Vegan Cake Pops (No-Bake + Secretly Healthy)
Welcome to a whimsical world of vegan desserts, where cake meets cuteness in the form of irresistible vegan cake pops! These tiny treats are a delightful fusion of moist, flavorful date dough, and creamy vegan chocolate, lovingly crafted into bite-sized spheres of pure joy. But what makes these adorable cake pops super cool is the creativity and versatility they bring to the dessert table.
From enchanting designs and vibrant colors to delectable flavor combinations, these little pops are a canvas for your imagination to run wild. These “cake cuties” also are also a party in themselves, adding a dash of whimsy and fun to any vegan party or occasion. Birthdays, baby showers, weddings, or simply a delightful treat for yourself—vegan cake pops bring a touch of playfulness and charm that will leave your taste buds dancing and your guests begging for more.
Can’t live without cute cupcakes? Try these adorable and delicious vegan chocolate cupcakes, vegan cupcake chicks with lemon buttercream, and matcha buttercream cupcakes.
Why These Vegan Cake Pops are So Awesome
Hold onto your sweet tooth, because these dairy-free cake pops are about to redefine your dessert game in the most amazing way! Here’s why you need to make this recipe ASAP:
- Raw, No Bake, and Delicious. Besides the melted chocolate, this date dough is raw (with no eggs or dairy) and requires no baking at all. Just mix and dip!
- Tastes Exactly Like Cookie Dough, Only Healthy. You won’t believe how much this mixtures tastes just like cookie dough! You can eat it right out of the bowl, if you’d rather not make pops. Add in a scoop of mini chocolate chips and you’ve got yourself the real deal!
- Quick and Fun to Make. For the young and young-at-heart! A joyful and entertaining activity for the entire family. Some may want to mix and some may want to dip and decorate.
- Only a Few Ingredients Needed. If you have a handful dates, walnuts, and a little bit of chocolate, that’s all you really need. A few seconds of chopping, a quick turn in the food processor, and a diminutive dip are pretty much the only steps.
- Totally Customizable and Creative. You can dip, drizzle, and decorate them however you want—sprinkles, crushed cookies, or even a drizzle of melted chocolate. They’re basically edible art projects that taste amazing, and you can make them fit any holiday, theme, or random Tuesday craving.
How to Make These Healthy Cake Pops
Making vegan cake pops is easier than you think and way more fun than baking a whole cake. With just a few simple steps, you’ll have bite-sized treats that are perfect for parties, gifts, or a sweet snack anytime.
Step 1: Make the Dough – Toss walnuts, dates, vanilla, and salt into a food processor and blend until it forms a big dough ball. Roll into 12 small balls, place them in a container, and freeze for at least an hour.
Step 2: Dip and Decorate – Melt some chocolate, stick a cake pop stick into each chilled ball, and dip to coat. Let the extra chocolate drip off, then quickly add sprinkles—or wait until it hardens and drizzle more chocolate on top.
Finally, Step 3: Set and Store – Let the chocolate fully harden, then pop the cake pops in a stand to serve, wrap them up for gifts, or store them in the freezer for later.
Appetizing Date Alternatives
Not a huge date fan? No problem! There are a number of fun and festive dried fruits that can be substituted for half of the dates (up to 1/2 cup) to make these vegan cake balls. Here’s a list of our favorites:
- Dried Apricots
- Dried Cherries
- Dried Cranberries
- Dried Figs
- Prunes
- Raisins
Toppings and Dips for Your Vegan Cake Pops
There are dozens of delightful options that will make your cake pops the life of any party. From sprinkles that sparkle like edible confetti to drizzles that ooze with mouthwatering decadence, these healthy cake pop toppings will elevate your treats to a whole new level of yum!
Tasty Toppings
- Chia or Ground Flaxseeds
- Chopped and Candied Nuts
- Crushed Cookies
- Edible Glitter
- Freeze-Dried Berries
- Powdered Sugar
- Shredded Coconut
- Small Candies
- Toasted Rice Cereal
- Vegan Sprinkles
Delicious Dips
- Chocolate (Semi-sweet or dark)
- White Chocolate
- Double Drizzle (one of dark chocolate, one of white over it)
- Flavored White Chocolate (lemon, orange, raspberry, etc.)
- Store-Bought or Homemade Vegan Frosting
- Vegan-Friendly Chocolate Candy Melts
FAQs
You can keep leftover cake pops at room temp in an airtight container for up to five days, as long as they’re coated in chocolate or candy melts.
Dates make a big difference in this recipe, so it’s best to use fresh Medjool dates with pits. If your dates are too dry, just soak them in hot water before using, and if they’re too wet, add more walnuts to balance things out. Newly bought dates usually work best, since older ones can be a little too dry.
Using a cake pop kit will make things much quicker and easier. Each kit comes with white sticks, two stands, treat bags, and golden twist ties. It’s totally worth it. You can even get 2-3 batches out of a single kit. Consider making a few as gifts for friends or neighbors!
You can always make these homemade cake pops without all the gear, but this inexpensive set can save you both time and frustration. If you don’t have time to buy a kit, you could fashion one from a sturdy cardboard box. Just punch some holes across the top (preferably two rows at least a few inches apart) that will fit the sticks you have on hand (maybe some clean popsicle sticks?). Place something heavy inside the box from to keep the entire thing from flipping over once you add the decorated cake pops. Voila!
More Crave-Worthy Cake Recipes to Try
Print me! Did you know you can easily print our recipes? Just tap the “Print Recipe” button in the recipe card. You can keep a stack of new recipes to try in your kitchen—or better yet—create a recipe binder where you keep all your favorites!
No-Bake Vegan Cake Pops
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1 cup medjool dates, pits removed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips, dark chocolate and/or white chocolate, melted
- sprinkles, vegan, to taste
Instructions
- Add the walnuts, dates, vanilla, and salt into the food processor and process until the mixture turns into a big dough ball.
- Divide the dough ball into 12 parts and roll each into a sphere ball, place in a container, and freeze for at least 1 hour.
- Melt the chocolate in a small ramekin. Push a cake pop stick halfway into a chilled dough ball, dip in melted chocolate to coat, allowing excess chocolate to drip off, and quickly add sprinkles before the chocolate hardens (or allow to harden and then add a chocolate drizzle). Place in cake pop stand.
- Once the chocolate has hardened completely, either place cake pops in a container with a lid and store in the freezer, serve at a party in the stand, or individually wrap each cake pop (most cake pop sets come with mini plastic bags to put over the confetti pop and gold twist ties to seal them up.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Leave a Comment
These vegan cake pops look delicious! I love the idea of using dates and walnuts instead of traditional cake and frosting. They look so easy to make and I bet they would be a hit at any party. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Easy to make and delicious!
These are SO easy to make! Love them so much…perfect for kids birthdays 🙂
these cake pops are awesome! love that they’re no-bake too! so good!
I am shocked at how healthy these are considering they taste just like cake pops! Mind blown!! So excited to have a healthy treat that I can count on when my sugar cravings start!
The cutest and yummiest dessert! It’s so almost hard to believe that they’re super easy to make and taste so good. I love that the base of the pop is full of healthy, whole food ingredients, too!
These cake pops are so easy to make and delicious! Thanks for linking to your vegan sprinkles guide … I always have trouble finding them!