These no-bake Bliss Balls have bright berry flavor, are packed with protein and beneficial fats, have only 5 ingredients, and store ridiculously well in the fridge for weeks. They are a satisfying snack to share with the kids.
I am a huge fan of no-bake snacks, including all manner of Energy Bites and energy balls, and these Bliss Balls are 100% my newest favorite. The berry flavor in these is seriously the best—it kind of reminds me of the intense berry flavor of a strawberry milkshake.
The beauty of this recipe is that after you soak the nuts to soften them, the rest of it comes together in minutes. And then the vegan snack can hang out in the fridge for weeks, ready whenever your family needs them. They are also easy to customize with different nuts, seeds, or fruit, so you can make them exactly the way your family prefers.
These are gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, and a great source of beneficial healthy fats and protein. I love them since they are easy to adapt for families with food allergies.
(You may like my Chocolate No-Bake Balls, Fruit and Nut Bars, and Peanut Butter Muffins, too.)
Table of Contents
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What are Bliss Balls?
Bliss balls are similar to energy bites and energy balls in that they are a bite-size snack that typically has nuts or nut butter, oats or coconut, and fruit or chocolate. They may also be called protein balls, depending on the ingredients in the specific recipe. This bliss ball recipe is great for kids but also adults—particularly as a pregnancy snack, breastfeeding snack, or just an easy snack whenever you need it.
Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at the pantry staples you need to make this easy homemade snack recipe.
- Cashews: I use roasted unsalted cashews in this recipe since they have a mild flavor and blend easily after briefly soaking in water. You can also use roasted unsalted almonds or roasted unsalted sunflower seeds. Use the latter option to make them nut-free.
- Medjool dates: Look for this variety of dates in the produce aisle as they are often sold refrigerated or near the produce. If they have pits, you’ll want to remove them before you start the recipe. These provide stickiness to help the batter hold together and natural sweetness.
- Vanilla: A little vanilla extract adds flavor that combines really nicely with the berries.
- Rolled oats: I add rolled oats (which are sometimes called “old-fashioned oats” to help ensure the balls aren’t too sticky. It also adds a little fiber, which is a nice bonus.
- Shredded and unsweetened coconut: Adding a small amount of shredded coconut to the mixture adds flavor and, with the oats, helps ensure the mixture is easy to form into balls. (If you prefer, you can use all oats or all coconut.)
- Freeze-dried fruit: I’m showing this recipe with strawberries, but you can also use blueberries or raspberries. Using freeze-dried fruit blends right into the mixture, adding intense flavor that you can’t get from fresh fruit. Look for it in your supermarket near dried fruit.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Below is an overview of how to make this bliss balls recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the end of this post for the full recipe, including the amounts and the timing.
- Place the cashews in a medium bowl and cover with water. Let sit briefly to soften. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Remove the pits from the dates, if needed. Add the cashews to the bowl of a food processor with the rest of the ingredients.
- Pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides often, until ground into a relatively smooth paste-like dough.
- Roll out balls of dough. Press into additional shredded coconut if desired. (If the batter becomes sticky, wash your hands and start again. You can serve these chilled or at room temperature.
How to Store
Store the bliss balls in an airtight sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. They can be served cold right out of the fridge or at room temperature if you want to take them on the go.
You can also freeze them for longer-term storage in a freezer bag, but honestly, they stay fresh in the fridge for so long that you may not need to. If you freeze them, thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
Best Tips for Success
- You can use almonds or sunflower seeds instead of cashews. Raw or roasted work, just be sure to choose unsalted.
- You may want to cut them up into smaller pieces if your little one tends to stuff big bites of food into their mouth, or make slightly smaller bite-sized balls.
- Roll each in extra coconut if desired.
- Use all rolled oats instead of the coconut if you prefer. (Or all coconut instead of oats and coconut.)
- Use whichever type of freeze-dried fruit your family prefers. We love them with strawberries.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this post, so please rate and comment below!
Favorite Bliss Balls
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cashews
- 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons shredded and unsweetened coconut (plus more for rolling, optional)
- 1 cup freeze-dried fruit (such as strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries)
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a medium bowl and cover with water. Let sit for 30 minutes to soften. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Remove the pits from the dates, if needed.
- Add the cashews to the bowl of a food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides often, until ground into a relatively smooth paste-like dough.
- Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to portion out dough, rolling each in the palm of your hand. Press into additional shredded coconut if desired. (If the batter becomes sticky, wash your hands and start again, or pop the batter into the fridge for a few minutes.)
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
- You may also want to cut them up into smaller pieces if your little one tends to stuff big bites of food into their mouth.
- You can use almonds or sunflower seeds instead of cashews. Raw or roasted work, just be sure to choose unsalted.
- Roll each in shredded coconut or cocoa powder to make them look like truffles.
- Use all rolled oats instead of the coconut if you prefer. (Or all coconut instead of oats and coconut.)
Hi, love the recipe but how did you grind the dates? My food processor just broke and had to hand chop for almost an hour for everything to mix together. Is there some tricks to getting this right?
When you soak them in water in step 1, they soften and blend easily. Did you possibly skip that step?
Finally gave these a go today and both my kids (3 and 16mo) loved them. I made them as listed but used a half tablespoon for each. My oldest loved rolling the balls in coconut before proceeding to eat several.
