These no bake energy bites take just 10 minutes to make with simple pantry ingredients. Oats, dates, walnuts and flax create the perfect mixture of plant based protein, fiber and fats making them a great choice for snacking! Just process, roll and then enjoy….super easy vegan and gluten-free power snack balls.
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Why I love these
- Easy food processor recipe takes just 10-minutes.
- No bake!
- Wholesome pantry ingredients
- Delicious with spot on texture.
- Meal prep and freezer friendly.
- Portable
- Naturally sweetened with dates…the chocolate chunks and dried cherries are a delightful bonus!
- They make a great snack or healthy dessert!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Nut butter: Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower butter are all good choices. I have also made these with tahini with good results. The key is to thoroughly mix the jar when you first open it so there is a consistent, runny consistency.
- Medjool dates: Dates with the pits still in are fresher and more moist It’s easy to remove the pits just before using.
- Nuts: I used walnuts, but you could use anything you have like cashews, almonds, pecans or even pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or hemp seeds.
- Flax seeds: These help bind the energy balls together and also provide a good amount of fiber and omega 3 fatty acids.
- Oats: old fashioned rolled oats are best for this recipe. Look for a brand that is certified organic as they can be a heavily sprayed crop.
- Dried fruit: I used dried cherries, use any dried fruit you prefer, but be sure it has no added sugar or sulfites.
- Chocolate: Use dark chocolate chunks, or chop up your favorite dark chocolate bar into large pieces.
How to make them
It’s so simple to make these delicious energy balls. All you need is a food processor.
- Place pitted dates, nuts, oats and flax into the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse until a crumbly, uniform texture emerges.
- Then add in the dried cherries, nut butter and chocolate chunks.
- Pulse a few times, until the nut better is well incorporated and batter will hold together when pinched between two fingers and both the dried fruit and chocolate are still in little pieces.
Use a small scoop or 2 soup spoons to scoop out 2 tablespoons mixture and roll it into a 1-inch ball. Place them onto parchment paper and then transfer to the fridge or freezer.
Once they are set, transfer to an airtight container. They’ll stay good in the fridge for 2 weeks or the freezer for 3 months.
When to serve them
- Do you need a last minute gift? Homemade gifts are the best and so appreciated. Pop a few of these in a jar, tie a ribbon around and start gifting.
- Running out the door with no time to make a healthy breakfast, grab a few.
- That long car ride to visit relatives for the holidays.
- Lack of stamina to power through the afternoon and make it until dinnertime.
- Your energy waning and your session at the gym is coming up.
- You left it all on the mat at the gym and now need a post work-out pick me up.
- That 3-7pm crunch filled with after school activities and no time to run home for a healthy snack….pack a few for everyone.
Simple Energy Bites are:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Good for weight control.
- A great source of Omega 3s, antioxidants and healthy fats.
- Good for your gut.
- Full of soluble fiber which helps reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
- An awesome source of plant based protein.
- A wonderful addition to a diet focused on healthy aging.
- Loaded with antioxidants which help in disease prevention.
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📖 Recipe
Simple Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 6 fresh medjool dates pitted*
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup organic rolled oats
- ½ cup coarsely ground flax seeds
- 3 oz. dark chocolate* coarsely chopped. (approximately ½ cup)
- ¼ cup unsweetened and unsulfured dried cherries*
- ½ cup smooth nut or seed butter I used sunflower seed butter**
- ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Place dates, nuts, oats and flax in bowl of food processor. Process until crumbly.
- Add in remaining ingredients and blend until well mixed.
- Form into 1-inch balls.
- Makes 30 1-inch energy bites, unless you tend to taste the batter while scooping, then it may make about 2 dozen.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Caralyn @ BeautyBeyondBones
These are the perfect healthy treat and pick me up! thanks for sharing!
Debra Klein
I think so too.
Gloria
I think these would be great to have will all the hustle and bustle right now. Running around, shopping, baking, visiting, cooking, wrapping, concerts…ONE LONG DAY!! Bonus points for eating anything healthy this time of year. My grandkids would love to help me make some of these. Perfect for after-school snacks too.
Lisa
My daughter, husband and myself love energy bites — little balls of tasty goodness with lots of wholesome ingredients. Our issue is self control. Like a sleeve of thin mints, we’ll plow through a whole batch of these energy balls and these look so perfect, I know they’d only last two seconds around my clan. Do you have any tips on how NOT TO BEHAVE like a Hoover vacuum cleaner around these? I’m really interested!
