No-Bake Almond Joy Energy Bites
No-Bake Almond Joy Energy Bites- a super quick and easy snack bursting with chocolate and coconut flavor! (vegan and gluten-free)
Have you tried this almond butter? Holy cannoli, it blows my mind. Justin knows it’s good too because he charges a million dollars per jar. Yet still, I can’t.stop.buying.it. It’s seriously that addicting.
In fact, it’s so addicting that I can’t eat it without cleaning every last almond buttery smudge off the knife with my tongue. Then, if I’m feeling lucky that day, I’ll even dip it back in the jar so that I’m forced to clean it off again.
I know…but it’s not gross because it’s all mine!! Mwuahaha!
That’s how I claim the goods, you see?
Naturally, I thought using that almond butter for energy balls would be a brilliant idea. Because who cares about saving money? I don’t have a wedding on the books or anything.
Of course, you can always use a more affordable almond butter or even make your own if you’re feeling frisky, but that would take away from the ease factor of these which is always nice to have. One bowl, ten minutes, and a little time in the refrigerator is all that’s required for energy ball bliss.
I made several batches of these until I got the flavor just right. In the end, I settled on using a few tablespoons of maple syrup along with a sprinkle of sea salt for that perfect sweet and salty balance.
They’re almost good enough to eat for dessert but they’re made with healthy ingredients like rolled oats, flax seed and hemp seeds {a great protein source for vegans and vegetarians} to give you all the natural energy you need to get through a tough workout or a long hike.
The almond butter gives them a slightly creamy texture but they still have a little crunch from the brown rice cereal. Of course, the mini chocolate chips offer a nice little surprise for your taste buds too.
I personally prefer to save them for an afternoon snack before one of my favorite fitness classes but I may have snuck a few for dessert here and there. There’s no shame.
No-Bake Almond Joy Energy Bites
Yield: 18 bites
Prep Time: 10
Total Time: 10
Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond butter (I like Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup rolled oats*
1/2 cup brown rice cereal (I used chocolate flavored)
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup hemp seeds
pinch salt
1/2 cup mini dark chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is vegan)
Directions:
In a large bowl, stir together the almond butter and maple syrup until smooth. *If the nut butter is too firm, microwave it for 15-20 seconds to melt. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix together until evenly coated. Refrigerate the mixture for 10 minutes.
Using a scooper or a large spoon, scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll into a ball, continuing until all of the mixture is rolled into balls.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature for up to one week.
*Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats for allergies
Click Here for Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts are for one bite
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback! 
Yum! I am always on the hunt for good gluten free recipes.
— Alex at Brainy Girls Beauty
These look absolutely incredible, Sarah! And I love how they have so many different textures. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have a go-to recipe since I’m always changing it up, but I always start with oats, honey, and almond butter and go from there. And YES to Justin’s… I’m currently down to the last scrapings of my maple jar and starting to panic…
Oh I love these Sarah!! I’ve been making an oatmeal raisin energy ball recipe for a long time now but I really need to change it up! And with the chocolate and coconut – two of my favorites!
I’ve been wanting to try that almond butter but have been afraid since I have a feeling I’ll get hooked on it! haha I’ve been holding out for now but we’ll see how long that lasts : )
Yay! I have been waiting for this recipe. I love protein balls, they are the perfect snack or post workout treat. I’ve actually never tried Justin’s almond butter! With all the great reviews it gets I need to get myself a jar asap.
Vanilla almond butter is my favorite! I knew it had to be good when the stores were out of it for weeks! Also–THANK YOU for this recipe. I love bites like these, and almond joy is one of my favorite flavor combos.
Umm YES…I need to make these ASAP! I have all of the ingredients..EXCEPT almond butter! Just polished off my last jar a couple of weeks ago and have yet to re-stock.
Wow! These look amazing. I love how nutrient packed they are. Typically I am so boring with my energy balls recipe: date + nuts and call it a day.
Homemade energy balls are my favorite on the go snack. I love that these have dark chocolate in them too
These look spectacular. I would love to make a batch and keep in my work fridge for snacking. Maybe this weekend.
Yes on the Justin’s love! I think I need to take a trip to the States in the spring mainly so I can stock up ;-) the vanilla one is awesome, but chocolate hazelnut is probably my favourite.
And of course – energy balls! I haven’t made them in ages, but chocolate chips are always a requirement for me.
One word…AMAZING!!! I seriously need to give these a try! I absolutely love energy bites. They’re such a convenient snack to take to work with me!
