff! It’s vegan, gluten-free, and has no refined sugar.
Super simple ingredients like shredded carrots rolled oats, dried dates, raw pecans, walnuts, and nut butter meets cinnamon, vanilla extract, and orange zest for a tasty “carrot cake” flavor.
Rolled into balls and refrigerated for a grab-and-go snack that satisfies sweet cravings while filling you up! Even better, they take just 10 minutes to make!
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what you need for this bliss balls recipe:
- Nuts: The base of these fudgy vegan protein balls are pecans and walnuts. Use raw, unsalted nuts for this recipe.
- Oats: I recommend using rolled oats (as opposed to quick or instant oats).
- Cinnamon: For a touch of warming spiced flavor.
- Dates: I love fudgy, sweet Medjool dates to sweeten these “date balls”. This dried fruit is an all-natural sweetener that also helps them keep their shape.
- Carrot: For the true carrot cake flavor.
- Almond butter: I like using unsweetened almond butter.
- Vanilla: I like vanilla bean paste, but you could use vanilla extract (pure).
- Orange Zest: When you’re using orange zest, it’s best to use organic oranges, since you’re eating the skin.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, pulse pecans, walnuts, cinnamon, rolled oats, and salt.
- Next add dates, carrot, almond butter, vanilla bean paste, and orange zest, and pulse again until everything pulls away from the edges of the blender and sticks together.
- Adjust texture and sweetness as needed. Add additional oats and nuts to firm up the mixture or add almond butter and dates to add moisture.
- Use a cookie scoop to roll 1-2 tbsp of the mixture into balls. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for 2-3 days in an airtight container. Freeze to save for 1-2 weeks.
Decorating
Feel free to add some extra crunch by rolling the fully shaped date balls in fun toppings like:
- Shredded coconut
- Crushed pecans or walnuts
- Chia seeds
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa powder
Variations
I’ve made so many versions of these delicious treats. Switch things up with one of these gluten-free and vegan protein balls!
- Chocolate Chip (nut-free and seed free)
- Ferrero Rocher
- Hot Cross Buns
- Chocolate Gingerbread
- Matcha
- Strawberry Cashew
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator: Store these date balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezing: You can also freeze them for up to six months. They’re great frozen, but if you let them soften a bit, they’re easier to eat.
Recipe FAQs
Dates add a natural sweetness and help to bind the balls together (hence, calling them date balls!). If you don’t like dates, you can substitute for a different dried fruit like dried apricots, or dried figs, or add a little maple syrup for extra sweetness. Be careful not to add too much as you want them to be able to form a ball.
They are! These vegan date balls are a great, filling snack alternative to cookies or chips, or other sweets that don’t have as much nutritional value.
Try my chocolate chip vegan protein balls for a delicious nut-free and seed-free option!
Try These Vegan Snack Recipes
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below!
Easy Vegan Carrot Cake Bliss Balls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 12 medjool dates pits removed
- 1 1/2 medium carrot shredded (roughly 1/3 cup carrot)
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tsp orange zest
- optional
- allspice clove, nutmeg or other spices
- 2-3 tsp maple syrup for additional sweetness
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, pulse pecans, walnuts, cinnamon, rolled oats and salt.
- Next add dates, carrot, almond butter, vanilla bean paste and orange zest and pulse again until everything pulls away from the edges of the blender and sticks together.
- Adjust texture and sweetness as needed. Add additional oats and nuts to firm up the mixture or add almond butter and dates to add moisture.
- Use a cookie scoop to roll 1-2 tbsp of the mixture into balls. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for 2-3 days in an airtight container. Freeze to save for 1-2 weeks.
Notes
Decorating
Feel free to add some extra crunch by rolling the fully shaped date balls in fun toppings like:- Shredded coconut
- Crushed pecans or walnuts
- Chia seeds
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa powder
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator: Store these date balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezing: You can also freeze them for up to six months. They're great frozen, but if you let them soften a bit, they're easier to eat.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
