Pomegranate No-Bake Oatmeal Balls

These no-bake oatmeal balls with pomegranate are the perfect balance of sweet (from the dates) and tart (from the pomegranate). This easy oat ball recipe makes for a healthy, refined sugar-free dessert or the perfect autumn snack. Better yet, they only take about 10 minutes to make! On top of that, there is no cooking or baking required.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Healthy: These pomegranate bliss balls are healthy as can be. They are made with wonderful plant-based whole foods and sweetened with dates!
• Quick: Taking just 10 minutes to prepare, you can spend your time doing something else! (Like making these mouth-watering Apple Muffins.)
• Meal Prep Friendly: Make these tasty treats and enjoy them throughout the week. Store in a glass jar at room temp for up to four days or in the fridge for up to six days.

Are Oatmeal Balls Healthy?

This autumn snack is packed with nutritious ingredients. Not only that, but the combination of the sweet dates, crunchy nuts, and punchy pomegranates brought together by the oats as a base flavor make these a great snack to grab between meals, after the gym, or for a no added sugar dessert. 

The Medjool dates satisfy your cravings for something sweet as a source of natural sugar while providing fiber and antioxidants that can improve heart health. This refined sugar-free dessert also gets additional fiber and antioxidants from the rolled oats. Oats also bring health benefits, including releasing energy over a longer period and stabilizing blood sugar. 👍🏻

Pecans are packed with nutrients, including vitamin B1 for fuelling your body, zinc, which keeps your nails healthy, among other benefits, and copper, which aids your immune system. The pecans also act as a source of fat, which helps balance this oatmeal ball recipe and keeps you fuller for longer. 

Lastly, and by no means least, the pomegranate fruit in these energy balls, like other berries, is packed with essential nutrients such as vitamins C and K, potassium, and folate. The juice also contains a powerful antioxidant. Jeez, what more can you want from such a small (but mighty) fruit? 

Ingredients

The ingredients for these pomegranate date balls are simple.

• Dates: This tasty recipe calls for Mejdool dates. They tend to be nice and soft, perfect for bliss balls!
• Oats: Rolled oats are great for this recipe and a good source of fiber.
• Pecans: Pecans give these oat balls a certain taste that pairs perfectly with pomegranate.
• Pomegranate: Tasty pomegranate arils paired with pomegranate juice make these date balls what they are.

Step-by-step Instructions

These tasty pomegranate bliss balls will be ready in 10 minutes flat!

1. Add pecans and oats to a food processor and turn it on high for 10 – 20 seconds (until they are broken down into small bits).
2. Add dates and pomegranate juice and turn on high until the contents are well-combined, forming a loose dough consistency.
3. Pour into a large bowl and add pomegranate seeds.
4. Form into small balls and place them in an airtight container.
5. Store in the fridge or freezer and enjoy when you like.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Dates: Although Medjool dates work great for their caramel taste and gooey texture, you can use other types of dates as they can be more accessible as well as more affordable.
• Nuts: Struggling to find pecans? No worries! Walnuts are a well-known substitute for pecans. They will give this oat ball recipe an earthy, rich, and (unsurprisingly) nutty taste. Try hazelnuts for a creamier, slightly chocolatey-tasting nut alternative if you find walnuts aren’t as sweet as you like. 

Extra Recipe Tips

• If your dates aren’t fudgy enough, you can soak them in boiled water for about 10 minutes for blending or leave them submerged in room temperature water for a couple of hours. 
• Don’t over blend as this can make the ingredients too smooth. Instead, combine enough to keep the ingredients gritty enough to give them some texture. 
• Try adding a pinch of ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice flavoring to make this oat ball recipe extra autumnal. 

How To Present Oatmeal Balls

These 5-ingredient oat balls are an excellent grab-and-go, sugar snack idea that can give you a boost of energy. However, if you do want to make this easy autumn snack for guests, there are a few ways you can take the presentation to the next level. After all, we do eat with our eyes first. 

To start, you can shape the oat balls into cute decorations such as hearts to complement the ruby-red pomegranate seeds or serve them displayed in mini muffin liners for individual servings. You may even wish to decorate these with a drizzle of vegan white chocolate when serving them as a healthy bite-sized dessert option. 

Storage Tips

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days to ensure they keep their texture and stay fresh (not that they will last this long; however, you store them because they are so delicious!). Alternatively, these no-bake oat balls can be kept in the fridge for 4-6 days. Finally, freeze ahead of time if you are a serial snacker. Defrost for 2+ hours before eating. Just be careful to let them fully thaw as the pomegranate seeds become very hard!

More Vegan Fall Recipes

• Chocolate Date Balls
• The Best Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Vegan Apple Crisp With Beets
• Easy Eggless Pumpkin Pie

Recipe

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