The no-bake energy bite love continues!
After so many of you readers ate up (ha – literally!) the recipes for classic No Bake Energy Bites and Pumpkin No Bake Energy Bites, I thought it would be fun to make a red and green “holiday” edition of the favorite with these Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bites!
Like the others, these quick and easy little balls are packed with great flavor and nutrition. But there is no baking required! You just need the quick pulse of a food processor (which I happen to be giving one away right now!), or the willingness to do some chopping and stirring to whip these up. And the final result will be delish! I loved the sweet and slightly salty combination of the fruit and nuts. And for fun, I also threw in a few white chocolate chips to brighten things up.
Feel free to play around with the recipe and include what works for you. And hopefully these can provide some extra delicious energy to make it through the holidays!
Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (about 1 packed cup) chopped dates
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats (dry, not cooked)
- 1 cup shelled pistachio nuts
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the dates, honey, chia seeds, flax seeds and salt in a food processor, and pulse until smooth and combined. You should be able to stir the mixture — if it is too thick, add in another tablespoon or two of honey.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and stir in the oats, pistachios, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the mixture is cool (and easier to work with), use a spoon or cookie scoop to shape it into your desired size of energy balls. (Mine were about 1-inch in diameter.) Alternately, you can line a small baking pan with parchment paper, and press the mixture evenly into the pan, let it cool, and then cut into bars.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. (Storing them in the refrigerator especially helps the energy bites hold their shape.)
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Actually I do like dried cherries and dried apricots. Thx for the suggestions.
I don’t like dates, figs, raisins or anything along those lines. What can I use to substitute?
Hmmm, we’re guessing you don’t like tart dried cherries or apricots either? Your best bet might just be to leave the dried fruit out and add extra oats and nuts. We hope you enjoy these!
I can’t get them to stick together to form a ball.. ideas?
Hi Tracy! You might need to add a little extra honey. You could also try adding just the tiniest amount of water. We hope this helps!
Will these hold together without the honey, or will I need to sub another liquid? Trying to make them compliant for Whole30 (so no agave, maple, rice syrup, etc). Thanks!
Hmmm, that’s a good question Navah, we haven’t tried these without one of those liquids. But, we think you could add some mashed banana, a little apple sauce, or some pureed dates (maybe two)? We hope that helps!
I would really like to know the nutrition facts of these if it is possible for you to work it out?
Hi Ema! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
Fantastic! Omg yummy I just made these!!
Thanks Patricia, we’re thrilled that you liked these! :)
Omg I just made these and they are FANTASTIC!!!!! I added raw unsalted pumpkin seeds and mini chocolate chips !
what is the amount of protein each ball provides?
Hi Patty! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
These look like the perfect snack on the go! Definitely putting this on my Pinterest for future use. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Brooke, we hope you love them! :)
Made these, very good, steamed the dates a little to softened an make them easier to blend, works for me.
Oooh, what a great tip, thank you for sharing!