Energy Balls
This energy ball recipe makes the perfect wholesome snack! Each one is packed with whole grains, nuts and seeds, and offers a healthy amount of protein and fiber.
Posted by Kathryne Taylor on January 24, 2026
These energy balls are lifesavers! When youโre hungry in between meals, running out the door without breakfast, or craving a wholesome little treat, these energy balls will come to the rescue. Theyโre the perfect healthy grab-and-go snack.
This recipe is made with oats, honey, nut butter, and toasted nuts and seeds, though itโs endlessly adaptable to suit your preferences. I designed it to offer sustained energy from the whole grains and nuts. One ball is just sweet enough to taste like a treat, and offers a healthy dose of protein and fiber.
This recipe was inspired by my husbandโs momโs interpretation of my no-bake granola bars. She always has a batch in the fridge for her grandkids, and theyโve become a staple in our house, too. I crumbled one over my yogurt just this morning, and theyโve kept my energy level up through this postpartum phase. Theyโre a perfect homemade gift for anyone whoโs in a busy season of life, thatโs for sure.
Energy Ball Ingredients
This recipe comes together quickly and easily, especially with the help of some basic kitchen tools. Use a food processor to chop the mix-ins, and a medium-sized cookie scoop to turn the mixture into balls (affiliate links).
Youโll find the full recipe below. Hereโs what youโll need and why:
- Old-fashioned oats: Rolled oats offer a hearty, chewy base. You can substitute an equal amount of quick-cooking oats if thatโs what you have, but I prefer the texture of old-fashioned oats here.
- Ground cinnamon and salt: Cinnamon is technically optional, but it offers some subtle warming spice. The salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients, ensuring that your balls are far from bland.
- Mix-ins of choice: I love a combination of pecans, almonds and pepitas (green pumpkin seeds). You can incorporate dried fruit, chocolate and coconut as well. Youโll find more flavor variations below.
- Flaxseed: Toasted flaxseed adds irresistible little crackly bits. It also absorbs some of the moisture from the nut butter, while contributing additional fiber.
- Nut butter: This recipe calls for an entire 16-ounce jar of peanut butter or almond butter. Measuring nut butter can get messy, but this recipe makes it easy!
- Honey or maple syrup: Either option contributes welcome sweetness and necessary stickiness that brings the mixture together. I prefer honey, which is a little sweeter. Youโll also find an option for purรฉed Medjool dates in the recipe notes.
Watch How to Make Energy Balls
Variations & Substitutions
This recipe is flexible and fun to play with. It calls for a total of 1 3/4 cups of mix-ins, counting the pecans, almonds, and pepitas. (The flaxseed absorbs some moisture, so for consistencyโs sake, leave that one as-is.)
You can easily adjust the ingredients to suit your taste buds. Try substituting other nuts, shredded coconut, dried fruit, chocolate chips or chopped chocolate! You can blitz all of these ingredients together in the food processor (if youโre using chocolate, be sure to let the nuts cool completely before combining them so the chocolate doesnโt melt).
Here are some variations to try:
Fruity
- 1 cup pecan pieces
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
- 1/4 cup pepitas
Chocolate-almond
- 1 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Coconutty
- 3/4 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
Trail mix-inspired
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- ยผ cup shredded coconut
- ยผ cup chocolate chips
More Healthy Homemade Snacks
If you enjoy these energy balls, try one of these wholesome, nutty recipes next:
- Almond Coconut Granola Bars
- Easy No-Bake Granola Bars
- Gluten-Free Banana Muffins (Made with Almond Flour)
- Sweet & Spicy Roasted Nuts
- The Very Best Granola
Please let me know how your recipe turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Energy Balls
These energy balls are the perfect wholesome snack! Each one is packed with whole grains, nuts and seeds, and offers a healthy amount of protein and fiber. Recipe yields about 36 balls.ย
Ingredients
- 1 ยฝ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยฝ teaspoon fine salt
- ยพ cup pecans or walnuts
- ยฝ cup almonds
- ยฝ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
- ยผ cup flaxseed
- 16 ounces creamy peanut butter or almond butter
- ยฝ cup honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Place the oats in a large mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Toast the nuts: Warm the pecans and almonds in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, until they smell nicely fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer them to the bowl of a food processor (if you donโt have a food processor, pour them onto a cutting board), then return the skillet to the heat and add the pepitas. Warm the pepitas until they are fragrant and beginning to make little popping noises, about 1 to 2 minutes.ย
- Lastly, add the flax and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring constantly, then transfer the mixture to the food processor.ย
- Blitz the mix-ins briefly in the food processor (or chop them by hand). Run the machine until the ingredients are all broken up into pieces smaller than your pinky fingernail. Pour the mix-ins into the bowl of oats.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and honey. Stir until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This takes some arm muscles, but you can do it!ย
- Use a medium cookie scoop or measure a heaping tablespoon of the mixture, then roll it into a ball and place it in an airtight container. Repeat until you have used up the oat mixture.ย
- The bites keep well for up to 10 days at room temperature, up to 3 weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor (let them defrost for 30 minutes before serving). They retain more moisture when chilled, and become more dry at room temperatureโI love them either way.
