Easy No Bake Carrot Cake Coconut Balls

Easy No Bake Carrot Cake Coconut Balls

Today we are making Easy No Bake Carrot Cake Coconut Balls! This is an easy treat for a quick snack (add them in a Ziploc bag or air tight container and bring them on your next plane ride!), perfectly flavored for your sweet tooth with all the parts that a coconut carrot cake is made up of.

A few simple ingredients that go into carrot cake, such as cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger combine with carrots, walnuts and coconut to make a nutritious snack or an easy dessert recipe for after dinner, that’s filled with wholesome ingredients! Carrot cake isn’t just for a special occasion, and these sweet treats are on my list of favorite no bake recipes when I’m craving a quick snack or want to put out an easy-to-make dessert tray when we have guests over. Aside from that, energy balls are family favorites, since they don’t take much time to whip up and can be the perfect treat to make with kids when you’ve had a long day and don’t want to make a mess in the kitchen (or, as little of a mess as possible having kids running around)!

Why You’ll Love These Easy No Bake Carrot Cake Coconut Balls

Like a Raw Carrot Cake: These energy bites are like eating a no bake dessert; a raw vegan carrot cake! It has all the delicious components that make up a carrot cake. The walnuts, fresh carrots and coconut, all held together with soft dates to make a sticky dough that can be rolled into little bites! There’s no frosting in here though … but let’s save that for the baked version! Plus, the total time is only about 15 minutes. You can find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!

Substitutions: Dates

Medjool Dates: For best results, use Medjool dates, as these are large, super soft and are the easiest way to get in natural sugar (and they act as a binding ingredient) for raw energy balls and no bake dessert recipes! The second best option would be Deglet Noor dates. The only difference between these is that Medjool dates are lighter in color, larger and are less chewy due to a thinner exterior. Deglet Noor dates are smaller, darker, have a thicker exterior and are chewier.

If your dates are not soft, you can soak them in boiling water for thirty minutes. Then drain the water, pat the dates dry and use in the recipe.

Dates are a great addition to any snack as well! Absolutely my favorite treat to eat – I love to grab one or two large dates to snack on during the day. Fill these with peanut butter, almond butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips or other delicious add-ins. You get lots of natural energy and they taste like a healthy version of caramel!

Substitutions: Coconut

Desiccated Coconut: This is grated and dehydrated meat of a whole coconut. Use desiccated coconut over other varieties like shredded coconut or coconut flakes. This is because the desiccated version is a very small size, and it’s also perfect for rolling the balls in. If the coconut pieces are bigger than this, they won’t coat the balls properly.

You can use either unsweetened coconut or sweet coconut. I prefer to use unsweetened to avoid the refined sugar in the sweetened varieties.

If you’re a big coconut lover and want even more coconut flavor, you can use toasted coconut instead. Make toasted coconut at home by stirring the coconut over low heat on the stovetop until it begins to lightly brown, then remove it from the heat and use!

You can usually find all types of coconut in the baking aisle of the grocery store.

Substitutions: Other

Fresh Carrots: Use freshly grated carrots in this recipe. Use a medium-hole size grater versus a small-hole size. This is because when grating with the super tiny graters (which I usually reserve for spices), the carrot will come out as mush and release a lot of water.

Raw Walnuts: Use raw walnuts, not roasted or salted. Carrot cake and walnuts go hand-in-hand, but if you need a substitute, raw macadamia nuts, raw cashews or blanched almonds can work.

Ginger: Use fresh ginger here. I haven’t tried it with dried ginger, but the fresh flavor can’t be beat! Use a small-hole size grater here, so the ginger doesn’t have large flakes throughout the dough. With the tiny grater, it will incorporate perfectly when blended.

This makes a big difference, because when mixing the grated ginger with the rest of the dough in the blender, it will start to stick to the dough and not break down into small pieces itself. This is why it must be grated into tiny pieces before you add it to the blender!

More Cookie Ball Recipes You’ll Love

Matcha Chocolate Coconut Bites: These delicious little cookie balls are a twist on a regular energy ball! The center of each ball has a surprise chocolate coconut center with cocoa powder, or matcha coconut filling, making one layer hidden inside the other.

Nature Valley Granola Bars: Although not in the cookie ball category, these deserve a spot! Nature Valley Granola Bar Recipe is reminiscent of the delicious (and super crumbly) Nature Valley Oats N’ Honey bars!

Mint Chocolate Bites: Is it that time of the year yet? These holiday treats were inspired by the winter season! With fresh mint, cocoa powder and dates, this perfect sweet treat is like a healthy Thin Mint!

Nutella Peanut Butter Oats Snack Cups: This tasty dessert for double layer snack cups has one peanut butter and oats layer, then another layer of homemade decadent chocolate coating, made of hazelnuts!

Funfetti Cheesecake Oreo Truffles: Softened cream cheese and Golden Oreo cookies come together in this no bake dessert recipe for a quick and fun recipe to make with kids! For extra oompf, drizzle some vegan white chocolate on top!

Snowball Cookies: These are melt-in-your-mouth pecan cookie balls that are a delicious tea cookie!

Peanut Butter Balls: Sugar free peanut butter balls made with raisins and peanuts. Drizzle melted chocolate on top for a PB & Chocolate bite!

Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls: Classic Oreo cookies mixed with vegan Cool Whip with a peppermint candy coating make a colorful holiday dessert!

If you make these Easy No Bake Carrot Cake Coconut Balls, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!