No-Bake Energy Bites with Granola
These no-bake energy bites are made with granola and use the sweetness of dates which makes them naturally sugar-free. They make a great breakfast on the go or snack for those evening hours when you crave for something sweet and indulgent like cookies. The sweetness of the dates and added nutrition from the nuts make these a light, nutritious packed snack before workouts too.
Energy bites in our home are a ritual before we go on our workouts. I use them before I go to my classes, so does Ziv before he goes to his swimming or the gym. Aadi has to have his energy bites before he goes for his basketball practice. If not he feels hungry. Rhea loves to have one before her dance. But in reality, she loves them any time of the day.
One of these is all you need to take away those afternoon sugar cravings. I sometimes eat more than once a day! Just so I can keep my hands off the cookie jar. On busy days I grab these instead of breakfast. Aadi has these for breakfast every day before he goes to school because often he wakes up late and has no time for breakfast
I grew up with my mom always saying ‘dates and nuts are good for you’ Guess what she was right! Though it’s high in sugar and calories it actually does help with keeping your weight in check simply by substituting date honey for sugar. Have you heard about date-honey? Being sweet dates make a great substitute for anything that needs sugar. In fact, we buy date honey and often I will substitute date honey called silane for a recipe that calls for sugar.
I always want to add oats to our family diet. It’s incredibly nutritious packed with antioxidants, lowers cholesterol and can improve blood sugar are just a few of the benefits. Unfortunately, my kids don’t fancy oatmeal very much nor do they like it in their desserts. The only oats they ever eat is in my granola! Yup, they do love granola. So I make breakfast parfaits, cookies and energy bites with granola.
About this no-bake energy bites
Well, it does not get any easier than this because we don’t need to bake these energy bites. I use premade granola which usually is homemade but you can certainly use store-bought granola. Having said that I highly recommend using no-sugar-added granola. Why? well, the dates are naturally sweet but still sweet which means they do add sweetness so if you start with a no-sugar-added base you will find that these are just perfect.
Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes – (Save/Pin)
- Dates – This is the glue that keeps it all together!! But if you do not like dates you can use either almond butter or peanut butter. You can then add some dried fruits such as cranberries and raisins for sweetness.
- Nuts – I love nuts and its’a great way to add more nutrition and energy before a workout. I eat one of these and I’m not hungry during my work out.
- Granola – This is where this gets interesting every single time you make these bites. I make many different flavors of granola. Basic homemade granola, cranberry almond granola, almond blueberry granola, toasted coconut granola, maple pecan I like to call pecan pie granola, dates and sunflower seed granola. You can find a few of these here on my site. So you see every time the base is different so the results are also different.
- Toasted Oats – are a great substitute for the granola if you cannot find a sugar free granola or don’t have homemade at home.
- Spices – I think cinnamon is the most preferred in our home but you can add pumpkin spice or gingerbread spice if you prefer.
Useful Tips and Tools
- You will need a food processor to pulse everything as you add ingredients
- A big mixing bowl works best for these. I like to place my bowl in a baking tray to contain all the mess.
- I like using a cookie scoop to ensure they are all similar in size.
Easy No-Bake Energy Bites with Granola and Dates (Save/Pin)
- Pit the dates and discard any loose dry skin.
- Place the dates in a food processor and pulse until breadcrumb consistency
- Add the nuts and pulse some more
- Add the granola, spices, salt, and vanilla.
- Pulse until coarse breadcrumb consistency.
- You should be able to smooch some into a ball.
- Use a cookie scoop to ensure you have similar size balls.
- Make balls and leave on a plate uncovered for 30 minutes.
- When the outside is aired and feels dry to touch.
- Store them in a cookie jar or box
- These will stay for a week outside the fridge or up to three weeks in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
Well, the truth is it all depends on the ingredients you use. If you use granola loaded with sugar then it’s probably not as healthy as it can be. Having said that, granola contains nuts, dried fruits, and oats which on its own is packed with nutrition.
These energy bites will keep at room temperature for up to a week and can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Nope. You can even press the mixture into a parchment-lined baking tray, chill for an hour then cut into bars or squares
You can use any of your favorite granola with this to create bars like
I’ve used my basic homemade granola for these no-bake energy bites.
Maple pecan granola to make Pecan Pie Energy bites.
Cranberry almond granola to make almond energy bites
Toasted coconut granola to make coconut energy bites.
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No-Bake Energy Bites with Granola and Dates
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Ingredients
- 24 (24 ) Mejdool dates
- 2 cups (8.61 oz) Granola or toasted oats
- 1 cup (1 cup) Mixed nuts cashews, almonds, macadamia, hazelnuts
Optional
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) Ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pit the dates and discard any loose dry skin.
- Place the dates in a food processor and pulse until breadcrumb consistency
- Add the nuts and pulse some more
- Next, add the granola, spices, salt, and vanilla.
- Pulse until coarse breadcrumb consistency.
- You should be able to smooch some into a ball.
- Use a cookie scoop to ensure you have similar size balls.
- Make balls and leave on a plate uncovered for 30 minutes.
- When the outside is aired and feels dry to touch.
- Store them in a cookie jar or box
- These will stay for a week outside the fridge or up to three weeks in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Video
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Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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Notaro
Made these last weekend. Loved it. Was perfect for my before the gym snack. Thanks for sharing
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Nataro. So happy to here you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback. Always happy to here from those who try my recipes. Please do tag me on Instagram @veenaazmanov when you share so I can see it. Or you can share it with me on my Facebook Page.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
This is exactly what I need with all the high-calorie foods around. Sometimes I don’t even have a chance to eat lunch and these delicious-looking bites would be perfect. Even on busy shopping, I could carry some in my bag. Thank you, Veena.
Veena Azmanov
I often use these when I am busy preparing for my class and I have not time to eat breakfast or lunch. They are so nutritious.
Michelle
Those look absolutely delicious. What a perfect breakfast idea – and one I don’t have to feel guilty about!
Veena Azmanov
Absolutely no guilt. These make perfect breakfast on the go or snack for those sweet cravings
Denise Wright
This is such a healthy and yet tasty treat. I just bought some dates and they are so sweet and luscious I’m going to have to make these today. You have me craving them!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Denise – I think you will love these.. We love them.
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
These are such a great snack…especially during this really hectic holiday season. We all need a little extra energy to get us through the LONG LONG days of holiday madness. Perfect for the kids to help make too.
Veena Azmanov
Definitely Gloria. Love these on hand all the time…
Jolina
These look amazing! And so perfect. And lucky for me, I love oats 🙂 I don’t work with dates a lot, thanks for the tip about discarding the dry skin.
Veena Azmanov
I love oats too! Nuts and dates too so it’s my favorite.