No Bake Energy Balls
Updated Oct 04, 2026
Make no-bake energy balls with oats, peanut butter, honey, coconut, flaxseed, and mini chocolate chips for an easy snack or quick breakfast.
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I make these energy balls because once I’m hungry, I’m not interested in making a snack. I want to open the fridge and eat something. So I mix oats, peanut butter, honey, flax, and mini chocolate chips, roll the whole batch at once, and keep them cold. This energy balls recipe takes about 15 minutes, and there’s no baking involved, which is probably why I’ve kept making it for so looong. My kids eat these peanut butter energy bites too, especially after school when I am in meetings and they don’t feel like making a snack.
Recipe testing notes
For the past 10 years, I’ve tested every recipe before sharing it with you! These notes give you a peek into the process of developing this energy balls recipe.
When I first started making energy bites, I could never get the mixture exactly the same from one batch to the next. Sometimes it would crumble while I was rolling it, and other times I’d be scraping half of it off my hands. It took me longer than it should have to realize the peanut butter was changing things depending on which jar I bought. I don’t worry about getting an exact texture anymore. If it’s sticky, I work in a little more oats. If it keeps breaking apart, I add more peanut butter.
And I’ve made these with rolled oats plenty of times over the years. They work, but the bites are noticeably chewier and I can feel the oats more when I eat them. I like quick oats better here because they blend into the peanut butter instead of feeling like a separate ingredient. That’s what I’ve been using for a long time now.
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Energy Balls Ingredients
- Oats: Quick oats hold everything together better than old-fashioned oats here and create a softer texture.
- Peanut butter: Creamy peanut butter mixes in the easiest. If you’re using natural peanut butter, stir it really well before measuring so the oil is fully incorporated. You can swap it with any nut butter, or even tahini or sunflower butter.
- Mix-ins: Ground flaxseed, unsweetened shredded coconut, mini chocolate chips, and honey help form the energy balls. You can substitute flaxseed with hemp seeds or chia seeds. Mini chocolate chips distribute more evenly than regular chocolate chips. Maple syrup or agave are good swaps for the honey.
How to Make Energy Balls
These photos show exactly how I make these energy bites at home. For the full ingredient list and complete instructions, scroll down to the recipe card below, or jump straight to the → No Bake Energy Balls Recipe
1. Mix the ingredients
Add everything to a large bowl and stir until the mixture is evenly combined. It should feel sticky enough to hold together but shouldn’t stick to your fingers.
2. Chill the mixture
Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the mixture firms up. This makes it much easier to scoop and roll into balls.
3. Scoop the mixture
Use a 1½-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the mixture into even pieces so they’re all about the same size.
4. Roll the energy balls
Roll each scoop between your hands until smooth. Enjoy them right away or store them in the fridge.
By far, the best energy bite recipe I have tried!! Love it!
– Kelley
Full Easy No Bake Energy Balls Recipe
Energy Balls Recipe No Bake
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick oats
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup honey
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 it in the refrigerator to set for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, remove from the fridge. Use a 1.5 tablespoon-size spring-loaded cookie scoop to scoop the mixture into 18 balls and roll with your hands.
- Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for 7-10 days.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Variations
- Mix in chopped nuts: Add ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans for more crunch.
- Add dried fruit: Replace the mini chocolate chips with ½ cup finely chopped raisins, dried cranberries, dates, or apricots.
- Increase the protein: Stir in 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder. If the mixture seems dry, add 1–2 teaspoons more peanut butter or water.
- Mash in a banana: Add a quarter of a banana, or about 2–3 tablespoons, for natural sweetness and to help hold everything together.
Thank you for this recipe….these are so good that I can’t stop eating them 😋-Faye A
Recipe Tips
- Mix until no dry spots remain. Make sure the honey and peanut butter coat all of the oats before chilling so every bite holds together.
- Use a cookie scoop to form the balls. It keeps the energy balls the same size, which makes rolling quicker and gives you even portions.
- Wet your hands when rolling the energy balls. This makes forming the balls easier and helps add some moisture to the oats since we’re not cooking them.
Troubleshooting
The mixture is probably too dry or didn’t chill long enough. Different peanut butter brands vary in thickness, so add another tablespoon of peanut butter if needed and refrigerate the mixture before rolling.
It likely needs more time in the fridge. If it’s still sticky after chilling, stir in a tablespoon or two of quick oats until the mixture is easier to handle.
Comments
These are easy and very tasty. Will definitely keep this recipe and make it again. I didn’t use the coconut because I didn’t want to buy a whole bag for this small amount since I don’t really like it and wouldn’t have anything else to use it for. I just added a little more oatmeal to make up for leaving it out, and it turned out great.
I’m so glad you liked them and that they’ll be a repeat for you! Leaving out the coconut and adding a little extra oatmeal was a great swap, especially if coconut isn’t something you’d normally use. Happy to hear they still turned out great! Thanks for sharing!
