No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites

Sometimes, you want cake, but don’t want to buy all the ingredients to make it or have an entire cake in your house. Am I right? Well, you can have your cake and eat it too with these scrumptious no-bake carrot cake bites.

Not only are these gluten and grain-free, they’re dairy-free and date-sweetened too. And, these are also incredibly easy to make. Plus, you can’t go wrong with carrot cake, especially in the springtime. It’s perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day or any regular spring day.

These bites are full of healthy fats from the walnuts and coconut, and naturally sweet from the dates and carrots. Not only that, but the carrots offer a dose of vitamins and antioxidants as well. The warm spices add the perfect amount of zest to these melt-in-your mouth morsels.

I think these would be stellar with pecans too, so if you don’t have walnuts on hand or want to mix things up, give it a go. Also, feel free to tweak the spice ratios to your preferred taste. Luckily, you can taste along the way with this recipe, so it’s simple to adjust the flavors.

Lastly, catch the replay of me making these on Portland’s KATU Afternoon Live HERE.

Cheers and enjoy!

No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites

Ingredients:

• About 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced (~1.5 cups grated)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup raw walnuts, preferably sprouted (pecans would also work well)
• 10 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup coconut butter, melted (I used this brand)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Extra unsweetened shredded coconut for rolling, if desired

Directions:

1. Place sliced carrots in food processor bowl. Process until finely grated.
2. Next, add all the remaining ingredients, except for the extra unsweetened coconut (for rolling at the end). Process until ingredients are fully incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. Mixture will be sticky when done.
3. Shape into 1-2 Tbsp sized balls with hands (I did a generous tablespoon size for the amount I yielded). Roll into extra shredded coconut, if using. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 20-30 minutes.
4. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Yields: ~25 bites