No Bake Energy Bites

Yumna Jawad
Updated

5 from 220 votes

These healthy No Bake Energy Bites are made with only six ingredients & no special equipment- they are full of wholesome good-for-you energizing superfoods!

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No Bake Energy Bites are exactly what they sound like – they are a whole snack made with 6 ingredients all rolled up into a ball to give you plenty of energy as a mid-day snack. They are full of protein, fiber and good fats which will keep you feeling satiated and staying away from processed packaged snacks.

No bake energy bites with hand grabbing one from the top
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I love recipes that are easy to make, flavorful, and better for me and my family, which is why these energy bites are a frequent flyer in my rotation. Just like my breakfast bars, granola bars, and overnight oats, these bites have an oatmeal base to help keep me and my family powered through the entire morning or afternoon. I keep a batch of these energy balls in my fridge throughout the week. Then I easily grab a couple when I’m on the go and want a fast nutritious bite. For energy bites, these surprisingly need little energy to make!

By far, the best energy bite recipe I have tried!! Love it!
– Kelley 

Recipe at a Glance

Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: No bake
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Peanut butter
Skill Level: Easy

Summary

  • Nutrient-Dense: The oats, peanut butter, coconut, and flaxseed are all nutrient-dense foods that pack a lot of health benefits like protein, fiber, and complex carbs into this tiny package. 
  • Versatile: These energy bites make a great on-the-go breakfast, afternoon snack, or to power you through your workout. 
  • Convenient: These bites are no bake, so they’re quick and easy to make. After you make them, they’re just as easy to grab on your way out the door. 
  • Filling: The combination of protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats in these bites will fill you up all morning long!

Ingredients for No Bake Energy Bites

  • Quick Oats: The base for these energy bites. They create a wonderfully chewy texture and add a ton of fiber and complex carbs. 
  • Creamy Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is full of protein and healthy fat and helps bind the bites together. 
  • Shredded Coconut: Coconut adds natural sweetness and healthy fat. 
  • Ground Flaxseed: Another binder, flaxseed, is loaded with essential omega fatty acids. 
  • Mini Chocolate Chips: They’re just plain good! 
  • Honey: Honey adds sweetness to these bites while avoiding the need for refined sugars. 
  • Swap out the honey: You can use maple syrup or even molasses in place of honey. You do want to stick with a liquid sweetener as it does help keep everything together.
  • Toss in some more seeds: Chia seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds give the energy bites more plant-based protein and give them an extra crunch. I only used ground flaxseeds, but feel free to add others.
  • Nuts or nut butter: Use small chopped nuts or nut butter. This is another way to add healthy fats, flavor, and protein to the energy bites. If you’re adding more nut butter, you’ll need to add some dry ingredients to offset it, like oats, almond flour, protein powder, or powdered peanut butter. For every ¼ cup of nut butter, use 1 cup of dry ingredients.
  • Drop in some dried fruit: Think of using chopped dates, raisins, apricots, coconut or cranberries. I would recommend chopping them up finely or blending them in the food processor. And if you are adding more dried fruit, it helps to balance out the sweetness with something salty or bland like more nuts, oats, almond meal, or unsweetened protein powder.
  • Spices: To add more flavor, I love throwing in cinnamon, or other warm spices like nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, turmeric or cloves. A lot of these spices have anti-inflammatory properties too so you’ll get a healthy dose of that in your energy bites!
  • Sweet surprises: Hello chocolate chips and chocolate chunks! These make the energy bites more fun and sweet – perfect for kids! You can also add white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or even toffee pieces.

How to make no bake energy bites

Throw all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined and sticky, but doesn’t stick to your fingers. I played around with the energy bites mixture a few times and the recipe below comes out perfectly for me every time now!

Ingredients in a bowl: oats, peanut butter, chocolate, honey, flaxseed, coconut

Once you mix it all together, allow it to set in the fridge for one hour. That will let everything stick better together and allow the flavors to really soak in.

Ingredients in a bowl all mixed together: oats, peanut butter, chocolate, honey, flaxseed, coconut

Then you’re ready to roll them into balls. I use a cookie scoop to make about 1-2 inch thick energy bites. You can also just use your hands and roll them into any sizes you like.

