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!
Hey, these are such an awesome idea!! My family is always on the run and I was looking for an energy bar recipe. I was just wondering, how many calories and how much sugar and protein would you say are in your 1 inch balls?
Thanks Ashley — we hope you and your family enjoy these! Unfortunately though, we aren’t sure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I made these tonight without the coconut. I rolled up 2 balls, got lazy, and then just started eating it with a spoon :)
My almost 2 year old really enjoyed it too.
We’re so happy you and your little one enjoyed these Nikki! :D
Wow, so easy to make and sooooo good. I made a bunch of these for the first time on moving day to feed to our helpful neighbours and friends. Everyone loved them – from the 18 month old to the 75 year old! They were gone in a flash, so I made a fresh batch the day after for my family to enjoy. I looked forward to trying the variations – they all look delicious!
Thanks Angie — we’re so happy these were a hit! Thanks for giving them a try, and for your sweet words! :)
How long would these last in the fridge/freezer?
We’d say at least a week in the fridge, if not longer! A few months in the freezer. We hope you enjoy!
These look so yum!!! I want to make a few batches to bring in to my coworkers.. I’m thinking they might freeze well….have you tried that? Thank you for the delicious recipes!
Thanks Kira — we hope you and your coworkers enjoy! And yes, you can definitely freeze them — they don’t take long to thaw at all. :)
I’ve made these a million times since seeing the recipe. I changed it a bit so I use 2/3 cup oats, 1 cup coconut flakes, instead of chocolate chips, I use 2tbsp of organic cacao powder, and I use Adam’s all natural crunchy peanut butter.
I have counted the calories, and if you make 20 balls or of one batch with my modifications, it’s 100 calories each.
Thanks for your feedback Whitney — we’re glad you enjoy these! :)
I love these! I was just wondering how long you think they are good if kept in the fridge? I used organic smooth peanut butter organic ground flax seedl and everything else in the ingredients list except chia seeds.
Thanks Ania — we’re glad to hear that! And yes, we think they’re yummy cold, so the fridge works great (plus, it will help keep them fresher longer).
Made the original recipe today….they are amazing and very easy to make. Happy I have my snacks for the week. P.S I didnt use vanilla (didn’t have any) still taste pretty darn good!
Thanks for sharing Melissa — we’re so glad you enjoyed them! Good to know they are just as yummy without the vanilla too! :)
These were soooo good! Easy to make too.
I took them to work and they disappeared. I used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy. I also used peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips.
Thank you Tracy — we’re so happy you enjoyed them! :)
To the original recipe, I use half rolled oats and half quinoa, or sometimes all quinoa. Even more nutrition! I also make them into bars instead of balls. They can go straight into a pan and then cooled. I grab one and a banana for breakfast as I’m a “can’t get out of bed, eat breakfast on the go” kind of person. :)
We love the idea of putting quinoa in these Carina — great thinking! :D