These are my original no-bake energy bites packed with wholesome oats, peanut butter, dates, flaxseed, and chocolate chips. They make a satisfying, easy high-protein breakfast or snack that you can whip up in minutes and store or freeze for weeks!
These easy no-bake energy bites are one of my favorite pre-workout rituals. They’re a high-protein treat that takes minutes to make without the oven. Plus, the recipe is endlessly adaptable, from snickerdoodle energy bites to banana bread energy bites and oatmeal energy balls. I make this original version with a combination of hearty rolled oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and a few extras including flaxseed, chia seeds, and protein powder.
Why These 10-Minute No-Bake Energy Bites Are the Best
- Easy and delicious. First and foremost, these homemade energy balls are super tasty! They taste like little bites of peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough.
- No baking. I love that I can make these in a matter of minutes without having to switch on the oven. Or cook at all, for that matter.
- Diet-conscious. These no-bake energy bites are gluten-free and refined sugar-free.
- Feel fuller, longer. They’re chock-full of ingredients like dates, oats, protein powder, seeds, and nut butter that keep me sustained for hours, even when I’m burning calories at the gym.
What You’ll Need
Gather the following pantry ingredients to make these easy peanut butter energy bites from scratch. See the recipe card below the post for the full recipe with exact measurements.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats – Use your favorite brand. Quick oats also work well in energy bites. Avoid instant oats (which tend to become mushy) and steel-cut oats (which are too hard).
- Ground Flax Seed – Helps bind the energy bites mixture in place of flour.
- Chia Seeds – I use black chia seeds.
- Cinnamon – You could also use nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, or pumpkin spice.
- Dates – Dried and pitted.
- Peanut Butter – Or your nut/seed butter of choice, such as cashew, almond, or sunflower seed (sun butter).
- Vanilla Extract – I recommend using a high-quality extract with no sugar added.
- Whey Protein Powder – I like this one from Burt’s Bees. I use vanilla protein powder, but feel free to use chocolate flavor if you’d like.
- Dark Chocolate Chips – If you’re new to homemade energy balls, I recommend using mini chocolate chips. You can pack more chocolate into each bite (never a bad thing), and they won’t overload the dough and make the balls crumbly.
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How to Make No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites
Follow these steps to blend the ingredients, shape the energy balls, and enjoy. You don’t even need to chill these first!
- Blend the ingredients. Add the rolled oats, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, cinnamon, dried dates, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and protein powder to a food processor. Pulse until all of the ingredients are blended and the oats are finely chopped, almost like flour consistency (about 7-9 times).
- Adjust the consistency. Next, slowly add water to the food processor and blend until the mixture sticks together. You may need to add more or less water depending on your dough.
- Add chocolate chips. Do this outside of the blender. Add the dough to a large bowl and use your hands to mix in the chocolate chips.
- Shape the balls. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Serve the protein balls immediately or keep them chilled until you’re ready to enjoy them.
Tips for Perfect Energy Bites
I’ve made these energy bites so many times, and these are some helpful tips I’ve learned.
- Avoid dry nut butters. Sometimes peanut butter and other nut butters can be a little dried out when you get to the bottom of the jar, especially if it’s organic. Ideally, you’ll use the fresher nut butter toward the top.
- Add the water slowly. Don’t just dump all of the water into your food processor at once. You may only need a portion of it to bring the dough to the proper consistency.
- Use a high-powered food processor. The better your food processor is, the more effectively you’ll be able to pulse everything together. I use one from Breville. It’s not very loud, and it gets the job done quickly.
- Dampen your hands. If the dough is sticking to your hands when you’re rolling it into balls, try getting them a little bit wet or wearing food-safe gloves. You can also use a cookie scoop to help with handling.
Variations
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s basically a method, and once you have your peanut butter base, you can endlessly adapt the flavors and add-ins. I suggest that you don’t exceed 1/3 cup of mix-ins, though, or you may run into trouble when you’re shaping the balls.
