This No-Bake Energy Bites recipe is easy to make, full of feel-good ingredients, and irresistibly delicious!
Friends, have you tried this no bake energy bites recipe? ♡
It’s one of my all-time favorite recipes here on the blog, and one that I’ve personally made about a zillion times since I first published it here eight years ago.
I love these little energy bites because they are easy to make with simply pantry ingredients that I almost always have on hand. They are super easy to mix up and roll into cute little energy balls. (Or if you would like to save time, you can press the mixture into a parchment-covered baking dish, and then cut them into energy bars.) They are the perfect make-ahead recipe to keep on hand for healthy snacking or breakfasts. And most importantly, they are just irresistibly good.
Over the years, thousands of our readers have made and loved this classic energy bites recipe too. So I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try!
No Bake Energy Bites Recipe | 1-Minute Video
No Bake Energy Bites Ingredients:
To make this no bake energy bites recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Old-fashioned oats: Also called rolled oats — these will serve as the base ingredient for our energy bites.
- Shredded coconut: Which I highly recommend toasting — either briefly in the oven or in a sauté pan — before adding to the energy bites. (Just be sure that the coconut has cooled before adding in the chocolate chips or the chocolate may melt.) Feel free to use either sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut.
- Creamy peanut butter: I have used both traditional creamy peanut butter and natural creamy peanut butter in this recipe, and both work!
- Ground flaxseed: To add some extra protein, fiber and omega-3s to our energy bites.
- Semisweet chocolate chips: I photographed this recipe with standard-sized semisweet chips, but mini semisweet chips mix in easier.
- Honey: To add some natural sweetness and also help to bind the energy balls together.
- Vanilla extract: For a touch of extra flavor.
- Chia seeds (optional): Feel free to skip the chia seeds if you do not have any on hand. But I love adding in a tablespoon or so when I do!
How To Make Energy Balls:
To make these energy bites, simply…
- Stir everything together. Stir all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Chill. Cover the mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, or until the mixture is chilled.*
- Roll into balls. Roll into mixture into 1-inch balls.
- Serve. Then enjoy immediately! Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
If you have trouble getting the energy balls to hold together, I recommend adding in more peanut butter to make the mixture a bit more sticky. Or if you would rather, you can also just press the mixture into a square baking dish to make flat energy bars instead of round energy balls.
Possible Energy Bites Variations:
There are all sorts of ways that you can customize this energy bites recipe, so feel free to get creative! For example, you are welcome to…
- Make energy bars: Press the mixture firmly into a parchment-lined 8×8-inch baking pan, chill, and then slice into energy bars (instead of rolling the mixture into energy balls).
- Use a different nut or seed butter: Use almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, or any other nut/seed butters that you prefer in place of peanut butter.
- Omit the coconut: I’ve heard from many of you over the years who don’t love coconut. If that’s the case, no prob, just omit the coconut and add in an extra shake of oats instead.
- Add spices: If you would like to give these energy bites some extra flavor, feel free to add in a few pinches of ground cinnamon or some pumpkin pie spice.
More Healthy Snack Recipes:
Looking for more healthy snack inspiration? Here are a few of my favorite snack recipes!
- Chocolate No Bake Energy Bites
- Seed Cycling Energy Bites
- Easy Refrigerator Pickles
- Nooch Popcorn
- Beef Jerky
- Sea Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips
No Bake Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup toasted shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or vegan chocolate chips)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Stir everything together. Stir all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Chill. Cover the mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, or until the mixture is chilled. (This will help the mixture stick together more easily.)
- Roll into balls. Roll into mixture into 1-inch balls.
- Serve. Then enjoy immediately! Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
*Love these no bake energy bars. We are doing a high protein low carb diet with what they call fuelings for snacks of 100 calories between meals. I know this is a stretch but any best guess on the receipe you put up?? These would be wonderful to have around for my hubby who needs a little sweet sometimes and grumbles about lack of all the time!! Thanks Melissa/
I made them last night and they are perfect! A perfect little bite to crave some hunger during work, will be making these over and over thank for the recipe :)
I subbed maple extract for vanilla. Worked very nicely.
My family absolutely loves these! We keep them in the freezer and my daughter throws some in a bag to eat while she walks to school in the morning. We double the recipe (and omit the coconut since she doesn’t like coconut shreds) but they still don’t last long. I bring them to work and keep them in the fridge for a good mid afternoon snack. Love love!
These are absolutely delicious and a huge hit at our house! My husband figures he could eat these every day of the week. I’m just about to make another batch. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
These are the BEST “heatlhy” snack ever! I received the recipe through my weight management facility, so they are an “approved” snack!! THANK SO MUCH for sharing these yummy treasures!
I had trouble getting mine to stick together so added a little applesauce which really helped!
Hi there, I tried these tonight and we loved them!! I wrote a blogpost about it and I credited your blog. Thank you for a great recipe. https://rugratchow.blogspot.com/2013/05/no-bake-oatmeal-energy-bites.html
I’ve made these so many times I have lost count! I double sometimes triple the recipe!! I make so much because I have found that they freeze VERY well and having a good number of them in the freezer is great cause you can take a handful of them out for 30 minutes and you have yourself a healthy chocolaty treat!
As for substitutions, say I am doubling the recipe it would call for 1 cup of chocolate chips (I always use semi-sweet or dark cause I find the honey is very sweet), I will use 3/4 chocolate chips and 1/4 peanut butter chips! OMG to die for! Of course not as healthy but so yummy!!
As for them being high in calories, well they are better for you than a burger or chocolate bar! The calories and fat you get from these bites are good for you!
At the bottom it says the recipe makes 20-25 balls. At the top it says 3 dozen.
Shouldn’t it say 2 dozen at the top? pretty simple math…