These energy bites are a quick, easy and healthier way to get your fix of chocolatey peanut butter goodness. They come together in less than 10 minutes with only 5 ingredients! The best part? You never have to turn on the oven for these bad boys – they’re no bake!
Energy bites are a healthy pick-me-up, on-the-go snack to give you energy throughout your day. They can also be called no bake energy balls, power balls, lactation bites or protein bites – but have one thing in common: an abundance of nutrients that will keep going strong.
In this article, I’ll show you how to make energy bites as well as give some suggestions on ingredient variations so that your snacks will never be boring again!
Ingredients for Energy Bites
To make these no bake energy balls, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2/3 cup creamy nut butter: peanut butter or almond butter or cashew butter
- 1/2 cup ground flax seed
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup)
Energy Bites Recipe
The steps to make the no bake energy bites are very simple:
Step 1
Add all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix them all together – the mixture should feel like a sticky dough, if the texture seems too wet, then add more oats. If the texture feels too dry, then add a little more nut butter.
Step 2
Place the bowl in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes to let the mixture set- this will make it easier to roll in individual balls.
Step 3
Take out of the fridge and roll into small 1 inch balls. You can use your hands or a small cookie scoop. You should get about 12 small energy balls out of this recipe. Store in the fridge in a sealed container until you are ready to eat them.
Energy Bites Recipe Tips
- If you find it difficult to roll the mixture into balls, try to wet your hands and add a little bit of water (1 or 2 tablespoons) to the mixture.
- You can use this same recipe to make energy bars, simply add the mixture to a square baking tray lined with parchment paper and store in the fridge. Cut a slice or your desired size whenever you feel like an energy bar.
Energy Bites Recipe Substitutions
You may want to substitute certain ingredients from this energy bites recipe for health or taste reasons. Here are some of the most common substitutions you might want to try:
Energy Bites with dates and almond flour
If you are looking for a gluten-free alternative to oats, you can use 1 cup of ground toasted almonds and mix in with 1/2 cup of pitted Medjool dates.
Energy Bites without nut butter
If you are allergic to peanut butter or any other type of nuts or you simply do not like the taste of nuts, then you can substitute the nut butter with sunflower seed butter or blended Medjool dates with brown rice syrup.
Energy Bites with protein powder
If you want an extra shot of protein in your energy bite, you can add protein powder to your recipe. I like using unflavored collagen peptides, or this vegan protein powder to mix my smoothie. Feel free use any other protein powder you prefer.
Energy Bites Variations
if you are looking for something different than the traditional nut butter and chocolate chips energy bites, here are some recipe variations that may pique your interest.
Pumpkin Energy Balls
The pumpkin energy balls taste just like pumpkin pie, take no more than 15 minutes to make, and are a great healthy treat. This pumpkin energy balls recipe is entirely no-bake and all you will need is a food processor.
Ingredients (makes 12 balls)
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- 1 cup of Mejool dates – provides the main source of sweetness and will help to glue everything together
- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup – adds some extra sweetness
- 1/4 cup of toasted pecans – provides that added pumpkin pie flavor and will provide you with protein and healthy fats
- 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed
- 1/4 cup of pumpkin purée
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice mix (1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Before you start this recipe, check whether the dates are dry or hard, if they are, put them in hot water for 10 minutes.
Dump all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until everything is blended into small pieces – it shouldn’t be completely smooth.
Transfer the mixture into a medium-size bowl, cover, and place it into the fridge for about 30 minutes. Use a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to scoop and roll each individual energy ball.
You can eat it immediately or transfer into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
If you like cooking sweet things with pumpkins, make sure you check out Pumpkin Muffins Recipe
Mango and Apple Energy Balls
The tropical mango and apple energy balls are one of my favorite energy balls with that special summery twist. They will provide you with a nice mix of fiber, protein, healthy fat and natural sugars to give you a boost of energy when needed.
Ingredients (makes 12 balls):
- 2/3 cup dried apples
- 2/3 cup dried mangos
- 2/3 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp grated nutmeg
- 2 tbsp raw honey
- 3 tbsp cold water
Instructions:
Put all your ingredients except the raw honey and water into the food processor.
Once the majority of the grains are blended, add the honey and water little at a time.
Divide into 12 evenly sized portions and roll into balls with your hands
Place in the fridge for 1 hour to solidify the mango and apple energy balls.
Enjoy this delicious tropical energy booster.
Raw Chocolate Energy Balls
Raw cacao energy balls are great way to stave off those sugar cravings, especially when you’re stressed or just plain bored. This is probably my simplest energy balls recipe as it only requires 3 ingredients at takes no longer than 5 minutes to make these healthy raw cacao energy bites.
Ingredients (makes 14 balls)
- 1 cup of Medjool dates
- 1 cup of walnuts
- 2 tbsp raw cacao
Instructions
Put the walnuts in a food processor and food processor and blend until they have a crumbly texture. Then add the Medjool dates and raw cacao and continue to blend.
Divide the mixture into 14 evenly sized balls using your hands. You can either eat immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Equipment Needed For Energy Bites
FAQs
How long do energy bites last?
When stored in a sealed container in the fridge, energy bites will last up to one week. You can also freeze energy balls! To do so, put the energy bites into a plastic freezer bag and put in the freezer. They will last up to 3 months.
To reheat your energy bits from frozen, you can let them thaw as room temperature or microwave for a few seconds until defrosted.
How much calories in an energy bite?
There are about 200 calories per energy bite (1 serving). Although this does seem like a lot, it’s the peanut butter that really adds to the calories. You can try using powdered peanut butter to save on calories!
How to make your own peanut butter?
Making your own peanut butter takes minutes, it’s healthier, much cheaper and you can personalize its taste to your own liking. The ingredients you will need to make peanut butter are:
- 2 cups of peanut
- 2 tablespoons of honey (or pure maple syrup)
- Pinch of salt to taste
The process of making peanut butter is pretty simple: put the peanuts in a food processor and turn it on for 4-5 minutes. The peanuts will first turn into crumbs, then a dry ball, and finally into a nice smooth peanut butter. Finish off by adding the honey and salt. Add your peanut butter to a trellised glass jar and store in the fridge or at room temperature.
