These Easy No Bake Cake Pops are a fun, quick and lightened up version of traditional cake pops. Made with almond and coconut flours, maple syrup and butter, they are naturally gluten-free, refined sugar free and so delicious your family will absolutely love them!
This no bake cake pop recipe is very special to me because it marks 100th recipe on Wholly Tasteful! To celebrate, I wanted to celebrate with something festive but quick and simple and that's how these delicious treats were born!
I’ve been thinking about making a healthier rendition of classic Starbucks cake pops for a while and these turned out better than any cake pops I’ve ever had. Seriously, they are so delicious it’s very hard to limit yourself to eating only one!
I love making healthier versions of sweet treats using almond and coconut flour, such as in these Healthier Reese’s Eggs, my Healthy Rice Krispie Treats or these vegan Healthy Almond Shortbread Heart Cookies. For the base of this recipe, I decided to use raw cookie dough made with a combo of these 2 flours, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and fat. I’ve experimented with coconut oil and nut butters and both work well but I found that melted butter gives these cake balls a truly cake-like flavor and texture.
These fabulous pops are super moist and soft on the inside and wonderfully crunchy and sweet on the outside, thanks to the winning white chocolate + colorful sprinkles coating. Best part? They are not only healthier but also SO MUCH easier to make than traditional cake pops made with baked cake!
Make sure to also try these Strawberry Cake Pops, No-Bake Cheesecake Balls and these No-Bake Freezer Carrot Cake Bars for more great no-bake recipes.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These cake pops are easy to make and require no baking!
- Much faster to put together than traditional cake pops.
- No special equipment or food processor needed for this easy recipe.
- Gluten-free and refined sugar free.
- Made with whole, natural ingredients. No cake mixes or cream cheese in this recipe!
- Can be made vegan with a couple substitutions (see below).
- Kid-friendly, easy enough for kids to help make these and perfect for kid (or adult) birthday parties!
- A perfect little treat if you’re craving dessert before bed!
This recipe is featured in a post compiling 15 Healthy Birthday Cake Alternatives. Find some more sweet ideas there!
Ingredient Notes
To make these spectacular cake pops you will need:
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Almond Flour: use blanched almond flour (NOT almond meal). I buy mine in bulk at Sam’s Club or on Amazon. Almond flour is made with nuts and provides a nice boost of protein!
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Coconut Flour: this flour is highly absorbent and helps with achieving a more cake-like consistency. Most grocery stores carry coconut flour these days and it’s relatively cheap.
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Maple Syrup: use 100% pure maple syrup. Mine is always local from Maine.
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Butter: it’s what gives these cake pops cake-like flavor and texture. If you want to make these pops vegan, you can swap it for melted vegan butter or coconut oil.
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Vanilla: natural vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste will work best.
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Salt: to balance out the flavors. I use fine sea salt.
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White Chocolate Chips: my absolute favorite brand of white chocolate chips is Lily’s because they are made with cocoa butter (instead of palm oil) and sweetened with stevia nut any white chocolate chips (or white candy melts) will work.
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Rainbow Sprinkles: I recommend using the tiny round colorful sprinkles sometimes called nonpareil sprinkles.
How To Make No Bake Cake Pops
- Step 1: Make the dough. Place both flours, vanilla, maple syrup, butter and salt in a bowl and mix with a silicone spatula until dough forms. So easy and no electric mixer needed!
- Step 2: Form dough balls. Use a small cookie scoop or a spoon to divide the dough into 12 equally sized portions (the size of a walnut). Then roll into uniform round balls using your hands.
- Step 3: Chill. Insert a lolipop stick in the middle of each dough ball (almost all the way in) and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set.
- Step 4: Melt the chocolate. I use a microwave safe plastic bowl and melt the chocolate chips in 30-second increments, stirring in-between until all the chocolate is melted.
- Step 5: Coat the cake pops and decorate with sprinkles. Dip each cake pop in melted chocolate (using a spoon if needed) and sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles right away. Place in a cake pop stand, a piece of Styrofoam or on a paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat 12 times.
- Step 6: Let the cake pops set in the fridge. Carefully place the cake pops in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until the chocolate is completely dry to touch.
Storage & Freezing Tips
After the cake pops are completely set and dry to touch, you can store them in an airtight container or in a ziplock bag for up to a week in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. If you freeze them, you can either enjoy them frozen or leave them out in room temperature for a couple minutes to thaw and serve!
Substitutions & Variations
These no-bake cake pops are highly versatile, and you can easily customize them to your preferences and dietary needs.
- Make them vegan by using vegan butter (or coconut oil) and dairy-free white chocolate chips.
- If you want to shake things up a bit, you can flavor the dough however you like. For chocolate cake pops, add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the dough. You can also fold in mini chocolate chips or rainbow sprinkles for chocolate chip or funfetti flavored cake. Another fun variation is to use almond flavoring instead of vanilla.