These turned out great. I made them bite-sized since my toddler loves putting too much food in her mouth, but that made them a yummy snack for adults too. I coated them in coconut and ground flax which worked well.
My 18 month old daughter and I loved these, I used almonds because I already had them and I added some honey to the mixture to make it more paste-like so I could roll it into balls. It was just a little dry and crumbly, not sure why. But they turned out great.
Easy, good healthy, sweet treat!
We took these camping last weekend and loved them! I used a mixture of almonds and cashews, and strawberries for the freeze dried fruit. I scooped the mixture on to a plate and then chilled it in the fridge for a while – they were easy to roll between my hands then and didn’t leave a bunch behind! They also held their shape pretty well jammed into a bear can while we camped (granted in pretty cool weather). I’ll definitely be making these again!
Can I just leave out the coconut altogether? My son doesn’t seem to like coconut.
Yes, use additional oats (in the same amount as the coconut) to replace the volume.
Followed suggestions from other comments to blend things in two halves; that was a good plan because it does create quite a thick product.
Tasted like a fun ball version of peanut butter and jelly (even though I used cashews). Yummier than a Larabar, in my opinion.
It’s an expensive treat, but they’re very filling and would be great for breastfeeding moms or long day trips or active outings.
Your recipe instructions don’t include when what to do or when to add the freeze dried berries.. are we pulsing them at a certain stage?
Haven’t made these yet, but it’s requiring to rate by stars in order to comment..
In Step 2, it has you add “the rest of the ingredients” which includes the freeze-dried fruit. Enjoy!
Can we just use cashew butter?
That is what I have done but I made the cashew butter in my Cuisinart FP and so I could control the roast and the salt…..watch that the batter doesn’t get too wet or the “balls” will be too sticky. My 2 and 3 y.o. grandkids love to help me roll them in coconut and eat them as they go! Store in the freezer….highly recommend.
Would deglet dates work as well? These are all I have on hand.
They should!
If replacing cashews with almond, do I soak them as well for 30 minutes? Thanks!
Yes!
I’d like to make these for myself, and want to add protein powder. Any idea how much I should add to the bowl?
Thanks!
I would start with 1/4 cup.
These were delicious, enjoyed by both my 3 1/2 year old and the adults. I found the total ingredients were too big for my standard food processor, so I placed half of the cashews and dates first, dumped the finished product in a bowl, then added the rest of the ingredients with the remaining half of the cashews and dates. They came out great and I will definitely be making them again!
I love the flavor of these protein balls. The only problem I’m having is they are not staying together in the ball form and have a tendency to crumble when I pick them up. Any ideas on how to help this not happen?
Are you changing any of the ingredients? You can try to grind them more finely. They should be very sticky from the dates.
No change in the ingredients. Maybe I’ll add more dates. Thanks for the reply!!
Dates vary in moisture level and some are drier than others. I added 1 T. of hot water to the processor bowl to solve the problem of the dough being crumbly. My 3 and 2 y.o. grandkids love to help with the rolling in coconut stage! And to eat them of course!
Amazing flavor!
I have bought allsorts of different energy/protein balls for myself and Husband, but tried this one for baby (20 months) and we all agreed. It is absolutely delicious – better than any of the store-bought ones.
Given what was in my pantry, I made a half batch with almonds (not cashews) and almond extract (not vanilla) and freezedried strawberries (only had 38 g of the strawberries, which was far less than called for, but perfect for us!)
Glad to hear that!
Awesome recipe! If replacing cashews with sunflower seeds, do I soak them as well for 30 minutes? Thanks!
Any suggestions for subbing cachews? My kids go to a nut free school.
You can use sunflower seeds
Easy to make. Bursting with flavor!
These are so good and way better than the store-bought ones. I love how easy this recipe is and how well it works and OF COURSE, the taste is amazing. It’s sweet, but not too sweet and filled with nutritious ingredients. So good!! I’m sad that I only made half the batch. I’ll make them again.
So glad to hear that!
This sounds like a wonderful recipe, and the ingredients are expensive. (As unfortunately is often the case with healthier foods.) Can you recommend an alternative to the freeze dried fruit?
I would look for freeze-dried fruit at Walmart or Target where it’s usually about $3 (so not more than fresh fruit and maybe less). Or you can look at this energy bite which has a base of peanut butter and oats, which would be less expensive overall: https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/oatmeal-raisin-peanut-butter-energy-balls/
Aldi has also carried freeze dried fruit for a good price if you have one!
These are tasty! I used freeze dried strawberries. I assumed that the food scale measurements would all be the same as Amy’s other energy bite recipe since the yield is expected to be about the same (I use a food scale), but this ended up being almost double of that recipe and really bogged down my food processor. I would make these again but would cut the recipe in half.
That’s interesting, the amounts are almost the same apart from the dates?
I made half the recipe and got exactly 8 balls – which is half of what was in the recipe.
Don’t know if we have smaller dates over here 😅
I probably did something weird. One bonus though- we are still enjoying them several days later haha. Thanks for all of your great recipes!
Do you think pumpkin seeds would work? We have a lot that my daughter has decided she doesn’t like anymore 😜
I bet they would (you will probably be able to taste an undertone of their flavor though)