Dry Fruit Laddu Recipe (Naturally Sweetened)

Dry Fruit Laddu is an easy, nutritious recipe of energy balls that are healthy and tasty. Packed with nutrients, good fats and fibre, these energy balls are made with dates, figs and various nuts. This Dry Fruit Ladoo recipe is made without any added sugar or jaggery, ghee or oil, is naturally vegan and comes together under 20 minutes.

About Dry Fruit Ladoo Recipe

I have used dates, figs, almonds, cashews, raisins, desiccated coconut to make these laddu. Skip the desiccated coconut if you don’t like the coconut aroma.

There is no exact recipe to make Dry Fruits Ladoo or these energy balls. The proportions of the nuts and dry fruits can vary according to your choice.

Just make sure the dates and figs are a little extra. Since the dates, figs have cohesive and sticky properties that help in binding the laddu.

There is absolutely no need to add any sugar to the recipe. The sweetness of the dates, figs and raisins makes make the laddu sweet – in fact a little extra sweet.

Use pitted dates. If the dates have seeds, then remove the seeds and chop them. These ladoos can also be gift wrapped and sent to your family or friends during any festival or Diwali festival.

The best part of this dry fruit laddu recipe is that they can be had for the Navratri fasting season giving a good dose of nutrition and energy.

These healthy energy balls can also be made for the Diwali festival when you want to make a quick and easy sweet.

These energy balls are good for growing up kids also and will love it. These laddu can also be consumed with a glass of hot milk for breakfast. You can also check this Badam Ladoo, Badam Halwa and Dry Fruit Barfi.

Addition of Gond or edible gum is also possible in these laddu recipe. I also make Gond Laddu that are perfect during the Indian winters since they are warming to the body.

Note: If you have a gluten allergy, make sure that the nuts and dried fruits are processed and packaged in a gluten-free environment. Check the packaging for details.

How to make Dry Fruit Laddu

1: Firstly begin to roast 3 tablespoons almonds in a pan on a low heat. Keep stirring the almonds at intervals. You can also lightly roast the almonds. I roast them really well. Set aside the roasted almonds.

2: Roughly chop some dates and 8 dried figs. You will need 1 cup of chopped dates – so measure the chopped dates and set aside.

Also crush 2 green cardamom pods in a mortar-pestle to a coarse powder. Discard the peels.

Making Dry Fruit Laddu Mixture

3: In a spice grinder or blender or a mixer-grinder add 1 cup of chopped dates, figs, 2 tablespoons raisins 2 tablespoons cashews, 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut and the coarsely powdered cardamom powder. Add the roasted almonds as well.

It is alright if the roasted almonds are hot or warm while grinding. Grind to a coarse mixture and spread on a tray or plate or take the mixture in a bowl.

4: Make small balls from your hands and the dry fruit laddu are ready.

Serving and Storage

5: Serve the dry fruit laddu immediately or store in an air-tight container and refrigerate.

Dry Fruit Laddu stays good for a few days at room temperature and for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. But I don’t think they will last so long as they are really delicious and will get over soon.

You can also make a big batch and refrigerate these energy balls for a few weeks or freeze them for a couple of months.

Expert Tips

• Nuts: You can include any edible nuts but make sure they are fresh and not rancid or bitter. I use nuts which are easily available to me locally, like – almonds, cashews, pistachios and walnuts. You can make these healthy ladoo with the nuts that are available to you locally – walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, hazel nuts. You can use various proportions and combinations of the nuts.
• Dry Fruits: I suggest not to omit the dates and figs. Both these dried fruits have cohesive sticky properties that helps in binding and forming laddu. Moreover apart from their flavor, they also add so much sweetness that you do not need to include any sugar or sweetener in the recipe.
• Dates: I recommend to use good quality dates. If possible use pitted dates as they are a bit easier to chop. If your dates have seeds, then remove the seeds and chop them. Discard the seeds.
• Dried figs: For figs that are too dry, tough or dense, soak them in hot water for a couple of hours. Later drain all the water, pat dry them with a clean kitchen towel and then chop them.
• Desiccated coconut: Omit desiccated coconut if you do not have it. 2 tablespoons of fresh grated coconut can be added instead and they give a good taste too. However keep in mind that fresh coconut, will reduce the shelf life considerably. So try to consume it quickly and refrigerate any leftovers for 1 to 2 days.
• Scaling: This energy balls recipe can be doubled or tripled easily to make a big batch for festive occasions.

This dry fruit laddu recipe from the archives was first published in October 2013. It has been updated on December 2024.