Sweet yet tangy and so easy to make, these lemon bliss balls are a simple and nutritious treat designed to get you through a busy day. These energy balls are made with just 7 ingredients and have 5 grams of protein per serving.
I’ve always been a fan of lemony desserts and snacks. These lemon bliss balls are my absolute favorite snack to prep for the week. I opted to add some poppy seeds for a fun twist, but they are delicious as is.
And whether you choose to call them bliss balls, energy balls, energy bites, or whatever else, they’re still delicious.
These chocolate chip energy bites will satisfy your chocolate craving any day and these lemon energy balls are packed with healthy fats, protein, and are refined sugar free! Perfect for an after school snack for kids!
Bliss balls can be made of a lot of things, such as oats, dates and nuts, but this recipe features lemon, coconut, cashews, honey and some protein powder. With just over 100 calories and 5 grams of protein per bliss ball!
All you need is 7 simple, pantry staple ingredients and a few minutes to prep since they’re no bake! Keep them on hand for the week when you need a simple, healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Try my peanut butter bliss balls or gluten free lemon cookies next!
Key ingredients
Cashews. Cashews make up the base of this recipe because they have a pretty neutral flavor compared to other types of nuts. If you aren’t a fan of cashews/can’t eat them, you can try almonds or walnuts, but this will change the flavor of these bliss balls.
Coconut. I’m not even the biggest fan of coconut things, but the coconut pairs so well with the lemon! It also adds lots of healthy fats to make these a super satiating snack.
Honey. Just 3 tablespoons of honey will help sweeten these up a bit. If you are vegan, you can sub for maple syrup!
Protein powder. I used just 1/4 cup of vanilla protein powder solely to add some more protein to these bliss balls! You don’t want any more than that or it will over power the lemon flavor.
Hemp seeds. These will also add some more protein! You can sub for chia seeds if you prefer.
Lemon. Both lemon juice and lemon zest. Since there is no lemon extract here, we need a decent amount of each!
How to make energy bliss balls
Add all ingredients to a food processor. Process until mostly smooth.
Taste and adjust sweetness if desired by adding more honey. If it seems too thick, you can thin it out slightly with 1-2 teaspoons of non-dairy milk. Pulse in the poppy seeds if using.
Scoop out 1 tbsp of dough and roll into about 1 inch balls. I like to use the smaller of these cookie scoops to form the dough into even sized balls.
Carefully roll into shredded coconut if desired.
Place in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes. This will help them firm up a bit. Enjoy!
How to store and freeze
Once prepared, these lemon bliss balls will store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Keep them in an air tight container for best results.
They can also be frozen and will keep in the freezer for 1 month. Keep them in an air tight container and let them defrost before serving.
Can I use dates?
This recipe uses honey to sweeten, and I don’t recommend subbing for dates or any other sweetener besides maple syrup.
Dates will change the texture of the bliss balls quite a bit, so I recommend sticking to the recipe as is!
Food processor vs. blender
You can try making these bliss balls in a high speed blender like a vitamix, but you will get the best result using a food processor.
If you do use a vitamix, you will want to use the tamper tool to help push all ingredients down toward the blade to ensure even blending.
Pro tips: After the “dough” is processed, you can add it directly to the fridge to set for about 1 hour. This will make it easier to roll into balls. Alternatively, you can roll them into balls right away, and then set in the fridge.
Try these recipes next!
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Lemon Bliss Balls
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews
- 1 ½ cup shredded coconut or coconut flakes
- 3 tablespoons honey sub maple syrup for vegan
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
- ¼ cup vanilla protein powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- optional: 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor.
- Process until mostly smooth.
- Taste and adjust sweetness if desired by adding more honey. If it seems too thick, you can thin it out slightly with 1-2 teaspoons of non-dairy milk.
- Pulse in the poppy seeds if using.
- Scoop out 1 tbsp of dough and roll into about 1 inch balls. I like to use the smaller of these cookie scoops to form the dough into even sized balls.
- Carefully roll into shredded coconut if desired.
- Place in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Amy says
These are just so good, perfect texture, quick to make – and that lovely burst of lemon in your mouth. My favourite bliss balls. We have been made them several times from the previous recipe which included medjool dates I think, but the updated version is even better – love the addition of the poppy seeds. Thanks so much
Claire Cary says
So glad you like this updated version! Thanks, Amy!
aquapunksthekitchen says
WOW! a mouth full of dynamite exploding with flavours the moment it touched my tongue!
so easy to make! thanks a lot for sharing!
Claire Cary says
So happy you enjoyed these!
Meghan says
What protein powder do you like?
Claire Cary says
The one I used is linked in the recipe card!
DrJ says
OK well these bites blew the bliss right off of my pants! This recipe came out phenomenal. So easy and such stellar taste from sweet to tangy. I added in a pinch of salt and maple sugar to dry it up a bit.
I will definitely be making these weekly. Thank you so much for providing a great recipe again.
virginia hayes says
can you use almonts instead of cashews?
Claire Cary says
Yes, that should work just fine, but it may change the color/flavor slightly!
Melissa says
Good grief these are so good thank you for sharing!
Jackie says
Going to make these tomorrow. Sound delicious and could use a few after my workouts in the morning. Do you add the coconut into food processor and then roll in extra?
Claire Cary says
Yes! The one cup is for the food processor, and then you will need some extra if you want to do any rolling.
Margaret says
I loved these. I used walnuts and almonds. My lemon was large so had to add more syrup. I wanted to immediately eat the entire bowl and skip making them into balls.
Claire Cary says
Thanks Margaret! That is definitely a good problem to have 🙂
Jessica Fleischer says
These are SO GOOD. I added a scoop of vanilla protein to half the batch too (and a couple of tbsp water and another squeeze of lemon!) and that also worked really well!
These are definitely going to become one of my go to ‘tasty treat’ snacks!
Claire Cary says
YUM! Thanks Jessica! I love the addition of protein powder too 🙂
KR says
These are SO tasty!!!! I love the zing of lemon in them. I added quite a bit of lemon juice, these remind of me of the most perfectly tart and scrumptious lemon bars I used to eat as a kid.
Claire Cary says
I always love when recipes remind people of their childhood! So glad you liked them and thank you for the feedback 🙂
Amy says
These are just so yummy! Thanks for the recipe. So quick and easy to make with no fancy ingredients. I made them last weekend and they lasted about two days – a big hit with my kids and husband too. Love your blog!
Claire Cary says
So happy to hear you all loved them! Thanks Amy!