Chocolate No Bake Energy Bites are one of my favorite, healthy snacks to eat anytime throughout the day. This energy ball recipe is made with six ingredients, minimally sweetened, naturally vegan, and crazy easy to make! They seriously, utterly resemble brownie bites…with benefits…for the win!
Chocolate No Bake Energy Bites
When I think of the perfect, healthy snack of all time…I think of an energy ball!
These cuties are like the super healthy version of brownie bites. They have the same effect too…as in, you can’t eat just one.
They really satisfy my sweet tooth and chocolate cravings, yet there’s no refined sugar OR processed chocolate in them!
Nope. Just unsweetened cocoa, combined with dates, maple syrup, and a few other pantry ingredients.
Yay! A naturally sweetened, chocolate snack that I can actually feel good about eating.
These energy bites are brownie bites with benefits
- made with minimally processed ingredients
- naturally vegan
- sweetened with dates and maple syrup
- no cholesterol
- a source of fiber, iron, protein, and potassium
How long do energy bites stay fresh?
When stored in an airtight container, energy bites can retain optimal freshness 3-5 days either at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
You’ll notice after that, they can become dry and crumbly.
In our house, these babies never last beyond 36 hours, because I devour them, one by one, every couple hours.
Yet, somehow I always forget to double the recipe. (shrugs shoulders)
Energy bites are convenient
- meal prepped snack in 15 minutes
- no baking and no freezing necessary
- kid-friendly
- packable snack
- fulfills chocolate cravings without refined sugar
- eat for breakfast, or a midday snack, or pre/post workout
How to make energy bites or energy balls
*see full recipe below
1. Place all ingredients (except maple syrup) in a food processor.
2. Process mixture until a dry, fine mixture forms.
3. Add maple syrup through the top opening; pulsing to form moist, coarse crumbles.
4. Turn crumbly dough out from food processor into a bowl. Lightly compress it with your hands or a spoon to make a cohesive lump of dough.
5. Portion dough into bite-sized balls with your hands or a portion scoop.
6. Roll each ball between your hands to create a uniform surface and compacted ingredients
Energy Bites – Recipe Notes and Tips
Ingredients
Pitted Dates: You’re probably most familiar with dates sold in U.S. grocery stores. They are 1) Deglet Noor pitted dates and 2) Medjool dates (with pits).
I love both types of dates and will use what I have on hand for this recipe. If you use Medjool dates, just be sure to remove the pits!
Oats: I use old fashioned rolled oats because I always have them in my pantry. Use any dry oats you like.
Cocoa: I prefer “unsweetened” cocoa for this recipe…nothing else.
Almond Flour or Almond Meal: I find it doesn’t matter which one you use…the two are interchangeable in this recipe.
Nuts: Use any nuts you like! I personally prefer them raw and unsalted since they are less processed than roasted, salted, etc.
Nut Butter: I didn’t use nut butter for this recipe, but you can easily substitute the nuts for an equal amount of peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc.
Tools
I recommend using a food processor with a minimum power of 600 watts for this recipe. Here’s my tried and true, long standing favorite model.
I don’t know of any “mini” processors that are cut out for a recipe like this. They simply lack the power to break the ingredients down into the right texture.
The Vitamix blender also works for this recipe. Just make sure you have your tamper at the ready because you’ll need it to keep the ingredients moving.
About the recipe…
When you initially process the dry ingredients, the mixture will seem very dry and not cohesive at all.
Not to worry. The purpose of this step is to blend the dates, nutes, and oats into a powder-like texture.
The mixture will become cohesive during the next step.
Handling the dough
When processed, the mixture will turn into a malleable dough. You’ll be able to handle it with a stainless steel portion scoop, or with your hands.
When rolling the dough into balls, you’ll find it adheres to itself nicely and the balls are easy to form.
Storing the energy balls
Once rolled into balls, these bites really don’t stick to each other or get messy. In fact, the opposite is true, especially after they’ve sat overnight.
This makes them like…miracle bites!
So it’s not really necessary to separate them with parchment or wax paper, but you’re welcome to do so.
Ingredients for Chocolate Energy Bites
- pitted dates
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- rolled oats
- unsalted cashews (or any nut)
- almond flour (almond meal)
- maple syrup
- (optional) salt
Energy Bite Add-Ins
Add any of these ingredients to make your energy ball dough more interesting!
- coconut flakes
- chia seeds
- hemp seeds
- ground flaxseed
- chocolate chips
- unsweetened coconut
Tools needed for this recipe
- 7 cup food processor (fitted with the chopping/mixing dough blade) OR Vitamix blender
- (optional) 1/2 Tbsp portion scoop or 1 Tbsp portion scoop
- small mixing bowl
- airtight storage container
Want more healthy snack recipes?
Chocolate No Bake Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dates pitted
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats uncooked
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Cashews or any nut
- 2 Tbsp Almond Flour or almond meal
- 1/8 tsp Kosher Salt optional
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
Instructions
- In a 7 cup food processor fitted with the chopping/mixing dough blade attachment, add DATES, COCOA, OATS, CASHEWS, ALMOND FLOUR, and (optional) SALT; process mixture until dry, coarse crumbles form [*Note, it will seem very dry, but don't worry, it'll come together in the next step]
- Pour MAPLE SYRUP into top opening of food processor; pulsing the mixture until it forms cohesive crumbles.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl; gently compress it with your hands or a spoon to make a more cohesive dough.
- Portion dough into bite-sized balls with your hands or a portion scoop.
- Roll each ball between your hands to create a uniform surface and compacted ingredients.
- Enjoy immediately, or store up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
RECIPE NOTES
Nutrition
Traci Antonovich
About my recipes: Minimal meat & more plants!
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