Energy Bites With Dates: 8 Easy Energy Balls
on Jul 07, 2016, Updated Mar 17, 2025
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Learn how to make 8 delicious energy bites with dates! These no-bake, wholesome treats are packed with protein, fiber, and nutrients – perfect for healthy snacking on the go.
These simple fruit and nut treats are healthy snacking perfection. There’s something magical about the combination of the healthy fat and protein from the nuts and the natural sweetness and carbs from the dates. This is the ultimate whole-food pick-me-up.
One of my favorite things about these energy bites with dates is how incredibly meal-prep friendly they are. Just pick what flavors you want and make them in 15 minutes on a Sunday afternoon for the whole week!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick & Simple: These no-bake date energy balls come together in just 15 minutes thanks to the magic of your food processor.
- Wholesome Ingredients: Each recipe features simple, nutrient-dense whole foods with no refined sugars or preservatives.
- Versatile: Perfect for breakfast on-the-go, lunchboxes, post-workout fuel, or satisfying that afternoon sweet craving.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Prep a big batch and store them in the fridge or freezer for whenever hunger strikes!
🍽️ Looking for more protein? Try my Extra Protein Oatmeal Bites next for an even more satisfying snack option!
Recipe Ingredients
These are the flavors that I tend to make because they’ve become my family’s favorites. Feel free to mix it up to create your own flavors!
- Chocolate Peanut Butter: dates, peanut butter, cocoa powder, peanuts
- Lemon: dates, cashews, shredded coconut, lemon, salt
- Almond Joy: dates, almonds, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, salt, vanilla extract
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: dates, pecans, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, salt
- Piña Colada: dried tropical fruits, dates, cashews, almonds, salt
- Coconut: shredded coconut, dates, cashews, almonds, coconut oil, vanilla extract, salt
- Dark Chocolate Cherry: almonds, dried cherries, dates, salt, dark chocolate chips
- Peanut Butter and Jelly: dates, peanuts, peanut butter, dried blueberries, almonds
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Popular Substitutions and Variations
Nuts: The nuts that you use don’t really matter; use what you like. I normally do half almonds because they are a nice “neutral” nut with a firm texture. The other half I’ll use what I have and it’ll end up being pecans, peanuts, walnuts, cashews, or a combo of any of those.
Dried fruits: I like to use dried fruit with no added sugar because these recipes are sweet enough thanks to the dates. You can customize these healthy snacks with any dried fruit you want.
Dates: Fresh dried dates should be a bit sticky. If your dates are a bit older, they will be drier. They are still fine to use, but you may need to add a little water if the mixture isn’t coming together into a dough.
How to Make Date Energy Balls
- Put all of the ingredients into a food processor.
- Turn the food processor on and process for 3 to 5 minutes or until it turns into a thick “dough.”
- Remove the blade and roll about a tablespoon of the dough into a ball with your hands.
- Store completed balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer for longer.
Recipe FAQs
An 8-cup food processor or larger is ideal. I use a 13-cup KitchenAid model that handles these recipes beautifully. If your processor is smaller or has a weaker motor, make half-batches to avoid strain.
High-powered blenders may work, but I’ve only tested these recipes with a food processor. You’ll likely need to stop and scrape down the sides frequently.
About 3-5 minutes is usually perfect. Be careful not to over-process, as the nuts can release too much oil and bites will be too oily.
Absolutely! Line a square baking dish with parchment paper, press the mixture in firmly, refrigerate for 2+ hours, then slice into bars.
Add water, one teaspoon at a time, until the mixture holds together when pressed between your fingers.
Expert Tips
- Check Your Dates: Always verify whether your dates are pitted. If not, slice them open with a paring knife to remove the pits before processing.
- The Water Trick: If your mixture seems too crumbly, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time (up to 1-2 tablespoons) to help everything bind together.
- Don’t Skip the Salt: Even a small pinch enhances the natural sweetness. For a delightful sweet-salty balance, add a generous pinch.
- Wet Your Hands: If the mixture is sticking to your fingers while rolling, slightly dampen your hands to make the process easier.
- Uniform Size: Use a small cookie scoop for consistent sizing, which ensures even texture and helps with portion control.
Storage Secrets for Freshness
After you’ve rolled those beautiful little energy balls, proper storage is key to maintaining their delicious texture and flavor. Here’s what works best:
Refrigerator Storage (Up to 1 Month):
- Place energy bites in airtight glass containers with tight-fitting lids
- Separate layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking
- Label containers with the flavor and date made
- Keep toward the back of your fridge where temperatures are most consistent
Freezer Storage (Up to 3 Months):
- Arrange freshly rolled balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet
- Flash-freeze for 1-2 hours until firm
- Transfer to freezer-safe silicone bags or containers
- Remove excess air before sealing
- Label clearly with flavor and date
Pro Tip: I like to divide my batches into smaller portions before freezing. This way, I can thaw just what we need without exposing the entire batch to temperature changes repeatedly.
Thawing & Serving Recommendations
Here’s a little secret: these energy bites with dates are absolutely divine straight from the freezer! The texture becomes almost fudge-like, and the cold enhances the natural sweetness of the dates. My kids actually prefer them this way!
