PB&J No-Bake Energy Bites (Paleo, vegan)

PB&J No-Bake Energy Bites are the perfect treat when you need a boost to get you through the day!

You just need 5 ingredients and 10 minutes for energy bites filled with protein, healthy fats and natural sweetness.

And you’ll be amazed at how they really do taste like peanut butter and jelly!

Plus they’re Paleo, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and can easily be made nut-free!

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No-Bake Energy Bites

Sometimes you need a little pick-me-up and it can’t always be coffee, soda or maybe any caffeine at all.

And a lot of “healthy” energy bars have a ton of ingredients I can’t even pronounce.

So I wanted to create something that’s simple to make, uses just a few ingredients and tastes delicious.

No need to turn on the oven or spend a ton of money on fancy ingredients. These cuties are ready to go!

What You Need for These No-Bake Energy Bites

You just need 5 ingredients for these easy energy bites:

• Dates – I like Medjool but use whatever you have. Dates are full of fiber, potassium and iron.
• Dried cherries – To keep this unrefined sugar-free, I like to use the kind that are sweetened only with fruit juice or unsweetened, but use any kind you like. Dried cherries are full of copper, vitamin C and vitamin A.
• Nut butter – These energy bites are good with peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc.; use sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) to make them nut-free. These nut butters are full of protein, healthy fat and fiber.
• Sunflower seeds – These are full of antioxidants, protein and healthy fats.
• Unsweetened shredded coconut – Unsweetened coconut is full of fiber, healthy fats and minerals.

The cherries, dates and nut butter are what make everything stick together.

The sunflower seeds add texture and give them a bit of crunch.

The coconut adds flavor but doesn’t make them too coconutty. With the cherries and nut butter they really do taste like PB&J. The coconut also makes them easier to handle since the nut butters have a lot of natural oil in them – no greasy fingers here!

The equipment you need for these vegan energy bites:

• a food processor or powerful blender
• a small ice cream scoop or tablespoons – you don’t need a small ice cream scoop to form them into balls but I find using a 1 tablespoon scoop with a trigger to be the easiest way to make them; you can also just regular tablespoons
• a small plate or bowl to roll the balls around in the coconut
• measuring cups

How to Make These No-Bake Energy Bites with Dates

You’ll love how easy this is:

Add the dried cherries, dates and nut butter to the food processor or blender. Blitz until the mixture makes a paste and starts to clump together in a ball (scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary as it blends).

Add the sunflower seeds and give it about 5-10 more pulses, depending on how finely you want the nuts chopped up. I aim for about 10 pulses so they’re not too small.

Roll one tightly-packed tablespoon of the mixture between your palms to form a ball.

Roll each ball in the shredded coconut.

Eat! (<– Does that need to be a step? Probably not, right? It’s not like without it you’d be all, “But what do I do now? Just throw them in the trash?”)

Storage

You can refrigerate the gluten-free energy balls or leave them at room temperature for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze them: place them on a small, parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least one hour. Place in a freezer safe baggie or container. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

If you’d like to take these on a walk or hike, freeze them and then stick them in your pack straight from the freezer. They’ll be thawed (but not too soft) by the time you’re ready for a snack!

Substitutes, variations and add-ins

These no-bake energy bites can be made a lot of different ways:

• Instead of dried cherries, you can use dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots.
• You can use any kind of nut butter you like: peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc. If you want to make them nut-free, use sunbutter (sunflower seed butter).
• Instead of sunflower seeds you can try pumpkin seeds. Or you can use a nut that matches your choice of nut butter (peanuts with peanut butter, etc.).
• You can skip the coconut; due to the natural oils in the nut butters the bites will feel a little oily without the coconut coating.
• Add any spices you like for more flavor! Try cinnamon, turmeric, ginger or a combination of all 3.

Other snacks and treats

• Want an easy, no-bake snack with more protein? Try these Paleo Chocolate Protein Balls.
• For another quick and easy treat (that’s also nut-free), try my Paleo “Peanut” Butter Cookies.
• These Paleo chocolate chip zucchini muffins make even non-Paleo people happy.
• Crunchy, Chewy No-Bake Breakfast Bars are another nut-free treat

Print Recipe

5 from 8 votes

PB&J No-Bake Energy Bites

You just need 5 ingredients and 10 minutes to make these easy energy bites that really taste like PB&J. Plus they're naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, Paleo and can easily be made nut-free!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: energy balls, energy bites, gluten free snack, no bake, nut free snack, paleo, paleo snack

Servings: 13 balls

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (3 oz.) pitted dates, tightly packed
• 1/3 cup (2.2 oz) dried cherries (preferably fruit-sweetened)
• 1/4 cup (2.5 oz) nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, sunbutter, etc.)
• 1/4 cup (1.25 oz) roasted sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

• Add the dates, dried cherries and nut butter to a food processor or powerful blender. Blend until they form a paste and begin to clump up into a ball (stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary).
• Add the sunflower seeds and pulse a few more times until they're broken down to your preferred size, about 5-15 pulses.
• Add the coconut to a small bowl or plate. Scoop one tightly packed tablespoon of the mixture, roll into a ball between your palms and then roll it in the coconut until it's evenly coated.

Notes

Storage

You can refrigerate them or leave them at room temperature for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze them: place them on a small, parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least one hour. Place in a freezer safe baggie or container. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

If you'd like to take these on a walk or hike, freeze them and then stick them in your pack straight from the freezer. They'll be thawed (but not too soft) by the time you're ready for a snack!

Substitutes, variations and add-ins

• Instead of dried cherries, you can use dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots.
• You can use any kind of nut butter you like: peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc. If you want to make them nut-free, use sunbutter (sunflower seed butter).
• Instead of sunflower seeds you can try pumpkin seeds. Or you can use a nut that matches your choice of nut butter (peanuts with peanut butter, etc.).
• You can skip the coconut; due to the natural oils in the nut butters the bites will feel a little oily without the coconut coating.
• Add any spices you like for more flavor! Try cinnamon, turmeric, ginger or a combination of all 3.

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