An easy no bake recipe for gluten free energy bites made with oats, nut butter and chia seeds.
My oh my today’s recipe is something special! I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but I have to say I am very proud of this concoction. After an indulgent Christmas break snacking on all the wrong things I wanted to come up with a quick and easy snack that would stop me reaching for those leftover chocolate coins… and so the No Bake Chia Energy Bite was born!
These bites are ridiculously easy to make. As the title states they require no baking. Simply mix the ingredients in a bowl, chill for a few minutes in the fridge and then drizzle with a little melted chocolate.
They will keep in the fridge for several days and are so versatile. Take a couple to work as a snack to beat that mid-afternoon slump… pop a few into your gym bag as a post-workout snack… put one into the kids’ lunch box as a healthy treat… you can even eat them as a grab-and-go breakfast on busy mornings.
Not only do these little bites of heaven taste amazing, they are also super healthy too. The oats, nut butter and chia seeds provide a natural slow releasing energy boost with lots of protein to keep you full until your next meal. I used a mix of peanut butter and cashew nut butter in my recipe but you could also use almond butter or hazelnut butter, depending on your preference.
You can also add some additional ingredients such as raisins, other dried fruit or chocolate chips. I opted for a drizzle of dark chocolate to keep them healthy yet very tempting!
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Please do let me know if you try this recipe. I would love some feedback!
Carol says
January 11, 2019 at 4:45 amWhat can I substitute for the oats? I have a severe sensitivity to oats.
Ciara Attwell says
January 14, 2019 at 10:51 amThis recipe relies on the oats. However there’s loads of other energy bite recipes online that uses dates as the main ingredient.
Samantha says
March 17, 2019 at 7:31 pmYou might be able to use quinoa flakes. It’s a hot cereal, sort of like oatmeal, but made with quinoa. It’s usually in the ‘natural/organic’ section or with the other grains.
Anonymous says
July 3, 2018 at 2:50 pmi make these for myself as a healthier snack alternative. so easy to make and they taste great.
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
July 3, 2018 at 7:14 pmThank you!
Marian says
March 5, 2018 at 10:26 amSuper easy and great to have on hand as a snack for the kids after school.
★★★★★
Amelia Bell says
March 1, 2018 at 8:22 amAmazing
★★★★★
Sadie says
March 16, 2017 at 1:25 amVery good! My 2 year old and 4 year old love them as well! Easy and healthy!
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
March 16, 2017 at 9:28 amBrilliant! Thanks for letting me know!
Amber says
February 20, 2017 at 10:15 pmMade these treats exactly as is from your recipe…. they were amazing. I live in Norway but am from Canada I was only able to get 70% dark chocolate and it was perfect. Absolutely delicious and totally filled the after dinner dessert cravings. Xo
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
February 21, 2017 at 8:09 pmHi Amber, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. These energy bites are one of my favourite snacks!
Annie says
November 10, 2016 at 2:08 amWhat is the nutritional information for these?
★★★★
Daysi says
August 19, 2016 at 5:06 amHey I was considering to substitute the coconut with flaxseed. I’ll let you know how it pans out!!!
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
August 22, 2016 at 8:10 amFlaxseed works really well in these bites!
Erin says
December 21, 2015 at 3:24 pmHi! I’m new to the chia seed world and I heard you should soak them. For this recipe, does it call for soaking the chia seeds before hand? Or are you supposed to use them as is?
Ciara Attwell says
December 21, 2015 at 4:24 pmHi, I don’t soak them. I use them as they are, dried.
Penny says
May 14, 2016 at 10:28 pmHow many grams of oats? I don’t understand cups! Thanks xxx
Ciara Attwell says
May 15, 2016 at 8:04 amFor this recipe you can use any cup or mug as a measurement, just use the same mug to measure all the ingredients if that makes sense!
Hailey says
December 7, 2015 at 6:39 pmWhat type of honey did you use?? I have both pasteurized and unpasteurized. Would I still use 3 tbsp if using unpasteurized? Thanks!
