I created these carrot cake bites not only for spring, but as something quick and easy you can whip up for celebrations like Easter, birthday parties, baby showers, and more! They require 9 basic ingredients (that you likely have on hand right now), 1 food processor, and just 30 minutes to make!
They’re also naturally-sweetened, grain-free (if you’re into that kind of thing), rich in healthy fats, and flavored with health-promoting spices like ginger and cinnamon! Let’s (not) bake!
The base for these bites is medjool dates, walnuts, and fresh grated carrot. Then I added ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg for that quintessential carrot cake flavor.
To help the mixture form and add more natural sweetness, I opted for coconut flour (almond flour will also work here). Lastly, I threw in some raisins (even though I’m not the biggest fan), because they feel essential to the carrot cake vibe.
Once the cake mixture is ready, simply scoop into bites and roll into balls, at which point you can enjoy immediately, roll in shredded coconut, or chill and top with fresh coconut butter! Swoon.
I went for both toppings because I couldn’t decide. Trust me — you can’t go wrong either way!
I hope you LOVE these bites! They’re:
Naturally sweet
Bursting with carrot cake flavor
Quick & easy to make
Portable
& Super satisfying
These would make the perfect snack or treat to have on hand throughout the week, or would make a lovely healthier dessert to bring along to spring celebrations.
Into snack bites? Be sure to check out our Fudgy Chocolate Cake Bites, Vanilla Cake Bites, Golden Milk Snack Bites, Dark Chocolate Hemp Energy Bites, and Lemon Poppyseed Donut Holes!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites
Tender, naturally sweetened carrot cake bites with dates, carrots, walnuts, cinnamon, and coconut flour! So simple, delicious carrot cake flavor, and the perfect healthier snack or dessert! Just 30 minutes, 9 ingredients, and 1 food processor required.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup peeled and finely shredded carrot (~1-2 carrots as recipe is written)
- 1 cup packed pitted medjool dates (measured after pits are removed)
- 1 ¾ cups raw walnuts (or sub other nut, such as pecans or cashews)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 4-6 Tbsp coconut flour (or sub almond flour)
- 1/4 cup raisins (optional // or sub other unsweetened dried fruit)
FOR TOPPING optional
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut flakes (you can blitz briefly in a blender for a finer flake that sticks to the bites more easily)
- 8 tsp soft, runny coconut butter (or store-bought // if hard, soften in the microwave or over the stovetop using a double boiler until pourable)
Instructions
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Using the grater attachment on your food processor (or a box grater), grate the carrot and set aside.
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To the food processor, add the pitted dates and blend until small bits remain or a ball forms. Remove from food processor and set aside.
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To the food processor, add walnuts, vanilla, salt, and spices. Blend until a semi-fine meal is achieved — about 15 seconds. Then add the dates and shredded carrot back in and pulse in 1-second increments until a loose dough forms and the carrots are just incorporated. Be careful not to over-blend. You're looking for a pliable dough, not a purée.
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Add coconut flour 2 Tbsp (18 g) at a time and pulse to combine. If it is not mixing, you may need to remove the lid and stir occasionally to encourage things along. You’re not looking for a paste or purée here, but a tender, crumbly dough. Once well combined, add raisins (optional) and pulse/stir once more to combine.
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Scoop out 2-Tablespoon amounts using a cookie scooper (like this one), roll into balls with hands, and place directly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or serving platter. Repeat until all dough is used up. If the bites are too sticky to roll, add a little more coconut or almond flour to dry the mixture out.
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Roll in finely shredded coconut (optional) and enjoy immediately or refrigerate to chill/firm up. Or, if topping with coconut butter (optional), place bites in the freezer to chill for 10-15 minutes, then top with fresh coconut butter (if butter is not pourable, warm in a double boiler or in the microwave until a runnier consistency is achieved). After topping with coconut butter, chill bites another 5-10 minutes to set.
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Store covered in the refrigerator up to 1 week or in the freezer up to 1 month.
Notes
*Adapted from our No Bake Vegan Carrot Cake.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional ingredients.