Tray of energy balls after they've been formed

Thank you for this recipe….these are so good that I can’t stop eating them 😋-Faye A

Tips for Making the Best No Bake Energy Bites

  1. Allow 30 minutes to an hour for the dough mixture to chill. This will help the balls hold their shape when you roll them and it will also help the flavors to develop.
  2. Wet your hands when rolling the energy bites. This will help add some moisture to the oats since we’re not cooking them. It also helps makes forming the mixture into balls much easier.
  3. Use a cookie scoop to form the balls. This will help you create similar sized bites and the mixture will be easier to scoop and shape. I also think it’s much faster than using your hands
  4. The mixture should be slightly tacky to the touch. If the mixture is too dry, try adding more peanut butter or honey. On the other hand, if you feel that the mixture is too wet, you can fix that by adding more oats or more flaxseed.

What to Serve with No Bake Energy Bites

These delicious energy bites make a complete meal in a bite-sized package all on their own. However, smoothies are a great way to introduce more healthy ingredients like fruits and vegetables and an extra kick of protein to your morning or afternoon when served alongside them. 

Small bowl of no bake energy bites

How to Store No Bake Energy Bites

These energy bites should be refrigerated for maximum freshness. You can also freeze them, which makes them perfect for meal prep. 

How long will no bake energy bites last in the fridge? 

These energy bites have a relatively long shelf life and will last for up to two weeks in the refrigerator when stored in an air-tight container. 

Can I freeze no bake energy bites? 

All the ingredients in these energy bites are freezer-friendly! Just place the energy bites on a baking sheet and freeze them until solid. Then, transfer them to an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag and store them for up to three months. 

Frequently asked questions

Is it possible to make vegan energy bites?

You can make these energy bites vegan by simply swapping the honey for maple syrup. Although, I found that the mixture holds better with the sticky honey. You may need to add a couple tablespoons of water if using maple syrup.

Why are my energy bites falling apart?

It’s important to chill your oat mixture before forming it into balls and then store those balls in the refrigerator. Chilling them is what helps them retain their shape.

My energy bites are too sticky. What did I do wrong?

Make sure you have enough oats and dry ingredients in your energy bites to absorb the honey. It is a delicate balance between too wet/sticky and not enough binder ingredients. If you’re running into problems, I suggest adding a tablespoon or two of either the dry or wet ingredients until you get the desired texture you’re after.

Bowl of energy nites with one on the table with bite taken out

These bites are vegan-friendly (swap honey for maple syrup), gluten free and packed full of healthy ingredients that will keep you feeling satiated. I hope you make this homemade healthy snack that’s full of feel good natural ingredients. And I hope it gives you energy to tackle your day with a pep in your step! Have fun with the recipe and customize it to your liking!

More No-Bake Snacks:

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good No Bake Energy Bites recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

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No bake energy bites with hand grabbing one from the top
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Review

No Bake Energy Bites

These healthy No Bake Energy Bites are made with only six ingredients & no special equipment- they are full of wholesome good-for-you energizing superfoods!
5 from 220 votes
Author Yumna Jawad
Servings 15 servings
Course Snack
Calories 145
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Video

Ingredients
  

Instructions

  • Place all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix with a spoon or spatula until well incorporated.
  • Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to set for half hour.
  • Once chilled, remove from the fridge, use a cookie scoop to form the mixture into balls and roll with your hands.
  • Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for 7-10 days.

Equipment

Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 10-14 days in the fridge.
Freezing Instructions: After rolling the bites, freeze them on a baking sheet until solid.  Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer safe container or bag. You then simply need to thaw them in the fridge overnight.
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However, feel free to play around with the ingredients and customize to your liking.

Nutrition

Calories: 145kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 49mg, Potassium: 106mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 13IU, Calcium: 20mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine American
Course: Snack

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Comments

  1. This is an awesome recipe! My previous go-to recipe was a bit more complicated and didn’t stay together as well. My kids noticed the difference and really love these. I tripled the batch and subbed in half protein powder/half flax seed.

    Reply

  4. How can I use your oath flavor to make energy balls?

    That’s all I have stocked in my home right now and would love you suggestion.

    Reply

    1. Yay, I’m so glad you got some Oath overnight oats! Which flavor did you get? The beauty of the overnight oats is you can really substitute them for oats 1 cup for 1 cup. The overnight oat mixtures do have mostly oats, but they include some nuts, powders, and/or dried fruit, so you can add a little more than equal amounts if you’d like. It will work out great!

      Reply

    1. Yay! It’s 1/15 of the recipe, so if you ended up with 15 no bake energy balls, the serving size would be one energy ball!