Ciara Attwell says
December 7, 2015 at 10:07 pmHi Hailey. You could try starting with just half the amount and then taste it to see if it needs more.
Katie says
November 9, 2015 at 3:22 amJust made some today and they are super delicious! I replaced coconut with dried cranberries and it’s super good! My family loves them as well! Definitely will make more! 🙂
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
November 9, 2015 at 9:11 amThank you so much. So glad you enjoyed them. The cranberries sound like a delicious addition!
Megha Bhardwaj says
October 6, 2015 at 7:10 pmHi! Thanks for all your fabulous recipes! Just wanted to ask, I’ve seen a lot of recipes use Rolled Oats, but all I can find are the Instant Quaker ones,will those do?
Also, I always thought you had to cook them before eating..isn’t that so? Have never made a recipe with uncooked oats.So just wondering.
Lastly, can Chia seeds be eaten without keeping them over-night to soak? Wont they be hard?
Sorry for so many questions! But I really want to make them asap! So looking forward to your reply!
Cheers 🙂
Ciara Attwell says
October 6, 2015 at 8:04 pmHi Megha, I’m in the UK so I can’t say for sure but I think those Instant Quaker Oats are the same as rolled oats. They don’t need to be cooked You can soak them in milk and yogurt to make overnight oats. Or mix them with ingredients such as nut butter in this recipe. They will soak up some of the nut butter and become more soft. They are delicious, trust me!
And yes, chia seeds can also be eaten without being soaked. They give the tiniest of crunch to recipes but you barely notice the texture in this recipe.
Emma says
September 24, 2015 at 11:29 pmI know this was posted months ago, but I just made these and they are incredible!! So easy, and so addictive, but they are pretty healthy so who cares! I didn’t use any chocolate (which is a miracle for me) but did put in some peanut butter chips for a bit of a crunch and they were great. Even the picky boyfriend who hates anything “healthy” loved these and requested a second batch. Thanks for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
September 25, 2015 at 8:57 amThanks so much for letting me know Emma. And I love to hear how people have changed the recipe according to their tastes. The peanut butter chips sounds incredible. I need to try them!
Chiien says
September 21, 2015 at 3:46 pmI made these last night and had a few for breakfast. Very filling and delicious.
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
September 21, 2015 at 8:28 pmSo glad you liked them. And a great idea to have them for breakfast too!
nikki says
September 2, 2015 at 12:53 amThese look like the perfect snack to take to our moms’ meeting in the park tomorrow! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Ciara Attwell says
September 7, 2015 at 8:49 pmThanks Nikki, I hope you enjoyed them
Fina Jones says
June 5, 2015 at 4:29 amThese were absolutely scrumptious & that was without chocolate (cause I didn’t have any). It’s nice to have a guilt free treat 🙂
Ciara Attwell says
June 5, 2015 at 11:47 amThanks Fina. So glad you liked them!
Anna says
June 2, 2015 at 8:44 pmJust made these while listening to a podcast on Junk food – feel pretty righteous! 🙂
These taste great! 🙂
Ciara Attwell says
June 3, 2015 at 6:56 pmAmazing!!! Thanks for coming back and letting me know Anna!
Paula says
May 30, 2015 at 5:59 pmDelicious! I used sesame seed butter (tahini) and these are wonderful!
Ciara Attwell says
May 31, 2015 at 9:35 amOh yum! I bet they are amazing with tahini!
Krysten says
April 1, 2015 at 9:46 pmWOW! These were so yummy. I ordered chia seeds to try. I’d never had them before. They got here today and a quick pinterest search led me right to your recipe. i wanted something quick and easy using ingredients I already had. I was brave enough to let my toddler help pull them together. When I let her lick the spoon and she said “more more”. Even my husband loved them. Thanks so much for sharing. I’m sure we will be making these again and again.
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
April 3, 2015 at 1:26 pmHi Krysten, thanks so much for your lovely comments. Its always so nice to hear from people who enjoy my recipes. Glad the whole family like the energy bites. They are a big hit with my lot too!