Nutrition Per Serving (1 of 16 bites)
- Calories: 142
- Fat: 5.4g
- Saturated fat: 0.7g
- Sodium: 44mg
- Potassium: 260mg
- Carbohydrates: 24.1g
- Fiber: 3.3g
- Sugar: 19.6g
- Protein: 2g
Easy and delicious , I’ve made these for a family member who is trying to be ‘healthy’ and they could not stop nibbling away at them. Admittedly i do not own a food processor (*shock horror*) but i own a juice blender. Ok controversial possibly dangerous, but was able to blend the dates and walnuts and then hand mashed them together with the carrots and spices. Worked out great and delicious , will defo make them again and maybe invest into a food processor ….
I LOVE carrot Cake, however, my husband is allergic to ALL nuts and Soy… Is there a substitution for the walnuts??
Hmm, you could try hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, or something similar?
These carrot cake bites were delicous! One of my friend’s birthday was coming up and I didn’t know many vegan recipes, so my friend directed me to this website, and I found these! I personally love carrot cake, and it had such a similar flavor that it felt like I was eating a healthier version of a cake pop! I didn’t have the time or ingredients to top the bites with coconut butter but I want to try that next time. They were very easy to make, and I was very grateful that this was a vegan recipe that did not have cashew butter, since I am allergic to cashews. Once again, they were delicous, my friend loved them, I ate far too many for something that was supposed to be a present, and I can’t wait to try them again!
So glad to hear it, Sulaf! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Has anyone soaked the walnuts overnight before making these or other versions of balls that contain walnuts? I’ve always read its best to soak nuts for good digestion. I haven’t made these yet but love the vanilla cake version you have Dana!
I don’t know why it took me so long to make these. Yum!!!
Easy to make, and super delicious :-D
Thank you for the great recipe!!! <3
Great recipe but the texture is more like fudge than cake. (It really wasn’t like carrot cake) I wish the texture was a little more dry. Amazing how sweet it is despite there being no sugar in the recipe. The taste is pretty good. I made them for father’s day and gave them to my dad as a gift. He loves dates so this was a real treat for him.
Hi Nicky, you could try adding additional coconut flour or walnuts next time for a more dry texture. Hope that helps!
These bites are amazing! I tweaked a bit, and as I didn’t have medjool, I used diglet noor dates. I subbed 1 cup almonds & 3/4 cup rolled oats for the walnuts; added a small knob of fresh ginger; added 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice and rolled in hemp seeds AND coconut. Oh my, felt like Lucy & Ethel, seems as though I ate two for every one I had left for the freezer tray 😂
So glad you enjoyed these, Maureen! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Hi Dana, these look so great. I want to try them but I’m trying to reduce overall sugar in my diet, even if they’re from natural sources. For many similar recipes there’s dates as a base to bind and for natural sweetness. What can you suggest I replace dates with? Of course I can simply omit the raisins. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Hi! Yes, the dates both bind and provide sweetness. You could try using cashew butter and sweetening with your preferred sweetener. Might be tricky to replace the dates though! Let us know if you do some experimenting.
This is a totally delicious recipe! I would like to know if I can sub fresh grated ginger for the powder ginger? I made these for a friend and myself and we both raved about them
Hi Heather, we haven’t tried it, but that should work! Let us know if you give it a try!
I made a triple batch of these (!) since my husband and I go through snacks quickly in our house. I didn’t have enough walnuts on hand so I subbed roasted pepitas which I think came out very nicely. I also subbed pumpkin pie spice for the ginger and nutmeg. Overall excellent flavor and shockingly sweet for only having dates!
Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for this comment! I am allergic to nuts so was wondering what I could use in place of the I with. I will try the roasted pepitas.
My boyfriends favorite dessert is carrot cake, and he absolutely loved these! So easy to make and great for that sweet tooth craving.
I made it today and it’s so delicious it’s almost dangerous 😂 Next time I’ll probably double the recipe! Tks for this recipe 🙏🏻
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Michelle. We are so glad you enjoyed these! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
I’m absolutely loving all these amazing sweets ! I made this and the Vegan Brownies ~ both were brilliant . Every one at work loved the Brownies and I’m definitely a convert. Keep up the fantastic work. So refreshing ~ many Thanks xx
Thanks for sharing, Pete!