      Reply

    1. Sure! You could customize it by using your choice of dried fruit. Think of using chopped dates, raisins, apricots, or cranberries. I would recommend chopping them up finely or blending in the food processor. And if you are adding more dried fruit, it helps to balance out the sweetness with something salty or bland like more nuts, oats, almond meal or unsweetened protein powder.

      Reply

  17. I talked all my near n dear ones into making the no bake energy bites! And everyone is sending me pictures how it turned out and how they have made multiple batches of it! Thanks to you again! 😍

    Reply

  19. Hey Yumna! Thanks for your amazing recipes! I tried out the No Bake Energy bites from your Day 2 of Mom Breakfast Hacks 😍 and had it as my breakfast this morning! Trust me, it was pure heaven! Even my husband who isn’t fond of a lot of sweets, he loved it too! Yayy!!

    Reply

      1. My first lot is already finished.
        I have shared the recipe with all my friends and family mainly who all tasted it! Looks like everyone’s gonna try making it this weekend!! All thanks to you 🙏

        Reply

  21. Made these with my sister for a good in-between meals snack, they looked great on Instagram so we got to the recipe and made them up in less than 10 mins! We swapped out quick oats for rolled and honey for golden syrup+agave mix. The rolled oats make it harder to well, roll the balls up. To our friends, we like to call them cookie dough flapjack bites to lure them in XD overall a great recipe.

    Reply

  22. I already made « energy » ball with dates. Which were really good but too sweetened. I will try this one. But before I have a question. Can I replace the coconut by something else?

    Reply

  24. So delicious. I used dairy free chocolate chips for my son, and he loved them even though he hates oats in anything else we’ve tried.

    Reply

  26. These energy bites were a huge hit with my family! Instead of flaxseed, I used roasted sunflower seeds. I also used orange blossom honey for an extra bit of sweetness.

    Reply

      1. Hello Yumna!!! I love all your recipes!! this one by far is my favorite!!’thank you for always posting such delicious and healthy recipes I just had a question if you can use old fashion oats instead of quick oats thank you!!!!

        Reply

        1. Thank you so much!! So happy to hear that! And yes you can, but I felt that the consistency was a little better with the quick oats!

          Reply

  27. Made those yesterday because I really felt for something sweet. As I am right now on a healthy food trip, no chocolate nor sweets at home. So I thought maybe I find something here and saw that I have everything I need for this energy balls….so quick and easy to make and sooooo delicious….two are enough to get my hunger calmed. So I will be able to enjoy them several days if I can control myself. Thanks a lot!!

    Reply

  29. Hello me and my eight year old son make together it turn out so so good . And so easy to make it . We follow her receipts we made mug cake , chese quesadillas in toaster , we made macaroni chese in mug microwave . Making more stuff next is my Kale chips . I want her to add more and more recipes .
    Thank you so much .

    Reply

  30. Great snack ! If I want them softer or more chewing, can I add bit of milk or recommendation of other ingredient?
    Thanks

    Reply

  31. Unbelievable taste !!! So easy to do and tastes even better then next day .. I added in some pistachios cuz I’m obsessed with them .. but it is sooo worth it ! Great recipe!

    Reply

  33. Amazing recipe I love it so much.
    Third time I made it I doubled the recipe ?
    So good when it’s chilled ?
    Thank you for the yummy bites ?

    Reply

  34. Substituted flaxseeds with chia seeds and the result is still amazing!! Holding myself from eating soo many!! Thank you Yumna!

    Reply

  36. Thank you for your recipies, They are great. I am really inspired by you and have started cooking and baking.
    I made these energy bites and my sister cannot stop eating them. Love it❤️❤️

    Reply

  37. Looks delicious but I have one question how can you make it low carb ?
    I will be waiting for your answer , thank you ?

    Reply

  38. Delicious! Thanks for the great recipe. To cut calories, I added fewer chocolate chips and coconut flakes but included cinnamon. I make the balls smaller. My boyfriend is dieting and loves them so much he asked for the recipe and is determining the number of points with WW. ?

    Reply

    1. Oh that’s so wonderful! Glad to hear you and your boyfriend enjoyed the recipe! Great swaps to make them less calories 🙂

      Reply

    1. Thank you! Usually I immerse it in a cup of hot water. But it’s only necessary if you feel that the honey is not liquidy enough

      Reply