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!
Oops! had already thrown in the flax seeds when I noticed that they were were supposed to be ground. I guess mine will be a little crunchier.
No worries Tricia, we hope you still enjoyed them!
What can be use in place of the flax seed? I don’t have any and the only kind I can find near by is too expensive.
Hey Delores! You could try these with wheat germ instead, or just omit it all together (but if you do that, you might need to add more oats so the mixture won’t be too wet). We hope this helps, and that you enjoy the recipe!
My granddaughter and I made this recipe several times and we loved them! She was delighted to be able to make these with little assistance to surprise her family. Good lesson in teaching measurements and trying different ingredients. Yummy
Thanks for sharing, Nan, we’re happy to hear that! : )
These are the perfect snack! I’m a nursing mom and had to go on a dairy and soy free diet for baby. Finding good, sweet snacks is quite difficult. The only adaptation I had to make was using an all natural peanut butter and the Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips. Love!
Thank you Lorissa, we’re so glad you like the recipe! :)
These are a great snack! My family and coworkers always want some when I make them. I triple the recipe, add 1/2 cup of whey protein and reduce the honey by 1/4 inch so its just less than a cup. That helps to not make it too sweet with the added sugar in the peanut butter and sweetened coconut flakes (my store didn’t have unsweetened). When the mix seems too dry I add a little water (by the tablespoon), just until everything starts to mold together. I tried with steel cut oats, but they are too tough for my liking, instant works better for me. They really moisten to the right consistency when refrigerated overnight. Thank you Ali, I have made these at least 4 times already :- )
Thanks Amber, and thanks for sharing your tips! We always love hearing new tips and tricks from our readers, and are so glad you like these! :)
I made a new batch, chocolate chips intact, and as I suspected the melted chips in the previous batch totally overwhelmed the other flavors. Love chocolate but really like these better with the chips intact. Also added half a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, a suggestion of my personal trainer. I had more trouble getting them to hold their shape this time, the melted chocolate helped the previous batch. I suspect that toasting the coconut and oats may contributed to that issue. Will try another batch without toasting, just as soon as this batch is gone. lol
Could you make a lot of these and freeze them for later use? I’m preparing to have a baby in a few weeks and want to have lots of healthy snacks options already made during the first few weeks of crazy newborn life.
Hey Courtney! First of all, congrats! Second of all, yes, you can totally freeze these. We hope you enjoy the recipe and your new little one. :)
Is the coconut used as a sweetener or just for taste? I’m highly allergic to it and can’t even touch it without my throat swelling. Any recommendations for a substitution?
Hey Kellyann, it’s used for taste, so we’d suggest swapping it out for some nuts, dried fruit, and/or seeds – we hope that helps and that you enjoy these!
hi ? just made the No bake energy bites & put them in the fridge before making into balls but they won’t stick together. Used all the right ingredients & measured amounts,any tips? Perhaps it’s best with runny honey ? Didn’t really want to put more peanut butter or honey in ? By the way,they do taste amazing tho ?
So I toasted the oats and the coconut and that worked out well, but I unthinkingly dumped them in the bowl with the other ingredients. The chocolate chips melted and now they look like the chocolate peanut butter bites instead. lol Will have to make another batch with chips intact, because I think the melted chips overwhelm the other flavors and then what was the point of toasting the oats? lol
Oh no! That’s an easy mistake to make – let us know how the second batch came out – we hope you enjoyed them! :)