These are a hit! My boyfriend, who does not like coconut, will eat several of these at a time. I used toasted coconut in the batch I made, which I think also helps to “hide” the coconut.
Love that, Wendy! Toasted coconut is a great idea!
Would you recommend sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
I like to use unsweetened flakes personally, but you can use sweetened flakes if you want the bites to be a little sweeter. Enjoy!
Thanks for the tips! This worked well. I accidentally used milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet, so they were too sweet for us. I will use semisweet chocolate chips next time!
Oh no!! I’ve done that before too. So glad you still liked the recipe, Amira!
Would this recipe work with almond butter instead of peanut butter?
Yes, absolutely!
Thank you!
These energy bites are delicious. They are super easy to make. My husband and I love them. My sister also started making these and her family loves them too. I really enjoy all of Yumna’s recipes!
Aww, thank you!! So happy you and everyone you’ve shared the recipe with love them!
Hi! I make these every week and absolutely love them. I’m trying to track my protein intake and make sure I’m getting enough – can you tell me the quantity related to the nutritional info? Is this per one energy ball, or two, or three? Thanks!
Great question, Emma! The nutrition info is for one energy ball.
Thanks!
I made the No Bake Energy Bites and they are delicious.
Amazing!! So happy you loved them!
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.
How much do you put for each of the ingredients?
What kind of oats do you use?
Hi there, I use quick oats. The full recipe can be found by tapping ‘jump to recipe’ at the top of the page.
What can you substitute for the coconut?
You can omit the coconut or you can add in some chia seeds, whatever you’d like really. I hope you enjoy!
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.
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!
Thank you so much 💓
You’re so welcome!
By far, the best energy bite recipe I have tried!! Love it!
Thank you so much! Yay!!
Thank you for this recipe! My kids love it
That’s amazing! You’re so welcome!
Are they 145 calories in total or 145 for each ball?
It is 145 calories for each energy bite!
Thank you for this recipe….these are so good that I can’t stop eating them 😋
You’re so welcome! I totally get that!
wow this is amazing thank you ☺️
Thank you!! You’re so welcome!
Delicious. I am curious about what is considered one serving of the no bake energy balls?
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!
Boa noite, é possível substituir a manteiga de amendoim?
You could try another nut or seed butter!
I made these today and my family loved them… thank you to you and your sweet daughter ❤️❤️
Yay! Thank you so much!
Delicious! Can’t wait to make them again. And my daughter who’s seven loved them too. ☺️
Thank you! I’m so happy the two of you enjoyed!
Can I omit the coconut?
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.
These came out great! I made them with chia seeds, chopped up apricots. Can’t wait to try other variations.
That sounds wonderful! The variations are endless!
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! 😍
Hi Yumna. Loved the recipe for the energy balls! Thanks for posting it. 🥰🤗🌷
Most welcome! Thank you so much for the feedback!!
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!!
I’m so happy you all enjoyed it! Thank you!!
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 🙏
This is very very tasty enargy bitis thank you maam for this recipi my family loved it♥️
Yay! I’m so happy to hear it!
What size cookies scoop did you use?
It’s about 2 tablespoons.
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.
Haha love that name! And glad it worked out!! such a great in-between snack!
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?
You can add any other toppings instead or just leave them out.
Thank you for sharing this. Really enjoyed it!
You’re so welcome!
So delicious. I used dairy free chocolate chips for my son, and he loved them even though he dislikes oats in anything else we’ve tried.
Aww, that makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing!
Hi! I love this recipe I was wondering if the serving size for these is one ball?
Thank you !!
Yes it is! Thank you 🙂
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.
Love the idea of using sunflower seeds and the orange blossom honey. Thank you for sharing!
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!!!!
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!
Thanks you so much for getting back so fast!!!
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!!
Yay, so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback!
My family loves these. Thank you so much.
So glad to hear it! Thank you!
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 .
Aww thank you so much!!
Great snack ! If I want them softer or more chewing, can I add bit of milk or recommendation of other ingredient?
Thanks
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!
Love that you added pistachios! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂
These are amazing and so easy to make!
Thank you so much!
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 ?
Yay, so glad to hear you enjoyed it and made it three times already. Thank you!!
Substituted flaxseeds with chia seeds and the result is still amazing!! Holding myself from eating soo many!! Thank you Yumna!
Aww glad to hear it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Made these today, they are so yummy not to sweet and the perfect consistency
Yay, I’m so glad you liked them!
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❤️❤️
Aww I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for your kind words!
Looks delicious but I have one question how can you make it low carb ?
I will be waiting for your answer , thank you ?
You can use almond flour instead of quick oats.
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. ?
Oh that’s so wonderful! Glad to hear you and your boyfriend enjoyed the recipe! Great swaps to make them less calories 🙂
These look so yummy! How do you usually heat your honey?
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
I love these sweet and nutritious energy bites. I made a batch for the week and we are all enjoying them!
What a great snack idea!