These Healthy Apricot Balls are easy nourishing Apricot Coconut bliss balls with a soft, moist texture and perfect as pre-workout energy balls or kids snacks.
These healthy sweet treats are also vegan, refined sugar-free, oil-free, and packed with plant-based nutrients to keep you energized all day long.
I am always looking for healthy snacks for the kids’ lunchbox or afternoon tea, and these apricot bliss balls are great! Finally, a low-fat energy ball recipe, no coconut oil needed, only a few simple ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.
The kids love their soft, moist texture and orange color. Plus, did you know that 100 grams of dried apricot are packed with 2.7mg of iron?
So if like me, you are raising vegetarian kids, these apricot balls are a great iron booster for your little one while enjoying a treat!
Let me share with you how to make them in just 10 minutes.
How To Make Healthy Apricot Bliss Balls
It’s very easy to make bliss balls are home. All you need is a food processor and a few ingredients.
Ingredients
- Dried Unsulphured Apricot – I used fresh dried apricots. They are soft and moist, and therefore, you don’t need to soak them in hot water to make bliss balls. If yours are a few weeks old and very dry, you can presoak them in boiled water for 5 minutes and drain them before use.
- Almond Meal or almond flour
- Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut – not shredded coconut that is coarser and much more difficult to blend.
- Lemon Juice
- Vanilla Extract
- Maple Syrup or brown rice syrup for a low-GI option or coconut nectar or honey.
Process
Place the pitted dried apricot, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and lemon juice in the processor bowl.
Using the S blade attachment, blend the ingredients on the high-speed setting for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and repeat until the dried fruits are pulsed into very tiny pieces.
Fold in dry ingredients: almond flour, desiccated coconut, and process again in 30-second bursts until the batter becomes sticky.
Forming Bliss Balls
Now, scoop about one tablespoon of batter roll the mixture into balls between your hand palm.
Roll each apricot ball into some extra desiccated coconut to coat. You can also coat the balls with crushed pistachio or almond flour.
Repeat until no more batter is left.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes before eating for the best flavors and texture.
Store
Store the bliss balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze and thaw at room temperature the day before.
Allergy Swaps
These apricot balls are naturally:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
If you have food allergies, I listed some options below.
- Nut-free – you can replace the almond meal with ground sunflower seeds, ground sesame seed, or oat flour. Remember that these options make the bliss balls a bit bitter, drier, and darker in color.
- Coconut-free – you can replace the coconut with almond flour or oat flour. The balls might be dryer with oat flour, and you can add a bit of water to make them softer.
Add-ons
Of course, you can make these apricot balls with some add-ons. To add some crunch, you can add 1/4 cup of the below ingredients into the final batter:
- Chopped almonds
- White chocolate chips
- Crushed peanuts
Or add one tablespoon of healthy seeds like:
- Hemp seeds
- Chia seeds
- Sunflower seeds
More Easy Healthy Snacks Recipes
Below I listed some more easy snack recipe to bake with your family.
Have you made these healthy apricot balls? Share a comment or review below to let me know how it went.
XOXO Carine
Apricot Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dried Apricot
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup Almond Flour
- ¾ cup Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut + more for rolling
Optional
- 1 tablespoon Water if needed
Instructions
- In a food processor with the S blade attachment, add dried apricot, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Process with 30-second bursts, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula if needed. Repeat until it forms very tiny pieces of apricot - it takes about 1 minute.
- Fold in dry ingredients: almond flour and Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut.
- Process again with 30-second bursts, as before, until it forms a sticky batter that sticks together in your hands. If too dry, add a tablespoon of cold water. If too wet, add more almond flour 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Process after each addition.
- Roll batter into balls of one tablespoon size.
- Roll each ball into extra Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut to coat.
- Store on a clean plate while rolling the remaining batter into balls.
- Refrigerate 15 minutes before eating to enjoy their best flavor.
Storage
- Store up t a week in an airtight box in the fridge or freeze for later and thaw at room temperature.
