Name: Date Balls with Cashews
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 10 Medjool dates (I buy the ones with pits because they're cheaper and its easy to take the pits out); 1 cup oats (quick, rolled, steel cut or old fashioned); ⅓ cup unsalted, cashews; ¼ cup almond butter (Any nut butter will do); 1 tbsp maple syrup; 1½ tbsp hemp hearts (Can omit or add in chia or flax seeds instead); 1 tsp vanilla extract

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Do you need a filling and simple snack for yourself and your kids? These Date Balls with Cashews combine pantry staples into a delicious, ready-to-eat snack that everyone will love.

glass baking dish with date balls with cashews inside

Trust me, even as a culinary dietitian I purchase pre-made, grab-and-go snacks at the store every week but their costs does start to add up. Plus it can be hard to find a budget friendly snack that keeps you and your kids full.

A friend of mine who’s also a dad recently asked me, “I need one simple thing I can start making for my family.” I sent him this recipe! It only took him 10 minutes to make them, it boosted his confidence in his cooking skills and in his ability to provide a nourishing snack for his family.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Many of these may already be in your pantry! I’ve also included common swaps/substitutes if you need them,

Pitted Medjool dates: To save money, you can buy the ones that are not pitted and all you need to do is slice them in half and the pits are very easy to remove.
Oats: You can use quick, steel cut, old fashioned or rolled. They’ll get blended up either way. To save money, I always recommend buying the tub and using it up to make things like breakfast cookies or overnight oats.
Unsalted cashews: You’re welcome to swap these for a different nut but I always recommend an unsalted variety to prevent these from tasting salty.
Almond butter: Customize this by using any nut or seed butter you like. A chocolate or honey flavored one would add some extra yummy sweetness.
Maple syrup: Swap it for honey if you prefer.
Hemp hearts: These are a high source of protein and quality fats. I suggest you try them out and sprinkle them on all kinds of things, even soup. However, you can omit and add in chia or flax meal instead.
Vanilla extract

ingredients for date balls with cashews — *Not pictured, vanilla extract*

More Bite Recipes

Most of the time, you have a lot of these ingredients on hand and/or you can make modifications to work with what you’ve got. Need to get rid of a couple Oreos? Try my Oreo energy bites here. Got some craisins’? Try this Watermelon Seed Bar recipe on for size.

Benefits and Suggestions

The nice thing is that you don’t have to be perfect with measurements in most energy bite/ball recipes. Energy ball recipes are also great for involving kids in the kitchen. They’re simple and can help them practice basic cooking skills like measuring and scooping.

One of the lesser used dried fruits

Why use dates? They are rich in carbohydrates and fiber but also provide many micronutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, sulfur,
cobalt, fluorine, and manganese” (1)

Buy them unpitted to save money and pit them yourselves. Make a slice into the date lengthwise and peel it open with your hands. They’re really soft and the pits come out easily.