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!
These are AMAZING! I have a family member allergic to peanuts, so we make these with almond butter. They’re so good!
Thanks for the recipe! :)
Thank you, we’re so glad they were a hit with you and your family!
Awesome! So glad you enjoy it! :)
When I found this recipe I was excited to try them. For my first batch I doubled the recipe as we were having company. I did alter the recipe a bit by leaving out the flax seeds as I have a health condition where I cannot digest seedy things. I did add chopped pecans. I chopped everything very fine and then rolled my dough into two rolls and wrapped them in wax paper and let them chill. The next day our company came and we just sliced them. If you lay them out they will still dry. Today I made a single batch and only did a course chop on everything except the chocolate chips which I chose to buy mini-chips. I did scoop these out with a small melon scoop and then rolled them into balls. This worked great as they were all the same size and the recipe made 46. This size is great for the little ones. I recommend this recipe as a healthy treat. I will make some more altering the ingrediants such as cranberries and different nuts etc. So thank you.
Thank you for sharing, Regena, we’re glad to hear they worked out!
How do you store these?
Hey Cara, you can store them in the fridge, or even in the freezer. We hope you enjoy!
these look amazing, I’m going to try them tomorrow. A quick question though – we are a nut free household, could I use tahini or even coconut butter in place of the peanut butter? Thanks :)
Thanks, Anna! We think you could definitely use tahini or coconut butter in place of the peanut butter. Either one of those sounds fantastic!
I’m making a double batch & discovered I’m out of vanilla extract….what do you think of adding Almond extract…or maybe I just need to run to the store?
Hi, Linda! We think these would be tasty with almond extract (or you could always just leave the extract out entirely). We hope you enjoy them!
While these taste great, I had trouble forming balls or bars with them – there’s not enough moisture to keep it all sticking together – any suggestions?
Chilling the mixture in the refrigerator for awhile definitely helps them stick together and roll into balls more easily. Otherwise, feel free to add some extra peanut butter to help them stick together too. :)
Hi Ali! I love these! I made them with quik oats instead of whole oats, they tasted good, was it ok to use them instead?
Hi Brenda! I prefer using old fashioned whole, rolled oats for these, but using quick oats doesn’t hurt, and if you thought they were still good, then I wouldn’t worry about it! : )
I just made these. They are in the fridge and ready to be rolled. My hubby taste tested the mix and said they are a keeper! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thanks, Judy, that’s great to hear!
delicious! I added chopped pecans as well! :)
Thank you, glad you liked them!
These are delicious and so easy to make. But is the RAW oatmeal hard to digest? I have read that it is not healthy to eat it raw. ? I was disappointed to read that because rhet are so tasty.
Thanks, Cathy! I haven’t read that raw oatmeal is hard to digest, and I haven’t found that this recipe or others I’ve tried have upset my stomach any. I don’t think there’s a large amount in each serving either, so it should be fine.