Tracy
Over scheduled is right… energy bites like this a definitely a life saver during this super busy time! My only problem with them is I usually eat WAY too many because they’re soooo good! But they’re also full of good for your ingredients so I shouldn’t feel too guilty, right?
Trish
Oh man things get SO CRAZY this time of year! I’ve got a 2 year old and I know this would be a wonderful snack to give him in between all the treats he’s getting. Such a great idea!
Debra Klein
Exactly. Tastes like a decadent treat, yet super healthy.
Trish
Oh man things get SO CRAZY this time of year! I’ve got a 2 year old and I know this would be a wonderful snack to give him in between all the treats he’s getting. Such a great idea!
Carmy
I feel you with being overscheduled. December is a hard time to keep all the balls in the air. But it’s definitely much easier when there’s food prepped and these energy balls will keep me going!
Debra Klein
Right! No need to suffer….energy balls for all.
Carmy
I feel you with being overscheduled. December is a hard time to keep all the balls in the air. But it’s definitely much easier when there’s food prepped and these energy balls will keep me going!
Debra Klein
LOL….I hear ya….but yes, you still need to consider portion control….too much of a good thing is still too much!
Debra Klein
Haha…the Hoover vacuum….seriously, I get this question a lot. Often over indulging is a sign of being under nourished (possibly over-fed, and still under nourished)…so make sure you’re properly nourished to start with. I have good success when I leave the batch in the freezer, just taking out a couple at a time.
Debra Klein
Yes! Great treat for after school and these are simple enough to make that the grandkids can definitely manage.
Traci
Beautiful, easy, recipe! Bring this one on for that healthy new year that’s right around the corner. I love to make energy bites and pretty much always have enough ingredients on hand to try different recipes. I love your ingredients for this one, and love the tip about soaking the pitted dates in boiling water. I forget to do that, so thanks for the reminder!
Stefani
Who doesn’t need more energy this time of the year? I love the idea of giving healthy treats to friends and family. These sounds really easy to make! I really want to try your halva bliss balls too. We love halva around here!
Dana
I’m DROOLING. I love homemade energy bites and bars like this. You can’t even compare them to store bought—they are SO much better. I especially love that you can mix and match nuts/fruits/sweeteners to change up the flavoring every once in a while. I’m loving your addition of seed butter. That’s something I haven’t tried in my usual go-to recipe before, so I can’t wait to incorporate that into my next batch.
Mackenzie
I was first introduced to energy bites last summer, and they are my favorite thing to make when one of my kids is “hangry.” They always seem to curb the cravings just long enough. I love the ingredients in these energy bites and feel good about my kids eating them. Plus, my husband is an avid cyclist and it makes a good on-the-road snack for him while he’s out!
Sues
I’ve been all about the energy bites lately and now I have another version to try! I love all that dark chocolate 🙂
Sean@Diversivore
Love that you can tweak these in a variety of ways – but I’d probably go with the cherries nine times out of ten! Something about cherry and dark chocolate is so satisfying for me. Love that these are nice and filling too – perfect for something homemade on the go.
Marisa Franca
I really need these ASAP!! For the last few days it seems like I’ve been on warp speed yet not taking the time to eat. And energy bites would be great for kids too. They are always looking for snacks and these treats would not send them on a sugar high. Wholesome and nutritious ingredients are high on my list when I consider snacks. I’m looking forward to making several batches.
Debra Klein
Love a woman who sees a good thing and jumps all in! Enjoy these Marisa!
Debra Klein
My thoughts exactly!
Debra Klein
Same…I’m not sure when I converted from a milk chocolate to a dark chocolate lover, but I’ve never looked back!
Debra Klein
All great use cases! Thanks for the ideas.
Debra Klein
Yes!! Depending on your choices, these have the perfect texture/crunch profile. A little something in every bite.
Debra Klein
These are a new favorite in our house, but if you like halva, you will go nuts for the halva bliss balls. Same flavor profile, without all the sugar! Try them both and let me know which you prefer!
Debra Klein
Thanks. If your dates are fresh and still have the pits in them, you shouldn’t need to soak them…but if they seem at all dried up when you take the pits out, soaking will make the energy bites hold together better.