- Different seeds, such as hemp seeds, pepitas, and sunflower seeds.
- Zest a lemon, lime, or orange into the dough.
- Add dried fruit, including raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, or currants.
- Try more add-ins, like coconut flakes, Mini M&Ms, or peanut butter chips.
- Make energy bars instead, following my peanut butter chocolate chip bars (also oven-free!).
How to Store
- Refrigerate. Store these no-bake energy bites in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll last for up to 2 weeks! You can bring them to room temperature before enjoying them if you’d like.
- Freeze. First flash-freeze the bites on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 1-2 hours, or until they’re frozen solid. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container to freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge or on the counter.
More High-Protein Snacks
No-Bake Energy Bites
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
No-bake energy bites are the perfect high-protein breakfast or snack! Made with oats, peanut butter, dates, flaxseed, chocolate chips, and more. You can whip them up in minutes and keep them in the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup of ground flax seed
- 1 tablespoon of black chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 3/4 cup of dried pitted dates
- 1/2 cup of peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add rolled oats, ground flax seed, chia seeds, cinnamon, dried dates, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and vanilla protein powder to food processor.
- Pulse until ingredients are blended and oats are finely chopped, almost like flour consistency. (about 7-9 times)
- Slowly add water to the food process and blend until the mixture sticks together. You may need to add more or less water depending on your energy ball dough.
- Add mixture to a large bowl, using your hands mix in chocolate chip.
- Form energy bite mixture into 1″ balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Serve immediately or store in air tight container in refrigerator.
Notes
- To Store: Refrigerate protein balls in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
- To Freeze: Flash-freeze balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 1-2 hours, or until frozen solid. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before enjoying.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ball
- Calories: 136
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 34 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
49 comments on “No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites”
Can quick cook Steel-cut Oats be used instead of old fashioned Oats?
yes definitely
I just made these yesterday and I was blown away by how good they were. They are the perfect amount of sweetness and it took very little time for them to come together. Now I’ve got to try all the protein ball recipes on your site to fill my freezer. Thank you! I gave this 5 stars, but it wouldn’t save that way.
Awe yeah thank you! Glad you liked them!
Must you write an essay to give a recipe? No one wants to read a whole back story, cut to the chase and give us the recipe.
haha… well if you don’t want to hear it there is an option at the top that says “jump to recipe” so you can cut to the chase and get to the recipe if you choose.
This recipe sounds great! If you’re short on time, you might want to try out Nomz Energy Bites (disclaimer: its my sister’s company). They come in 4 delicious, healthy flavours (coconut, pistachio, hazelnut, almond) and people really love the taste!
Thanks Omar.
Best energy ball recipe I’ve found. Best balance of healthy and tasty! Thank you!
I can definitely relate to the College recruiting/Sports world. I was being recruited for Softball but also played volleyball just as much. My first game of my Senior year for Varsity Softball I got caught in a pickle and tore my ACL and meniscus. Recovery was hard and the injury took my down emotionally but at the same time I was a little relieved to not being playing. I didn’t continue in college using my knee as an excuse but I really also wanted a change of pace and experience. It really felt like it worked out that way for a reason even though I was so looking forward to finishing strong my senior year of highschool.
These days, at 30, I play sand volleyball year round 2 nights a week and it’s my happy place.
Looking forward to trying this recipe!.
These are very good! Did you use natural peanut butter for the recipe? Just wondering, for sugar content. Just a tip – If you’re not using a food processor, I definitely recommend using quick oats. I used old fashioned oats and mixed with my hands, and they were kind of hard to keep together. It seemed to need that finer texture. Also, I soaked the chia seeds in a little water before making these. Anyway, they’re so tasty and I feel much better about eating this than a packaged granola bar after my workout! Thanks for sharing!
aweomse! so glad to hear it ayesha!
Used the old version of this recipe with honey in it and was wondering what the measurement used to be there? Dates aren’t my thing, but I still want to make these with honey! Let me know if anyone can help!
