Nutty Energy Bites

I’ve been making energy bites almost weekly for the past few years, but usually make a variation of sunflower seed bites. When walnuts are in season I prefer these walnut energy bites. Walnuts add a real creaminess, with a softer texture than seeds, and with the addition of spices and a little oil (walnut or coconut) the bites feel like something special.

Walnuts aren’t as nutritious as sunflower seeds – they have less magnesium, protein, iron, etc. really, lower levels of pretty much everything, and more fat. With that in mind, these energy balls are made with a mix of nuts and seeds to get the best of both worlds. We walk a lot and always need snacks like this to keep going – if you’re very active or have growing kids, energy balls are a lifesaver.

These bites are an absolute dream to roll out, not sticky at all, and do better in the refrigerator than the freezer. They hold their shape very well when chilled and can be transported more easily than some other energy ball recipes.

I first shared this recipe in 2017. It’s been updated with improvements to the recipe instructions and a retested and improved recipe, new photos, including step-by-step photos, and more helpful information.

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Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

Like most energy bite recipes, this is made with dates. If you’re not a fan, try these fig snack bars instead. These are my notes from recipe testing. See below for the full recipe card with complete measurements and instructions.

• Walnuts: for the best taste, try to get walnuts in season from that year’s harvest. Year-old nuts might be rancid and will definitely be slightly dry and mealy. These can be whole nuts that you shell yourself, or walnut halves or pieces.
• Seeds: I usually use less expensive sunflower seeds, but if you’re trying to increase iron, you might prefer pumpkin seeds for their relatively high iron content. Either way the seeds should be raw and unsalted. Hemp hearts are a good alternative.
• Dates: any type of soft date can be used, or soak dry dates in very hot water for half an hour before draining well. I rarely use expensive medjool dates and instead buy deglet nour (pictured), which are much cheaper and just as tasty. Not only to sweeten, dates also help the balls stick together. Date paste is an excellent substitution (not date syrup).
• Oil: a small amount of oil helps the balls to hold together and keeps them from being too sticky. You can use coconut oil if you’d like them to be more stable at room temperature, or walnut oil if you’d like a stronger walnut flavour. I’ve also made these with hazelnut oil which is very nice.
• Spices: a pinch of salt to keep them from being too sweet, and cinnamon and nutmeg to bring out the warm flavours of the walnuts and dates. You can change the spices to suit you. Vanilla is always good, as is cardamom.

How to Make Energy Balls

I’ve added a note below on how to make these without a food processor, but it is much easier if you do have one. They key is to blend very well, making sure the dates have completely broken down. If they haven’t, the balls won’t stick together.

Step 1: add all of the ingredients to a food processor or mini food processor (as pictured). If the dates have been soaked beforehand be sure to drain them very well, pressing any excess water out to prevent the mixture from being soggy.

Step 2: blend until very smooth. The nuts and seeds should have broken down into very small pieces and the dates into a paste. The mixture should hold together easily when pressed.

Step 3: roll into small balls with your hands. This dough shouldn’t be at all sticky thanks to the added oil plus the oil from the nuts, and it should be easy to make neat balls without needing to wet your hands first.

Step 4: refrigerate or freeze the bites until needed. You can chill or freeze in a single layer before transferring to a container, but I find that these don’t stick to each other too much.

Expert Tips for the Best Energy Bites

• Soak if needed: if your dates are dry and hard, they should be soaked in hot water before blending. Be sure to drain well and check that no pits have gotten into the mix.
• Keep walnuts cold: to prevent nuts from going rancid (spoiling), they should be stored in a cool, dry place. A normal cupboard will cause them to spoil more quickly. Keep nuts and seeds in a dry cellar or store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
• Make without a food processor: if you don’t have a food processor, you can still try making energy balls. You’ll need very soft dates than can be mashed with a fork, and to chop the seeds and nuts as finely as possible with a knife before mixing. It’s tricky without a machine, though – I use a small food processor attachment for my immersion blender.

More Energy Ball Recipes

• Oatmeal Peanut Butter Energy Balls
• Chocolate Hemp Energy Balls
• Chocolate Coconut Date Balls
• Sunflower Seed Energy Bites