But if you prefer a softer consistency:
- Transfer from freezer to refrigerator the night before
- Let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before enjoying
- For lunchboxes, place frozen bites directly in containers – they’ll thaw perfectly by snack time
More Snack Recipes to Consider
Healthy Snacks
8 Easy Granola Bar Recipes
Healthy Snacks
8 Delicious No-Bake Oatmeal Energy Balls for Snacking
From Scratch Recipes
Grandma’s Quick Pickled Cucumbers – Refrigerator Pickles
Healthy Snacks
No-Bake Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
8 Energy Bites With Dates
Ingredients
Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites
- 1 cup dates
- 1/2 cup peanut butter, (natural, normal, chunky, smooth, doesn't matter much)
- 2-3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup peanuts
Lemon Energy Bites
- 1 cup dates
- 1 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut, (I like this brand of unsweetened shredded coconut)
- zest from one large lemon
- juice from one large lemon
- pinch of sea salt
Almond Joy Energy Bites
- 1 cup dates
- 1 cup almonds
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut, (I like this brand of unsweetened shredded coconut)
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pumpkin Pie Spice Energy Bites
- 1 cup dates
- 1 cup pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
Piña Colada Energy Bites
- 1/2 cup dried tropical fruits, (I used mandarin oranges, pineapple, and mango)
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup almonds
- pinch of sea salt
Coconut Energy Bites
- 1 cup shredded coconut, (I like this brand of unsweetened shredded coconut)
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
- additional shredded coconut for rolling
Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites
- 1 cup almonds
- 2/3 cups dried cherries, (I like dried tart cherries)
- 2/3 cup dates
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips, melted
Peanut Butter and Jelly Energy Bites
For the Peanut Butter side:
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/2 cup peanuts
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
For the Jelly side:
- 1/2 cup dried blueberries
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/2 cup almonds
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of your food processor and blend until the nuts are well chopped and a thick “dough” starts to form, about 3-5 minutes of processing. If the ingredients are chopped into super small pieces but the dough isn’t coming together, try adding a teaspoon of water at a time (up to a tablespoon or two) to encourage everything to come together.
- When the ingredients are well incorporated, remove the blade from the food processor.
- Take 1 large tablespoon of the “dough” and roll it into a ball in between your hands.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Keep the balls in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer much longer.
Additional instructions for the dark chocolate cherry version:
- Take 1 large tablespoon of the “dough” and roll it into a ball in between your hands. Repeat with remaining dough. Drizzle the top of each ball with melted dark chocolate. Keep the balls in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer much longer.
Additional instructions for the peanut butter and jelly version:
- Add all of the ingredients for the peanut butter side to the bowl of your food processor and blend until the nuts are well chopped and a thick “dough” starts to form, about 3-5 minutes of processing. If the ingredients are chopped into super small pieces but the dough isn’t coming together, try adding a teaspoon of water at a time (up to a tablespoon or two) to encourage everything to come together. When the ingredients are well incorporated, remove the blade from the food processor and scrape the mixture out into another bowl.
- For the jelly side, add all of the ingredients to the bowl of your food processor and blend until the nuts are well chopped and a thick “dough” starts to form, about 3-5 minutes of processing. If the ingredients are chopped into super small pieces but the dough isn’t coming together, try adding a teaspoon of water at a time (up to a tablespoon or two) to encourage everything to come together. When the ingredients are well incorporated, remove the blade from the food processor and scrape the mixture out into another bowl.
- Take a large teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture and roll it into a ball. Take a large teaspoon of the jelly mixture and roll it into a ball. Press the two balls together and roll into one larger ball. Repeat with remaining mixture. Keep the balls in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer much longer.
Video
Notes
- If you are using salted nuts, omit the additional salt until you can taste the processed mixture and see if you’d like a little more salt or not.
- You can usually find pitted dates in grocery stores near the raisins – get them if you want to save the step of pitting them yourself.
- Watch your food processor for when the nuts are chopped finely but haven’t started turning into nut butter. If you overprocess the nuts, the oil will come out. They are still fine to eat but will be greasy.
- Date Energy Balls can be stored in an airtight container (I love this container!) in the fridge for about a month and in the freezer for much longer. I love to eat mine cold out of the freezer best.
I made the almond joy balls.
They ended up being just a tad too dry to ball up. I put in a baking dish to freeze and, fingers crossed, cut into bars.
Any help is welcomed!
I did add a couple teaspoons of water, but did not want to ball up.
What I had was delicious 😋
You can add more water! It doesn’t hurt it at all, so much depends on how dry your dates are. Another trick is to soak your dates in hot water for 5-10 minutes and then drain well, that will rehydrate them some too and help them stick together!
If I didn’t have almonds do you think ground almond would work in it’s place? I realize you wouldn’t get any pieces of nuts in the energy bites though.
I think it would totally work, but you are right, the end product might be quite a bit different. Since the ground almonds are more like a powder you might need to add more honey/nut butter to help them stick together. Let us know if you try it!
I made the Lemon Energy bites. They do not last a month. My family ate these in one day! Definitely need to double up on this one. It’s our new go to. Thank you! I especially love that it’s GF as my daughter has celiacs. Can’t wait to try the others!
Any chance of a metric version. In the UK we weigh our ingredients by the gram…
Feel free to plug it into a recipe converter, it’s a flexible recipe, you won’t have to be perfectly precise.
Love these but still can’t get the PBJ ones right. Either too wet, or a sad gray color.
Weird! They’re my favorite! Tell me more… what kind of PB are you using?
I used Crunchy PB no issue that side. The blueberry jelly was my problem and just wasn’t as colorful as yours. They were still fantastic. But I found the page looking for lemon square alternatives and those are by far my favorite.
Was there another recipe originally? 8 recipes, yield is 10, but the title is 9….i’ve probably recounted the flavors 20 times trying to figure it out haha.
I made the pumpkin spice recipe for a potluck and EVERYONE was in love! These were soooooooo delicious and incredibly easy to make. Thank you so much for sharing these recipes. I am going to the store to stock up on dates and all the ingredients to try the other flavors.
Made PB&j, lemon, and dark chocolate cherry for a shower. Recipe was easy to follow. Our favorite so far is the lemon.