Notes
Recipe adapted from myย Easy No-Bake Granola Bars.
Mix-in options: This recipe calls for 2 cups of nuts and seeds total. You can change the mix-ins by substituting other nuts (cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts) or seeds, such as sunflower seeds. Or, you can replace some of the nuts/seeds with chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, shredded coconut, or dried cranberries or cherries.
Change it up: These balls can be sweetened (mostly) with Medjool dates, if youโd like to increase the fiber content. Soak 12 dates in piping hot water for 10 minutes, then tear them in half and remove their pits. Place them in a food processor with 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey and blend until completely smooth. Use this mixture in place of the ยฝ cup honey or maple syrup.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it nut free: Do not use nuts (pepitas and sunflower seeds are good options) and replace the nut butter with sunflower butter.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I was looking for something healthy for my son to have between school and basketball practice. These are great since they donโt need refrigeration. I used dates for sweetness and added mini chocolate chips. I mixed the nuts and dates together then added the peanut butter to the food processor so mine donโt have recognizable bits like the photo but are still tasty.
Hi Kim, Iโm so glad you enjoyed them!
Delicious and so easy to make. I kept to the recipe with the addition of a handful of unsweetened coconut and chocolate chips. Between these snacks and your steel cut oatmeal recipe, Iโve got breakfast and midday snacks covered for the week.
Hi Stacey, Iโm so glad you like them!
Thank you for this great recipe. I have been making your orange cranberry granola bars for years & and have become a favorite. My adult son loves them so much I always take him a double batch when we visit. I recently made them into energy balls which are perfect for a quick bite!
Hi Deborah, yes the orange cranberry would be a great flavor combination, too! Iโm glad your family enjoys them.
These look wonderful! If I wanted to add protein powder, how would I do that and still keep the integrity of the recipe?
Hi Tracy, I recommend the recipe as written. If you want to add protein powder, I would first omit the flaxseed. I tried once and couldnโt add any more than one scoop of whey protein; once divided by 36 balls, the protein increase was almost negligible and I didnโt enjoy the dry texture nearly as much.
Thank you!
First time commenter, long time lurker (Iโve made sooo many of your recipes) :) Is there anything that could be used to replace the flax seeds? (Iโm mildly allergic)
Hi Stephanie, Iโm so glad you enjoy the recipe! I would have to test alternatives, but you can replace the flax with a different nut or seed. The balls will just be a little more moist.
Ooo yeah, I was thinking chia seeds might work! Thank you! And more generally, thank you for all the fantastic recipes over the years! :)
Just popping in to say Iโve made energy bites with other recipes and have used flax, hemp hearts, chia, etc. in varying combinations and with mildly careless measuring :) they make a little impact on the end result but none of the options ruined anything! Iโd start with hemp hearts if I were you. Iโm excited to try this recipe.
My husband and I made these energy balls while stuck at home following an ice storm. Easy to make and so good. We used maple syrup. We didnโt have flaxseeds so we substituted hemp hearts and they worked just fine. I love your recipes and Iโve learned that I can trust every recipe you post. Thank you!
Hi Jill, thanks for sharing how the hemp hearts worked out. Iโm glad you enjoyed them while you were snowed in!
These came out so well and were a hit with all. I used chocolate chips for the pecans/walnuts and blitzed the oats in a bit. I used things already toasted and salted so it came together quickly.