Coconut Lemon Energy Balls
These Coconut Lemon Energy Balls are made with raw cashews, coconut, and lemon juice and zest. They're brightly flavored and a delicious pick-me-up, healthy snack recipe.
Hello sunny, lemony Tuesday!
You guys, I must be losing it. Lemony Tuesday? What does that even mean?
It's Tuesday and I've made you some delish lemon energy balls and they're (clearly) making my brain a little silly.
Here's what you need to know:
♡ These guys are LEMONY. I know, who would have known? ? But seriously, they have a bright and delicious lemon flavor thanks to lots of lemon juice and zest.
♡ The base of these lemon energy balls is cashews. Lots of healthy protein!
♡ The coconut flavor is subtle as the lemon definitely dominates these guys.
♡ They are the tastiest healthy snack food around.
♡ There's a fun (and healthy) ingredient in here that makes these balls super yellow.
Remember that big turmeric craze we went on in January? I hate to terrify you in a dessert recipe post, but that train hasn't stopped. ?
See how yellow these lemon energy balls are? That's not because of the lemon. It's because of …. turmeric.
Wait, don't run away!
I promise you that you can't taste it. There's not even the tiniest turmeric taste in here. The little pinch I've added only colors them to make them look like lemon energy balls rather off-white round things. Mmm, off-white round things. Said nobody ever.
Here's how to get your lemon energy balls game plan on:
♡ Put all the ingredients in your food processor and blend until mostly smooth.
♡ Transfer everything to a bowl and let it chill for about an hour.
♡ Roll into balls.
See how ridiculously easy that was?
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Coconut Lemon Energy Balls
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- Zest from 2 lemons
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup honey, use rice syrup for vegan
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- Optional: shredded coconut and poppy seeds, to garnish
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to your food processor and pulse until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.1 ½ cups raw cashews, 1 cup shredded coconut, Zest from 2 lemons, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, ¼ cup honey, 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- Roll into 24 balls. Either sprinkle or roll the balls in shredded coconut or poppy seeds. Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 1 week.Optional: shredded coconut and poppy seeds, to garnish
Hello I’ve just made these but I was a little let down as mine didn’t turn out the yellow colour like yours look like in the photograph. I even added extra turmeric to see if that helped but it didn’t. Any idea of what went wrong with the colour? Besides that, they taste sooo good. Almost fizzy because the zingy yum yum! I didn’t have enough cashews so used walnuts and almonds to make up the measurement needed.
Hi Joanna! I suspect it was because you switched some of the nuts. Both almonds and walnuts are darker in color and so they would mute the bright yellow color. 🙂
Blended Color Nature Food Colors with coconut in a Magic Bullet to dip lemon energy balls in, shaping them like Easter eggs and dipping them in the colored coconut.
What a great idea!
Can I use caramel or thick sugar syrup instead of honey?
I haven’t tried either but they would likely work.
Hi, should the cashew be soaked in water or not? Thank you
Nope! For this recipe, you don’t need to soak the cashews.
Mine did not “set” firm enough to roll into balls. Might be something to do with American vs Metric measurements. We will just have to eat it by the spoonful 😉
Love all things lemon. My husband has nut allergies, is there anything I can substitute? Also trying to work more turmeric into my recipes. Can’t wait to try.
While I haven’t tried it, it may work with sunflower seeds. I’d suggest only a half batch to see if it works. 🙂
These are yummy! Quite soft so make sure to harden them up in the fridge.
I’ve also tried them with lime instead and it’s good that way too!
I’ve added 2 Tbsp of hemp hearts and 1 Tbsp of chia seeds.
I added some oats one time too.
I think next time I’ll try to lower the coconut oil to 1 Tbsp.
One more thing – I don’t measure the lemon or lime juice. I just use 2 (grate the zest then cut in half and juice)
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!
Fantastic recipe! I love these!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
I am in the midst of making the lemon balls with my daughters. They are 3 and 5 years old and love helping me in the kitchen. They have been loving all things lemon lately, and my littlest daughter loves coconut. We just put the mix in the fridge and licking the spoon–yum! How big should we roll the balls–a teaspoon, a tablespoon? Thank you for the yummy recipe!
I’m so happy your daughters are enjoying them! I make them a little smaller than a ping pong ball, but you can make them as big or small as you’d like. 🙂
Do you think these would freeze well?
I haven’t tried freezing them before, but my hunch is that they would freeze well. 🙂
Did you try freezing them? I am travelling over the holidays and wanted to freeze these to bring with me. I am curious
as to how they turned out after being frozen.
I find that all raw treats freeze well and in fact, you can eat most of them directly from the freezer, they are not rock hard, kind of like freezing cookies.
I can’t wait to try this recipe – looks delish!
can i use agave in this recipe rather than honey?
Agave would definitely work!
These look like the perfect in-between meal! Or even a skip-a-meal treat 😉
They totally are! They’re super handy to have around when you get hungry. 🙂
Hi Kristen-These look delicious!! Can’t wait to make them! Could I substitute almonds in for the cashews?
Thank you 🙂
-Ruth
You can, but they will turn out a little different as almonds are not as creamy as cashews. I would use blanched almonds and soak them in water for at least 4 hours to help soften them first. 🙂