It was 1/3 cup of honey! 🙂 Enjoy Lisa!
So the measurements and ingredients are the exact same except you switched honey out for dates?
YUP! 🙂
How long do these last if I made them ahead of time for the week?
They will last for the week!
Is one ball 244 calories?!!!
I actually just updated this recipe recently. I swapped out the honey for dates and the recipe is able to stretch a little more. The nutrition info has therefore changed. 🙂 Each ball is now 136 calories
These are really good I make them all the time (:
Hi I just tried making these and they would not stick together when I tried rolling them in a ball.
Any suggestions?
thank you!
yes, add a tablespoon of water at a time and pulse in blender until they start to stick.
I’m currently playing professional volleyball in Germany and I’m using your chocolate peanut butter energy balls to fuel me in between practices. I’m thinking about bringing some to practice 🙂 They’re so delicious!
This is a great recipe for nursing mothers! I just had my eight baby a few weeks ago and this really gave me the boost I needed! I added some Brewers yeast to help milk supply, shredded coconuts, and sweetened with dates and stevia instead of honey. I needed to add a little water, but they are excellent and I feel great eating them with my breakfast! My favorite recipe!
Just finished making these and they’re sooo tasty! I don’t have a food processor so I just mixed it by hand. Seemed to work. Just took some extra elbow grease! I also subbed vegan protein powder to make it dairy free but to make this fully vegan friendly I think swapping honey for agave nectar and making sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips would work. Next time I’ll probably use mini chocolate chips as the regular sized ones were a little difficult to incorporate into the mixture.
After serving, do you keep these bars in the fridge for freshness, or for it to keep good and keep it in a ball? These sound yummy and would definitely help my husband and I out when we not only need a sweet treat, but when we need an extra boost in our day while working. Thanks!
Hey Ariel, I would roll them into the individual balls and then keep them in the refrigerator. That way you can just grab and go and they stay fresh and stay in their “ball form”. Enjoy girl!
Can someone please confirm if a one inch ball is really 244calories? This seems insane to me. People are talking about eating a few of these as a snack – how are these people not 500 pounds?!?
The recipe has since been adapted as well as the nutritional info.
Hi Krista! Thank you for sharing recipes that incorporate protein powder! I’m a foodie/ health enthusiast / certified personal trainer who loves the gym as much as you do! I am training to compete this next year in Natural bodybuilding (not creepy huge…, I’ll be training for the figure category 😉 — and I definitely have a sweet tooth, so these would totally hit the spot! Again, your desserts with protein powder are right up my alley and it’s so awesome to receive your amazingly delicious recipes.
SO appreciated! xxx
Wow Mandy! That’s awesome! I hear those competitions take lots of dedication and commitment. You go girl!
And I’m with ya. I have a sweet tooth and these definitely hit the spot! And fill you up so you only really need one! 🙂
These would be so fun to munch on during the day, and the kids would love snacking on them after school!
For sure. I snack on them all day long!
I’m trying really hard to eat better, but I have a massive sweet tooth! I’ve done well with avoiding sweets, but I bet these would make a really great mid-morning/mid-afternoon — especially when cravings hit! Pinning so I can try them!
YESSSSS!!!!
I loved volleyball in high school! These energy balls look and sound amazing! I’ll have to give them a try!
Yeah for volleyball girls! 🙂
These are so good and easy to make!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It will be great for me and my family!!
so glad to hear that Rachel! They’re a favorite of ours too!
Always looking for fast, healthy snacks! -w
Thanks Wendy, hope you enjoy!
Thanks for a healthy snacking option. I know my boys would love to grab a few of these on busy days!
Your boys will for sure love these!
Someone brought some of these to the tennis court cpl months ago……I couldn’t stop eating them!!!!!
I don’t blame you! They’re delicious!
I’m definitely not a gym rat like you 🙂 but I am always u for a delicious snack!!
delicious snacks throughout the day are a must!