I made this nut free by replacing the walnuts with an equal amount of ground oatmeal. They are delicious!
Thanks Dana
Michelle
Thanks, Michelle!
Another winner Dana – delicious little carrot cake flavoured bites, but with no fat, sugar, eggs, flour – amazing! Thank you : )
I made this recipe but had a very difficult time trying to mix in the date ball with the other ingredients. Some cookies are just date balls, not carroty. I tried to follow the recipe exactly. Any suggestions for next time?
Hi Carol, Is it possible that your food processor is on the smaller side? That would be one potential idea! Hope that helps!
I LOVE carrot cake! but my goodness Carrot Cake BITES?! YES PLEASE :D hahah those look amazing! Great recipe!!
Hope you love these, Olivia!
Easy breezy!
used walnuts with about 1/3 cup almonds. Didn’t have any vanilla (when did THAT happen!, so added a little banana milk in case it needed a liquid. We do love ginger, so, rather than the sweet toppings, I rubbed my hands with fresh ginger while making the balls, then added a dab of ginger to each. They’re in the fridge now firming. Thanks for this fun Mother’s Day treat.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Lorraine!
These were sooo good. Kind of like pumpkin pie filling in flavour.
Lovely! Glad you enjoyed them, Anna.
Can you make this with dried figs instead of dates?
It’s worth a shot! Let us know how it goes.
Wow! Super easy, healthy, quick to make. Brilliant recipe. Thank you
These are amazing. I have been making almond bites for years and my littlest ones loved them. Decided to try this carrot, recipe and they didn’t last….yum.
Thanks, Kemoy! Next time would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers! xo
These are really moist and tasty. I hadn’t thought about using runny peanut butter as a topping, but it’s such a great option.
Thanks, Amanda!
Um these were amazing. I honestly have never loved a date-based cake bite like I love these. I put them in the freezer and they taste amazing straight from the freezer (like frozen carrot cake cookie dough). Also, my two-year-old gobbled these up for a little treat!
haha, yay! Thanks, Ingrid! xo
These are soooo very good…thank you. Did add a little hemp seed.
Thanks so much for the review, Judi. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Carrot cake is such an underrated cake, but it’s probably my favourite cake. This was such a delicious recipe
Thanks, Jared
Thanks for sharing!!
I just made these, and they are perfect (just like your pics!) and absolutely delicious. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Thanks for sharing, Gloria!
Can I substitute regular flour for the almond and coconut?? I am out and gluten free is not essential-
Let me know
Thanks
Barbara
I don’t know that I’d recommend eating raw flour. Perhaps oats, shredded coconut, or more nuts would be a better solution.
Very good bites :)
Thanks, Ingrid!
Made the carrot cake bites and they are a hit. Rolled them in coconut – no frosting and will do it the same way next time. Will also make the balls smaller next time and have 32 to 40 bites. Thanks for all the recipes!
Thanks for sharing, Carol!
These look delicious!! Would you recommend completely drying out the carrot prior to blending them into the recipe, or is it okay for them to be a little bit damp?
We didn’t find it necessary to remove any juice.
I just finished making these and I literally swooned when I took the first bite. I am currently on a fairly strict cleanse and I expected eight weeks of deprivation but these completely fit within my guidelines of plant-based, grain free, unprocessed etc and oh my goodness!!! Doing a happy dance right now!!! I just forwarded the recipe to my daughter because I thought they would make super healthy treats for my grandkids!!!
Yay for healthier treats! So glad you’re enjoying them.
I just made a batch of these, following your instructions to a T, and can’t believe how incredibly delicious these are. I satisfied my carrot cake craving without spending hours in the kitchen and without guilt.
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
Yay! Thanks for sharing!
These are addicting! Used almond flour and rolled in coconut. They taste just like carrot cake, love. Mine turned out pretty soft, I may add more walnuts and carrot next time, but they’re still delicious! I also like the idea some people have to add some protein powder. Thanks Dana!
yay, thanks Sophie!
