Carrot Cake Energy Balls
These carrot cake energy balls combine the flavors you love in carrot cake into a healthy portable bite-sized treat. These are easy to make and perfect for a quick snack or dessert!
Servings: 16 energy balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup carrots cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 cup old fashioned or rolled oats
- ½ cup unsalted pecans
- ¼ cup unsalted walnuts (or substitue cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, or more pecans)
- 12 Medjool dates pitted *
- 6 dried apricots
- 2 Tablespoons flax seed meal or chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1-3 Tablespoons orange juice freshly squeezed
- ⅓ cup shredded unsweetened coconut for rolling (optional)
Instructions
- Add the chopped carrots to a food processor and pulse until it’s a fine grated texture. Remove the carrots from the food processor and transfer to a small bowl. Lightly wipe out the interior of the food processor with a paper towel.
- Add the oats, pecans, and walnuts to the food processor. Pulse until finely ground. Next add the medjool dates (pitted!), apricots, flax seed meal, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, and 1 Tablespoon orange juice to the food processor. Process until mixture is well combined. If dough doesn’t seem to start sticking together, add additional 1-2 Tablespoons orange juice to help bind it. Be careful not to over blend, you’re looking for a pliable dough, not a pureed mixture.
- Finally, add the carrots back to the food processor and pulse a few times to incorporate.
- Roll the dough into balls about the size of a golf ball or smaller. If you’re using the coconut, pour it onto a plate and roll each ball in coconut. Store energy balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
per one (recipe makes ~16 balls, pending size)
117 Calories, 4 gram fat, 2 gram protein, 20 gram total carbohydrate, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams sugar, 7 mg sodium
Notes:
*Medjool dates tend to be very soft. However if you can only find Delget Noor dates, these usually have a drier texture and need to be softened before using in this recipe. Boil a pot of water, then pour over dates and soak for 10 minutes until softened. Then drain well and pat dry before using in recipe. If medjool dates are very hard follow the same soaking instructions. Deglet noor dates are much smaller than medjool dates so you will have to add at least 3-4 more. You want at least a compact, heaping 1 cup measured. You can always add more if you find the dough is not sticking together well. Start with 1 tablespoon orange juice and you can always add more to help combine mixture. I used 3 tablespoons and thought it was the perfect texture and taste. You don’t want to over process the dough. Some texture is good! Pulse until just starting to stick together and form a dough. The texture shouldn’t be dry, it should be slightly sticky to be able to form into balls. Don't like pecans? Substitute any other nut or seed (almonds, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds)
*Medjool dates tend to be very soft. However if you can only find Delget Noor dates, these usually have a drier texture and need to be softened before using in this recipe. Boil a pot of water, then pour over dates and soak for 10 minutes until softened. Then drain well and pat dry before using in recipe. If medjool dates are very hard follow the same soaking instructions. Deglet noor dates are much smaller than medjool dates so you will have to add at least 3-4 more. You want at least a compact, heaping 1 cup measured. You can always add more if you find the dough is not sticking together well. Start with 1 tablespoon orange juice and you can always add more to help combine mixture. I used 3 tablespoons and thought it was the perfect texture and taste. You don’t want to over process the dough. Some texture is good! Pulse until just starting to stick together and form a dough. The texture shouldn’t be dry, it should be slightly sticky to be able to form into balls. Don't like pecans? Substitute any other nut or seed (almonds, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds)