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!
What do I do if I’m allergic to coconut? Haha
A friend sent me this recipe & your website…she thought it just sounded new & exciting.
I think it is just very funny that these things are “catching on” when we were all making them in my “hippy days” about 45 years ago!! {I am in my 60’s}
Most of us had kids and often kept each others kids for weekends and overnights and we took turns making granola in mass quantities & we usually just added whatever we had on hand including raisins {one the highest iron containing foods} all sorts of seeds, even poppy & sesame seeds, all sorts of fresh & dried fruits, all kinds of nut butters including tahini, wheat germ, protein powders, {many of us were vegetarians & instead of vitamins we used natural protein powders to help ensure that our kids weren’t anemic} etc., so these recipes are not new to most of us “seniors.”
We also used to be able to buy Roman Meal whole wheat hot dog “boats” the boats are similar to a hot dog bun but are just one piece of “bread” with a trough in them {easy for kids to hold & eat since it doesn’t fall apart}…we would just put peanut butter in them, add a banana & a little honey or jam…the kids loved them. Now we have to make our own boats if we want them cuz I can’t find any at all. {they also work great for hot dogs lol}
I am planning to make some of these Granola Balls for my friend and will have fun with my memories, using newer products like peanut butter POWDER, dried cranberries, almond meal, sesame seeds, carob, some of my home canned products like apple sauce & pear sauce…2 other sammies to try: peanutbutter & head lettuce {lower in calories than adding jam or honey, moist & crunchy!} & peanutbutter and raisins!
To use whole nuts: just wrap the mix around the nut, surprise centers. {same for pieces of fruit, if fresh fruit is used refrigerate the balls}
These are SO good!! My kids call them cookie dough bites and I don’t feel at all guilty sending them to school for dessert. I used the mini chocolate chips so I could use only 1/4 cup but they’re still well dispersed. And we don’t like coconut so I added shelled sunflower seeds instead–added a nice crunch. Totally delicious, thanks for the great recipe!
Great recipe! I found it needed lure peanut butter to stick together properly.
Hi,
have you calculated the calories per ball? Thnx
I love these they are so good! I love this recipe do u have any more like it? Its great!;-)
They are so good have to make them for me young women and they cant get enough of them! Thanks for the recipe love them! ;-)
Wow, I can’t believe the rude comments regarding you not adding nutritional information. If people can’t figure it out themselves, that’s their problem. If you have the ingredients on hand, look at the label. I did this myself about a year ago and it was pretty darn easy.
Anyway, I “lost” the recipe after figuring out how many calories was in each one but recently decided to see if I could control myself so, I did a search for the recipe. After I go to the store for some dried coconut (the shredded Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator probably wouldn’t taste the same although it looks identical) I will be making these and the cranberry pistachio bites, minus the cranberries (my oldest son cannot eat berries).
Thank you for your blog. The photos are beautiful and recipes are delicious!
I added a scoop of chocolate soy protein powder instead of the chocolate chips for added protein.
i would like to know the nutritional value and stats on these energy bites! Could you post them or send them please?