Chocolate energy bites with oats, peanut butter, and chocolate chips are a perfect snack to tide you over until dinner.
Table of Contents
Whether you need a post-workout snack or an afternoon snack, these super easy chocolate energy bites will tide you over and satisfy your sweet tooth! You can even eat these for dessert.
I've been making versions of these vegan energy bites since college. They're cheap, simple, and versatile. And they keep for about a week in the fridge! In college, I used to chill this mixture in a baking pan and slice it into bars, but now I roll the same mixture into little balls. You can do these either way.
Just mix up all of the ingredients, roll into balls or cookie shapes, and store them in the fridge. That way, you'll have a chocolatey treat on hand for your next snack attack.
If you love all things chocolate and peanut butter, also make sure to try my peanut butter rice crispy treats!
💖 Why You'll Love this Recipe
- chocolate peanut butter treat that you can eat any time of day
- cheap, simple ingredients
- 1-bowl, no-bake
- versatile! Mix up flavors, use other nut- or seed butters of choice.
- naturally gluten-free and soy-free with nut-free option
✓ Ingredients and Substitutions
- quick oats - You don't want to use whole rolled oats for this recipe. Quick oats are a little more broken down, which makes them absorb the liquid in this recipe more quickly.
- peanut butter - Choose a kind that's really smooth and creamy. It is acting as your binder. You can use almond butter, cashew butter, or other nut or seed butters, if you prefer. You can use tahini for nut-free, you just may need to add a little more sweetener, since tahini is usually unsweetened. You may need to add more oats, depending on the texture of your nut/seed butter.
- maple syrup - For sweetness. We are just using a little bit! You can use agave or an equivalent amount of your liquid sweetener of choice, if you prefer.
- vegan chocolate chips - Non-dairy chocolate chips up the decadence factor! You can omit them or replace them with other mix-ins, like nuts, seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, or chopped dates or other dried fruit.
- cocoa powder - Makes these SO chocolatey!
- cinnamon - A little bit of cinnamon adds a lot of flavor! You can also add some vanilla extract, if you like.
🔪 How to Make Chocolate Energy Bites
Combine all of your energy bites ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well to combine. You want to end up with a nice, thick mixture. Add more oats, if needed, to get it nice and thick. This will depend on your peanut butter. Taste and adjust flavor and sweetness, if needed.
Scoop up generous tablespoons of this mixture, and roll it into tight, 1" balls or flatten into cookie shapes. You should end up with about 16 chocolate energy bites.
💡 Helpful Tips
- Depending on your peanut butter, you may need to add more oats. You want the mixture to be pretty thick once it's all mixed together.
- Make sure that you're using quick oats, not rolled oats! Quick oats are just whole oats that are broken down a little bit to absorb moisture more quickly.
- If you don't want to do this as balls, you can press the dough into a parchment-lined 8x8" baking pan. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, then slice and store.
🫙 Storage Directions
Store chocolate energy bites in a closed container in the fridge for up to a week. It's ok if you have to stack them in your container, just don't press them together, and they'll be fine. You can eat these right away, but they hold up better with chilling. If you want to firm them up faster, pop them into the freezer for 30 minutes.
📖 Recipe
No-Bake Chocolate Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick oats NOT rolled oats. You want the quick-cooking kind that's broken down a little bit.
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter or use almond butter, cashew butter, tahini etc, as long as it's pretty thick and creamy
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine all of your energy bites ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well to combine. You want to end up with a nice, thick mixture. Add more oats, if needed, to get it nice and thick. This will depend on your peanut butter. Taste and adjust flavor and sweetness, if needed.
- Scoop up generous tablespoons of this mixture, and roll it into tight, 1" balls or flatten into cookie shapes. You should end up with about 16 chocolate energy bites. Store in a closed container in the fridge. It's ok if you have to stack them in your container, just don't press them together, and they'll be fine. You can eat these right away, but they hold up better with chilling. If you want to firm them up faster, pop them into the freezer for 30 minutes.
Got a question? Tried this recipe? Leave a reply!