- Use milk or dark chocolate chips in place of white chocolate chips if you prefer. You can also swap rainbow sprinkles for crushed nuts.
- If you want the cake pops to be a certain color, mix in a couple drops of food coloring into the melted white chocolate and stir until uniform color forms. For example, you can make blue or pink cake pops for a baby shower, red and green for a Christmas party and so on.
- For peanut butter flavored cake pops use 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (or any nut butter) and 1 tablespoon of butter (instead of 3 tablespoons of butter).
Frequently Asked Questions
Raw wheat flour is not safe to eat so you technically could but you would need to toast it in the oven first. I’ve seen no-bake treat recipes using toasted flour but haven’t tested it myself.
If the dough seems crumbly, just place the dough ball in the palm of your hand and squeeze for a couple seconds. The warmth of your hand will make it more pliable and easier to roll. If it’s still too crumbly, add a tiny bit more melted butter or a tablespoon to two of milk (or non-dairy milk).
Yes! If you want to make these without sticks, form the balls, place them in the fridge to set and then use a fork to dip them in melted white chocolate. Place on a paper-lined cookie sheet to set.
It is helpful to have one but if you don’t make cake pops often, you certainly don’t need it. If you have any styrofoam at your house, it makes an excellent DIY cake pop stand. Another option is to just place dipped cake pops onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and leave them to set. They won’t have a perfectly round coating but will still taste delicious!
More No Bake Desserts
- Chocolate Bliss Balls
- Peanut Butter Bliss Balls
- Dubai Chocolate Cups
- Nutella Smoothie Bowl
- Snickers Smoothie Bowl
Recipe
Easy No Bake Cake Pops
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a medium or large mixing bowl combine almond flour, coconut flour, maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla and salt. Mix with a silicone spatula or a spoon until dough forms.
- Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon divide the “dough” into 12 equal sized balls. Take each ball in your hands and roll until it’s rounded and uniform. If it seems crumbly, just hold it in the palm of your hand for a few seconds and the warmth of your hand will make it softer and easier to roll.
- Place all 12 dough balls on a cookie sheet or a plate. If using sticks, place a stick in the middle of each ball almost all the way to the bottom.
- Place the cookie sheet or plate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for the balls to set.
- Place white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, place back in the microwave for another 30 seconds. Repeat until chocolate chips are completely melted.
- Remove the dough balls from the fridge and dip each ball in white chocolate. Use a spoon to help coat the balls, if needed.
- Immediately sprinkle the ball with rainbow sprinkles and place on a cake pop stand or insert the stick into a piece of styrofoam so it’s upright. Repeat until each ball is coated and sprinkled.
- Place the cake pops in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Enjoy immediately or transfer to a ziplock bag or an airtight container and store in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
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Meet the Author
Hi, I'm Agnieszka. I'm a mom of three and recipe developer, writer and photographer behind Wholly Tasteful. I love creating comforting, delicious, family-friendly recipes that you can feel good about.
Andrea says
Yum! These look good.
Freya says
Yum! These were so quick and easy to make and yummy!
Jan says
thank you for the vegan alternative, makes life a lot easier 🙂
Rebecca says
Perfect! I was looking for a little project to keep the kids busy. They'll love making these. Thank you for the recipe.
Alexandra says
These are so much fun and perfect for a party!
Nora says
Yum! I love cake pops! And your no-bake version looks amazing! Can't wait to try them out!
Lasma says
Kids are going to make these for their dad on Valentine's day 🙂 is it okay if i use almond flour only if I don't have coconut flour?
Agnieszka says
Hi Lasma. Exciting! Coconut flour is very absobrant and gives these cake pops a little more "cakey" body. I haven't tried making them with almond flour and my guess is that it may be harder to hold the "dough" together and roll balls.
Amanda says
I made these cake pops at the weekend with my daughter. They are so good and I love that they are no bake!
Natalie says
My kids and their friends were thrilled with your cake pops, thanks!
Andréa Janssen says
They look very pretty!
Colleen says
I love that these cake pops are no bake and gluten free!
Sabrina says
So cool, I can’t believe these were no bake and have such a cake texture. Awesome, thanks!
Rachael says
Refined sugar free cake pops?! These are so easy and you can't tell healthy swaps were made. Thank you!
Agnieszka says
You are welcome!
lily says
so excited to try!
Juliane says
They were great! Already eaten up 😀
I covered them in dark chocolate, super yummy snack. By the way, I used a vegan butter alternative so you can easily make these vegan!
Agnieszka says
So glad they worked out and great tip on the vegan butter!
Rachel F says
I’m so excited to make these this evening for a friends birthday tomorrow. I was so excited that I was talking about them at work and a few coworkers asked me to bring in extras, however one of my coworkers is allergic to Almonds but also to gluten😕 I was actually really curious if anyone tried making these with a different flour to substitute for the almond flour?