Vegan energy balls!
These little guys have this name because they pack an energy punch! They’re small and perfectly bite-sized and portable to satisfy any snack attack.
All this, and they’re ridiculously easy to make too!
Just 8-simple ingredients and a food processor, and 15 minutes later you’ll be looking at a full batch of delicious vegan energy balls.
These really work well for quick and easy snacks that are healthy too.
To make them, add some rolled oats, dessicated coconut, macadamia nuts, dates, chia seeds and salt to a food processor and process. It will start off crumbly, keep processing until it starts to stick to the sides.
Scrape down the sides and go a bit longer, you want the macadamia nuts and the dessicated coconut to have started to release their oils, basically you want the mix to be just starting to clump a little, as you can see in the middle picture above.
When you have that consistency, then you add in the peanut butter and process that in and while the machine is running pour in some maple syrup. It will start to clump together very nicely, like what you see in the bottom picture above. Now you’re ready to roll it into balls.
Roll into balls, aim for around 20 balls, and place onto a parchment lined baking tray.
And there are your energy balls! I like to place them into the freezer and let them set really nice and firmly and then move them to the fridge and store them there.
They hold up well even out of the fridge, which makes them a great snack food to take with you when you go out as well.
I haven’t tested these balls with a lot of different combinations but I think it’s a no brainer to say any kind of nut butter will work here. So if you prefer almond butter to peanut butter or want to try some with cashew butter, go on with your bad self! 
The same thing with the maple syrup, if you want to use a different kind of syrup, go right ahead.
If you want to switch the chia seeds for flax seeds, that could be good too.
And if you want to switch the macadamia nuts for a different kind of nut, that could also work well, I’m thinking walnuts would be a good fit here as well. I’m not sure what else would be good, but I am sure that you can get many varieties of awesome vegan energy balls from making some switches to this basic recipe to keep things exciting.
So I hope you’ll love these vegan energy balls, they are:
- Bite-sized
- Super easy
- No-bake
- A perfect snack!
- Gluten-Free
Keep them stored in a container in the fridge and enjoy anytime! They’ll stay good in the fridge for at least a week, if you want to keep them longer then store them in the freezer.
So what do you think of these vegan energy balls? Let us know in the comments and please rate the recipe too! Thank you!
For more easy no-bake treats, check out these great options:
- Vegan Peanut Butter Balls
- Vegan Coconut Truffles
- Vegan Truffles
- Vegan Carrot Cake Balls
- Vegan Chocolate Truffles
- Vegan Oreo Truffles
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Vegan Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rolled Oats (96g)
- 1 cup Dessicated Coconut (80g)
- 1 cup Macadamia Nuts (134g)
- ½ cup Pitted Dates (88g) Packed
- ¼ cup Chia Seeds (40g)
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter (125g)
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup (60ml)
Instructions
- Add the rolled oats, dessicated coconut, macadamia nuts, dates, chia seeds and salt to a food processor and process. It will start off crumbly and then as you keep processing it will gradually start sticking to the sides. Stop and scrape down the sides and keep going a bit longer until the mix starts to clump together slightly.
- Add in the peanut butter and process and then while the machine is running, add in the maple syrup. It will start to clump together very well.
- Roll into balls (aim for around 20 balls) and place onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Place into the freezer for 15 minutes or so for the balls to get nice and firm, thereafter keep them stored in the fridge.
Notes
- Use gluten-free rolled oats to ensure this recipe is gluten-free.
Loved these. I used carob syrup instead of maple. Everyone loved these.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing and the great review Victoria!
Don’t have a food processor… Can I use a vitamix? Thanks
Hi Karen, yes, since it’s a Vitamix that will work! 🙂
I used dry roasted pumpkin seeds instead of nuts.
Fantastic.
My processor said goodbye forever half way through the batch, so I mixed it all together anyway, finished the recipe as written.
I loved it! They are smooth and crunchy.
I’m not telling anyone I made these so I don’t have to share.
When my husband sees them, I’ll make a face and say “they’re vegan” and mwhahahahahaha. Mine.
Hahaha, love it! Thanks so much for sharing Candie!
I love your recipe. Which food processor would you recommend?
Hi Brenny! Thank you! We have a Kenwood food processor, it’s nothing fancy but does the job. 🙂
Absolutely great!!!!:) 🙂
Oh wow, absolutely delish
Yay! Thanks Lynda! 🙂
These were delicious! I must say I used half cashews and half almonds as I had no macadamias. I put them in the freezer to keep myself from eating the whole batch at once?. Thanks for the recipe.
Haha yes they’re addicting! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for posting! 🙂
Can you use honey instead if maple syrup?
You can use any kind of syrup as stated in the post, and honey would fall into that category.
I can’t wait to make this!
Awesome! They are delicious, hope you’ll enjoy them. 🙂
A wonderful snack as an energy booster.
I have a similar recipe with oatmeal, ground up granola, ground walnuts, honey, carob chips, and peanut butter. I used to make balls but now place it on a cookie sheet and roll it out. Then score into squares and cover with wrap and refrigerate. Then erape the squares individually.
Can shredded coconut be used instead? I’ve never used dessicated coconut before but I do use shredded coconut a bit.
I think that would be great!
Instead of coconut what else can I use
You could just use more macadamias or more rolled oats or more of both. Or add a different nut instead of the coconut.