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!
I loooove these, but my husband doesn’t like peanut butter, or really any of the nut butters (a texture thing). Do you have any suggestions to replace that or do I get stuck eating them all by myself? Haha
Thanks Amy! And hmmm, finding a substitute for the nut butters is tricky, because they’re such an integral part of this recipe. Does your husband like nuts? If so, you guys could try these! We hope this helps!
Planning to make these but think I’ll toast the oats, in addition to the coconut, for a deeper nuttier flavor. Will let you know how they turn out.
That sounds like a good idea Meg, definitely let us know how they turned out!
Have you or any of your readers used steel cut oats in place of the rolled oats? Planning to experiment but thought I’d ask first.
Hey Cindy, not that we know of. That’s an interesting thought though, let us know if it works out! :)
Hi! I am hoping to make these to take on a backpacking trip – would they be fine outside of refrigeration for a couple of days?
Hi Lilly, we’re sorry to be responding to this a little late. These would definitely be fine outside of the refrigerator for a couple of days, just as long as they’re not exposed to crazy heat (they might get a little melty/mushy). We hope you had a great time on your trip!
These are delicious.
Question… how long are they good for? What’s the best way u would store them?
Thanks Candace! We recommend you store them in the refrigerator or freezer. In the refrigerator, they’ll probably last a couple of weeks!
I know I’m just meant to eat these as a little energy burst, but they’re so good that I eat them like cereal. I can make a huge batch and just chow down on them for ages. Ridiculous how addictive these things are. A+ recipe.
Thanks, we’re so glad you like them! :)
DELICIOUS!!! I WISH my flax seeds hadn’t gone bad, but they had. *sigh* and I had no chia seeds.. I just used a bit of extra oats and a bit of wheat germ and they came out SOOO freaking well! Really! Try this! SO simple and (well, a little too) easy to snack on! I made them 3 weeks ago and I’m craving more… just a quick trip to the store…..
Awesome Kristine, we’re so glad you liked these! Good to know they work well with wheat germ too!
Just made these, and with a few tweaks, made into a lactation energy ball recipe.. so good!!!! Thank you!
Thanks Ally, that’s awesome! We’re glad you liked them! :)
Hi Ali,
These look delicious, but I’m afraid I can not have coconut. Is it necessary to the recipe? And if so, do you have any suggestions for modifications? Thanks!
Thanks Kylene! And no, the coconut is not necessary to the recipe. You can add nuts or seeds to compensate if you’d like, but you probably don’t need to. We hope that’s helpful, and that you enjoy them!
I just made these for the first time with my daughter and they are fantastic! It’s great you can mix up the additions – I love the versatility of the recipe! Have you subbed in maple syrup for the honey/agave? Thank you!
Thanks Lauren, we’re so glad you and your daughter enjoyed these! We have not tried subbing in maple syrup for the honey/agave, but we think it would be delicious! :)