Hello, I work for a nonprofit and we would like to use a couple of your photos in a pamphlet about environmentally friendly plant-based eating. Would it be possible to speak with you about this? Thanks!
Hi, please refer here for info about sharing our recipes and images.
Hi Dana, I’ll start by saying how wonderful your recipes are (and beautifully photographed!). My daughters have both became vegan in the past 2 years and you were a shining light guiding me through learning a new way to cook.
I had noticed that you use often use dates in your recipes and was wondering if you are familiar with silan. It’s date syrup that’s used in middle-eastern cooking.
Thanks for everything, especially your Mac n’ Cheese ;-)
I’m not but I’ll have to check that out!
Does the nutritional info include the optional topping?
No, it does not.
Yummy!! I didn’t have any useful flour for this but made without and they are delicious! Thanks Dana 🤗
Thanks, Agata!
Yum! We used cashews and rolled them in shredded coconut. A bit sweet for our tastes, I would cut back on the dates next round. Super easy and very satisfying.
Thanks for sharing, Candice!
Mine came out tasting like pumpkin pie! I used all of the recommended almond flour and they still didn’t quite “dry” up enough like cake however they are soft and delicious
Interesting! Thanks for sharing, Faith. I’d say more coconut flour next time. Coconut adds that “cakey” flavor.
Hello Dana,
I’d like to know if it is possible to use ” Bob’s Red Mill, Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour ” as this is what I have in the house and I”m allergic to Almonds and Almond Flour & don’t like the taste of coconut. ie : coconut flour ? I also have Celiac Disease.
My I just say also that I think your website is the greatest. I love the fact that the recipes are of limited ingredients and made in 30 minutes or less.
Thank you,
Beth Bradley
Hi Beth, if you don’t like the taste of coconut flour I’d still beg it’s worth a shot as it adds that “cakey” flavor. However, if not, I’d say oats would be your next best bet OR a GF blend, such as BRM 1:1.
Could I add protein powder? If so, would you sub it for the coconut flour?
I wouldn’t sub all of it for protein powder, but up to half, yes! Let us know how it goes!
Looks yummy, I have everything except food processor! Can these be made any other way?
A blender would likely work! Or, if you very finely chop things that could also work.
Could you sub out flour for a vegan pea protein?
I think so, yes!
Hi
This is an amazing recipe
Healthy and yummy.
Thanks, Lallie!
These look absolutely perfect!! I love carrot cake with all my heart. Do you think a vita mix would work instead of a food processor?
I think so, although I have had issues with dates in my vitamix in the past. Just go slow and don’t add too much at once! And please make sure your dates are fresh and pitted.
What if you want it baked? Can you still bake them?
You could, but that would only dry them out.
Do you have any suggestions on how to make these without a tree nut base? We have an allergy household :(
I would suggest a mix of sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and desiccated or flaked coconut.
Do you have an alternative ingredient for dates?
Figs, raisins, or sub cashew butter and sweeten to taste with maple syrup.
Next time I will make smaller bites (more than 16) because they are quite dense and filling.
Great note!
Good structure, spicy and chewy
Thanks, Melina!
You had me at “soft, runny coconut butter” 😄
lol
I’m curious if you can use carrot pulp leftover from juicing instead of grated carrots…would it make it too dry.
Potentially, but I actually think that would work fine! It will likely be more dry, so just add less coconut flour as needed. Let us know how it goes!
Hi, how do you suspect whole wheat flower would do here? Also, thanks for adding alt tags to your photos. As someone who is blind and uses a screen reader, it’s greatly appreciated:)
Of course! Glad that’s helpful. As for whole wheat flour, I wouldn’t suggest eating raw flour (it can be hard to digest). So perhaps a mix of oat, almond, and/or coconut flour would work. And I also think protein powder could work as well. Hope that helps!
I just made the cake version of this recipe for Easter. Oh my, what a hit! Everyone loved it. Seriously amazing. We frosted with the cashew frosting. Perfect! Thanks you are a great inspiration to healthy and yummy eating!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Loril! xo