Easy Carrot Cake Bites Recipe

Have you ever considered going on a raw food diet? Did you even know this was a thing humans could do? Well, yes, if you think about it, our earliest ancestors had to sustain themselves somehow, even before they figured out how to make use of fire for culinary purposes. Still, we've become so used to cooked food that it seems the only raw foods most of us have in our diets is maybe the occasional piece of fruit or a salad every now and then.

Well, even if you'd never dream of going all raw all the time, it doesn't hurt to experiment with new things now and then, particularly when they are as healthy — and as easy to make — as these raw carrot cake bites from recipe developer Sher Castellano. Castellano says, "These carrot cake snacks are packed with energy and make great portable snacks." What's more, she tells us, "All of the ingredients are nutrient dense and anti-inflammatory." And the best part? Total time spent slaving over a hot stove: 0 hours and 0 minutes. Let's get started.

The main ingredient in these raw carrot cake bites is carrots, of course. In addition to the carrots, you'll be using rolled oats, unsweetened shredded coconut, raisins, coconut oil, and chia seeds. For flavoring, you'll be using cinnamon, ginger, and a tiny bit of fine sea salt.

Castellano notes that while the chia seeds don't add any texture because, as she explains, chia "gets moist as it absorbs moisture," she does say that this ingredient "acts as a binding agent."

While it is not strictly necessary to peel carrots, as their skin is perfectly edible and thin enough not to impact the texture, carrots skins do have a slightly bitter taste to them, so you may still want to get rid of it. After peeling (or not), slice the carrots into one-inch chunks.

For the next step, you will need a food processor. Pulse the carrots in your food processor until they are finely shredded.

Leave the carrots in the food processor, then add the oats, the raisins, coconut oil, chia seeds, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and one cup of the shredded coconut. Add the honey or maple syrup, too, if you'll be using them. Pulse the whole mixture until it's well blended.

Scoop the mixture up, a tablespoon at a time, and roll it into balls using your hands. You may have to do some pushing and poking since this "dough" doesn't exactly have the same consistency as a mixture made with flour, butter, and eggs. Once you've formed all the mixture into bites, roll them into the remaining shredded coconut.

Before the carrot cake bites are ready to eat, you will need to stick them in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The reason for doing so, Castellano says, is because this helps to set them. "The coconut oil and ingredients harden to hold together," she says, adding, "but they stay moist and soft."

Castellano recommends eating these carrot cake bites for breakfast or as a snack. She does say, though, that "They have very low sugar, and they're not meant as a dessert replacement." If you keep them in an airtight container in the fridge, they ought to be good for up to five days.