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These carrot cake bliss balls are made with simple and wholesome ingredients. They’re naturally sweetened with dates and raisins and can be enjoyed as a snack or sweet treat.

For the recipe, you’ll combine carrots with cashews, dates, oats, and shredded coconut. To make these energy bites taste more like carrot cake, add ground cinnamon and a little ground ginger.
The vegan energy balls are a sweet, no-bake treat that can be made in advance and frozen for later. They’re great for meal prep, snacking, a healthier dessert, or kids’ school lunches (unless the school is nut-free).
For more healthy bliss ball recipes, try apricot bliss balls using dried apricots or peanut butter and date balls with chocolate chips. For more oat-based snacks, try raisin oatmeal bars, baked blueberry oatmeal cups, blueberry lemon oatmeal cups, or banana nut oatmeal cookies.
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Recipe features
- Quick and easy!
- Naturally sweetened with dates and raisins!
- Freezable!
- Plant-based, vegan, dairy-free, oil-free!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
The carrot bliss ball recipe uses simple ingredients, but please see the recipe card below for a complete list and exact measurements.
Raw carrots - Roughly chop the carrot before adding it to the food processor. Then, chop it up finely with the food processor. Leftover carrots can be used to make vegan oil-free carrot cake muffins or carrot cake-inspired banana carrot smoothies.
Raw cashews - Use raw cashews to make the bliss ball recipe. I haven’t tried making them nut-free, but sunflower seeds may work. If the sunflower seeds don’t add enough fat to the vegan bliss ball mixture and the mixture isn’t sticking together, try adding a tablespoon of water at a time while the food processor is running (or see notes below for dry bliss balls).
Old-fashioned Oats - Use rolled oats as the main ingredient. If needed, use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free option. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but some products are processed in facilities that may cross-contaminate with non-gluten-free products.
Dates - I use pitted Deglet Noor dates for natural sweetness, but you can use another type of date like Medjool. The dates not only add sweetness but they also help everything bind together. Even if your dates say pitted, check for pits.
Raisins - I’ve always enjoyed the flavor of raisins in my oil-free vegan carrot cake muffins, so I’ve added them here too. If you prefer to skip them, replace them with more dates for the stickiness that dried fruit adds to the energy bites.
Unsweetened Coconut - Shredded coconut adds flavor and texture to the carrot cake bites. It’s optional to coat the bites in additional shredded coconut once they’re rolled out.
Ground Cinnamon and Ginger - The spices give the carrot cake balls more flavor.
Tips
- If your dates are not soft and mushy, soak them for 10-15 minutes, then drain and continue with the carrot bliss ball recipe.
- Measuring by weight is more accurate, but if you don’t have a scale make sure you tightly pack your half cup of dates for a more accurate measurement.
- If your dough will not hold together, try blending it a little longer for all the ingredients to break down more and become sticky.
- If the dough still does not come together, add a tablespoon of water and blend again.
- Check your dates for pits even if the container says pitted. Even though the bag says pitted, sometimes there’s a stray pit.
- I would recommend a food processor for this recipe since most blenders will require liquid to blend ingredients.
How to make carrot cake bliss balls
1. Roughly chop your carrot, then use your food processor to chop the carrot finely. You don’t want large chunks.
2. Then, add the cashews and dates to the carrots in the food processor and blend until it becomes a wet, sticky dough. The dates and cashews should be finely diced from blending.
3. Next, add the rest of the ingredients to your food processor and blend until the dough sticks together. In the picture below, you can see the dough starts to form a clump and rolls in from the sides. You want everything to be ground up so there are no large chunks. This process also enables your mixture to start to stick together but keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth.
4. Then, with a spoon, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll the mixture in your palms to form a ball. Optional: the bliss balls can then be rolled in shredded coconut while they’re still sticky.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store the energy balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Freezer: Freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
If the mixture for the carrot cake balls is too sticky to roll into balls, try blending in more rolled oats.
If the mixture is too dry, there are a few options. If they are just a little dry, try adding a tablespoon of water at a time while blending. Option 2 is adding more dates (preferably soft or soaked dates) for them to work as glue. Option 3 is to add a little nut or seed butter.
Related recipes
- banana nut oatmeal cookies
- blueberry baked oatmeal cups
- whole-wheat carrot cake muffins
- vegan pumpkin muffins (oil-free)
- peanut butter date balls with chocolate chips
I hope you enjoy this recipe for vegan bliss balls! If you like the recipe, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.
Recipe
Carrot Cake Bliss Balls
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 23-26 balls 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These carrot cake bliss balls are made with simple and wholesome ingredients. They’re naturally sweetened with dates and raisins and can be enjoyed as a snack or sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot (116 g), roughly chopped
- ½ cup (70 g) raw cashews
- ½ cup (88 g) tightly packed pitted soft dates (soak for 15 minutes if your dates are firm)
- 1½ cup (135 g) old fashioned oats
- ½ cup (45 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup (40g) raisins
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅓ cup (30 g) unsweetened shredded coconut for rolling (optional)
Instructions
- If your dates are firm and not soft and mushy, soak for 10-15 minutes, then drain and proceed with the recipe.
- Add the chopped carrots to a food processor and blend until finely diced.
- Add the cashews and dates to the carrots and blend until finely diced. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the oats, ½ cup shredded coconut, raisins, cinnamon, and ginger to the carrot mixture, and blend. Blend until the dough sticks together and everything is combined. This is about when the mixture starts to roll in from the sides of the food processor. If the dough is not coming together, try to blend for a little longer. If it is still not sticky then add a tablespoon of water and blend again.
- Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it between your palms to form a ball. Then repeat with the rest of the mixture.
- Optional: roll in unsweetened shredded coconut.
Notes
Check for pits in your dates even if the bag says pitted.
If you're not using a scale make sure to tightly pack your ½ cup of dates for a more accurate measurement.
Make sure the dates are soft and mushy; if not, soak for 10-15 minutes.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Snack
- Method: food processor
- Cuisine: American
Ian
Delicious! I like keeping these handy for a quick snack that o dont feel bad about eating!
Allie
I'm glad you like them, they're really nice to have on hand for snacking!
Emmaline
OMG! I've added this recipe to my Veggie of the Month list to try. My kids love energy balls but Ive never made anything with carrot before. Anyways, this recipe is GOLDEN! I think I haven't blend the carrot fine enough but still, the carrot energy balls were a success in our house. I'll definitely make more. And soon. 🙂
Allie
Thank you so much for sharing my recipe and I'm so glad they were a hit in your house!