No Bake Cranberry Almond Energy Balls {Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Keto, Low Carb, Dairy Free, Vegan}

Simple to make with all wholesome ingredients, these No Bake Cranberry Almond Balls make the perfect nutritious and delicious snack or breakfast! Kids and adults both love them.

How many of you are sticking with your resolutions (if you made any) so far this year now that we are in the 3rd week of January?

I always tell people to create short-term small goals instead unrealistic resolutions. One of mine was to continue doing my weekly meal prep.

Many of you ask me what it is that I meal prep for the week. I always prep some ingredients for dinners I make for my family.

It could be chopping vegetables, making a big batch of quinoa or brown rice, grilling chicken for salads and sandwiches, making baked oatmeal or muffins for my kids as well as making some type of healthy snack for my kids. It just makes life so much easier for all of us when my kids have readily available for my kids to grab when they are hungry.

My kids eat ALL THE TIME, endless amount of food.

Non stop. 24/7.

So it helps when I am prepared with healthy options.

If you are looking for more make ahead snack recipes, you will love this Roasted Chickpea Trail Mix, No Bake Coconut Fudge Bars, Avocado Chocolate Pudding and these No Bake Coconut Almond Butter Bites.

These would all be even more delicious with this Apple Chai Latte, Low Carb Bulletproof Hot Chocolate or even some Spiked Apple Cider!

Why You Should Make These Cranberry Almond Balls

All you need are 5 simple ingredients to make these yummy snacks. My kids sometimes eat these as an easy, convenient breakfast when they don't have the time to make a full meal.

But lately, I just keep these in the refrigerator for my kids to eat as they please. And with three hungry boys and a husband, they definitely don't last long in my house.

I typically make a double batch so they don't eat them in one day. Which they have definitely done before.

If you want to mix it up a little bit, get creative with these energy balls. You can use chopped pecans, pistachios or almonds instead of the almonds, other unsweetened dried fruit, seeds or chocolate chips, all kinds of nut butters or seed butters...

The possibilities are endless. And if you are like me and you decide last minute to make these then I suggest using whatever you have in your house already.

This combination is definitely my favorite but I also just made them with chopped pistachios and sunflower seed butter and they were super delicious!

Oooh I think the next one I am going to try is crunchy almond butter! Doesn't that sound incredible?

Recipe Ingredients

• Almonds - You can use chopped almonds, chopped walnuts or chopped pecans in this recipe and they all taste delicious.
• Almond flour - I like to use superfine almond flour in these bars which is a grain free, almond flour made from whole, skinless almonds. The fine consistency lends to a light crust on these cheesecake bars.
• Unsweetened dried cranberries - Please read the ingredients for your dried cranberries, many of them contain so much unnecessary added sugar, even in the form of fruit juice. I use these dried cranberries all the time because it's not easy to find the unsweetened ones in grocery stores. I also love this recipe from All Day I Dream About For sugar free dried cranberries, it's so easy to make your own.
• Almond butter - Please read your ingredient labels for almond butter. You will be shocked to see that most of them contain added sugars, oils and other unnecessary ingredients. The ingredient list should only say almonds and maybe salt, that's it.
• Monk fruit -  I used the granular form of Monk Fruit for this recipe. The brand I use all the time is this one. You can also substitute with the sugar free alternative of your choice.
• Vanilla - I use pure vanilla extract which doesn't contain any artificial flavors or additives, it's just pure vanilla made from alcohol.

How To Make These Cranberry Almond Balls

In a medium bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients, except cranberries and stir well.

Add peanut butter and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

Fold in cranberries and stir again.

Roll the mixture into 15 balls.

See how easy they are to make? There are no excuses not to make these little bites.

Super easy to make, there are n excuses. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week (if they last that long!)

Recipe FAQ's and Expert Tips

Cranberry Almond Energy Balls

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, granola bar, Snack, treat

Cuisine: American

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings: 12 balls

Calories: 164kcal

Author: Lauren Kelly

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup chopped almonds, or other chopped nuts
• ▢ 1 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• ▢ 1 cup almond flour
• ▢ ¾ cup natural almond butter, or nut or seed butter of your choice
• ▢ ¼ cup liquid Monk Frut, optional
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ pinch salt

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients, except cranberries and stir well.
• Add peanut butter and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
• Fold in cranberries and stir again.
• Roll the mixture into 15 balls.
• Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

If you are having trouble rolling them into balls then I suggest refrigerating the "dough" for at least 30 minutes to allow it to come together. It's funny, it only happens some times for me but when it does, I simply place it back in the fridge.

Easy peasy.

This recipe makes between 10 and 12 balls, depending on the size.

Nutrition

Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 185mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 1mg

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