Colleen says
March 5, 2015 at 3:25 pmi love this idea! i didn’t have any honey so i used 2 tsp of almond milk to get it to stick. also used almond butter and chocolate PB2 rehydrated with almond milk since the kids ate all the pb 🙂 these were awesome!!
Ciara Attwell says
March 5, 2015 at 4:01 pmSo glad you enjoyed them Colleen!
Heidi Landers says
February 27, 2015 at 2:02 amDo you know calorie count by any chance?
Ciara Attwell says
February 27, 2015 at 8:28 amNo sorry Heidi, I don’t count calories. But you could use My Fitness Pal or any online calorie counter to calculate it! x
Sarah Beecher says
February 11, 2015 at 11:58 pmRecipe for nut butters please. I probably should know what one is but only just started following so bear with me lol!!! This recipe looks fab, can’t wait for more xx
Ciara Attwell says
February 12, 2015 at 4:19 pmThanks Sarah! You can use any kind of nut butter. So standard peanut butter or I like almond or cashew nut butter x
Ciara Ballintyne says
January 23, 2015 at 8:51 amThese are delicious! The only problem is I want to eat them all!
Ciara Attwell says
January 23, 2015 at 9:15 amHa ha! That is a problem alright! I had to keep them in a double sealed lunch box container in the fridge so I wouldn’t pick at them constantly!
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
January 15, 2015 at 8:54 pmWow these look and sound so delicious! x #tastytuesdays
Ciara Attwell says
January 16, 2015 at 10:41 amThank you Kirsty!
Honest mum says
January 13, 2015 at 9:24 pmStunning recipe and so healthy too! Pinned onto my Low Carb board! I would use dessicated coconut and coconut oil instead of the nut butter as nuts hate me. Love this. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
January 14, 2015 at 12:38 pmThanks Vicki. I’ve been meaning to try to make my own coconut butter as that can easily replace nut butter in most recipes. Will let you know if it works! x
Elizabeth says
January 13, 2015 at 1:37 pmOh yum! These would make an excellent post workout snack. Love it! #TastyTuesdays
Ciara Attwell says
January 13, 2015 at 3:39 pmThey would indeed. Thanks Elizabeth!
Rebecca U says
January 13, 2015 at 9:58 amAnything to give me more energy and I’m there! I think I’ve got all of these ingredients in the house so will try them – love this type of thing for snacks #tastytuesday
Ciara Attwell says
January 13, 2015 at 12:57 pmThanks Rebecca. Let me know what you think!
Rebekah says
January 9, 2015 at 3:03 amThese were very easy to pull together. I used a walnut butter I’d made with some cinnamon and salt, which were nice counterparts to the vanilla and honey. Still, I had a hard time keeping the balls together – they kept wanting to crumble. I added a little coconut oil and that might have helped. Next time I’ll either omit the shredded coconut or toast it because I didn’t notice it in these.
Ciara Attwell says
January 9, 2015 at 10:27 amOh yum, walnut butter sounds so good! But if it is drier than other nut butters then perhaps thats the reason the balls kept crumbling. I thought that the coconut made the bites super sweet but then I’m coconut obsessed so maybe it’s just me!
Alexis @ Hummusapien says
January 8, 2015 at 4:37 pmNom nommmmm gimme all the chocolate!
Ciara Attwell says
January 8, 2015 at 9:54 pmHa ha, it’s only a drizzle to keep them super healthy!!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
January 8, 2015 at 4:30 amI regularly have power balls like these on hand for whenever I want a healthy little snack.. so this is an ideal recipe for me. Thanks for sharing it, they look delicious!
Ciara Attwell says
January 8, 2015 at 9:53 pmThanks Thalia. I need to experiment with more flavours. I’ve loved having them in the fridge to snack on this week!
[email protected] says
January 8, 2015 at 12:38 amLove love this idea!! Look so delicious!
Ciara Attwell says
January 8, 2015 at 9:52 pmThank you Ami!
Lucy Parissi says
January 7, 2015 at 2:11 pmI am all over this recipe. Making soon, pinned!
Ciara Attwell says
January 8, 2015 at 9:52 pmThanks Lucy. Hope you enjoy it! x