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
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 0 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 20-25 energy bites
Description
This No-Bake Energy Bites recipe is easy to make, full of feel-good ingredients, and irresistibly delicious!
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
Prep Time: The prep time listed does not include time for the mixture to chill. To speed up the chilling, I recommend spreading the mixture out on a small baking sheet and popping it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes until the mixture is cool.
Source: Recipe slightly adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots.
Could I use flaxseeds instead of ground flax? My local coffee shop makes some that have the flaxseed in them and I was trying to find a recipe that seemed to duplicate the ingredients, which yours seems to do. I’m excited to try them.
Could I add mashed ripe Bananas to this recipe? And if I could, would I add more of the dry ingredients?
I put the ingredients in ChatGPT and got this: Here’s the full nutritional breakdown for your recipe, totaling approximately 2,285 calories, with 58g protein, 139g fat, and 234g carbohydrates for the entire batch.
Can you add protein powder to increase the protein content?
I’ve made at least 3 double-batches of these in the last month or so, I absolutely LOVE them.
I add some toasted slivered almonds for extra crunch and some coconut extract gives them a sort of almond joy flavor.
tip! using *freshly* toasted coconut and almonds warms up your peanut butter / honey and makes it easier to mix, with a bonus that it melts the chocolate chips and makes it taste more like a classic no-bake cookie!!
We have made the recipe, rolled into balls. This time we doubled the recipe and have pressed onto a baking tray to make it into a slice. Will refrigerate and cut into pieces.
My son asks how they turn out when you bake them. Has anyone tried baking them?
When I have the oven on again tomorrow, I will put a couple of pieces in to see what happens 🤞
This is my go to energy ball recipe for my postpartum friends and they are such a crowd pleaser! My family loves them too. I like to use half old fashioned oats and half quick oats or even pulse the oats a bit for a smoother texture. I use unsweetened shredded coconut and I don’t toast the coconut, though I’m sure that tastes amazing – I like easy and less steps. I love to mix the ingredients with a hand mixer or toss it all in my Kitchen Aid mixer to make it easier. These also freeze well!
Can’t wait to try !
I made these for the first time today and being from the South, I had to taste before putting in the refrigerator to set. These are amazing and will become my go-to snack for summer and especially when school starts back in the fall!!!!!!
It’s like Christmas morning when I remember that I have some of these squirreled away in the freezer! So good and so easy to customize with goodies I find in the pantry. I put them in an 8×8 pan and cut into bars .So far this is my favorite recipe for these that I’ve found. Thank you!