I need to get that almond butter in my life, stat. Those look amazing! I’ve tried Justin’s maple almond butter, but not the vanilla kind. And you’re so right about the price- even though it’s high, they know we’ll pay it!
Yippy!! I love that kind of almond butter! A little too much, I might add…as in when that stuff’s in my house, I’ve got a spoon and a smile on my face ;) I need to make up a batch of these energy balls and take them to work with me so that I don’t crash and burn come 2pm! YUM!
Justins knows exactly how good it is but I still suck it up and pay because damnnnnn I love that stuff. These look divine as per usual!
Oooh, boy, these look amazing! I would definitely pop them for snacks. Or dessert. Or before breakfast. Or just . . . anytime at all!
Ball bliss. Haha.
I love the addition of brown rice krispies in these. I love texture, so combining crispy with chewy and creamy makes me real happy.
I heart hemp seeds! Been eating them daily lately. Great recipe, Sarah!
These must be the no-bake balls you were talking about! I can’t wait to try them – I LOVE Justin’s too. The maple is my favorite flavor.
These look so delicious! I love justin’s, but it’s definitely not in my budget right now. :( I love mini chocolate chips too!
My mouth is watering. These look killer!
Justin’s Almond Butter changed my life! I love it so much. These energy bites look amazing darling!
Totally have all the ingredients for these little gems! Making them as soon as my hectic schedule allows :)
Now you’ve got me thinking about making my own vanilla almond butter… hmmm…
These sound so good, and so healthy. I haven’t made any energy/snack bites recently as my food processor and blender both died this fall. I’m excited to get back to making then again now that I have a nice food processor.
Haha, naturally it makes MUCH more sense to spend oodles of money on better almond butter. Ain’t nobody got time to make their own. :) I fully support your logic in this purchase.
I, sadly, please don’t hate me, am not an almond butter fan. HOWEVER, I do predict that these would be just as enjoyable with some peanut butter. :) And I have NEVER made my own energy balls, nor ever bought any. I have some weird aversion to bars, balls, whatever the shape is. I don’t like it!
And I’m officially a freak of nature.
“Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. Almond Joys have nuts, Mounds don’t.” <– I now have this song stuck in my head… These look amazing and perfect for dessert or a pre-gym fuel!
Ok as soon as you said Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter I stopped reading went over to Amazon and ordered some. Mind you I already have classic & maple at home as well as some sunbutter. Obsessed? I think so. These energy balls look amazing! I would eat them in a heartbeat!
You’re not the only one who double triple quadruple dips knives into the nut butter jar!! ;) I love the sound of this recipe. Almonds are a great addition to any healthy bite. I never thought to use cereal, but I really think that it would do great things to the texture.
Yum! Just pinned these!!
Yummmm look at the amazing textures going on here! Adding the rice cereal in is just genius. Almond joy is definitely one of my favorite flavor combos… these seriously have my mouth watering!
I’ve tried regular Justin’s almond butter, but never the vanilla kind. I have heard amazing things about it, and considering the fact that eating a jar of almond butter in a less than a week period is not beyond me…I think I may need to stay away from this stuff! : )
Mmmmmm … these look so good! And yes (to answer your question) – I’ve got some go-to energy balls, as well! We call ’em Snack Bites – but they’re the same idea – loaded with complex carbs, high-quality protein and good fats … plus yummy, yummy flavor! Perfect for sustained energy on busy days or to get the kiddos through soccer practice! My fam gets so fussy if I don’t have a huge stash in the freezer! Love, love!!!! :D
Snack Bites- you could trademark that name!
Your kids are lucky to have a mom who prepares them such healthy snacks! :)
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Oooooh, these look and sound so damn yummy woman! I love anything that Justin makes. But you’re right, like $10 for a container is a bit ridic…especially when you’re like me and could eat half the container in one sitting. I so easily could, but I usually try to avoid that. Ha! However, I too buy it anyways because I’m a sucker for any good nut butters! Have you tried Trader Joe’s almond butter? I’m a big fans of theirs too.
Can you believe I never tried Justin’s before? I came close one time at Pete’s, but they only had Maple and I wanted Hazelnut or Vanilla. One day it will happen!
I just had the toughtest workout ever and holy moly, I would have loved to have had a few of these babies to pop into my mouth after that nightmare hahahahaha. Too bad I had to settle for egg whites and greek yogurt instead. Next time, I’ll be making these, you bet. They look so easy! And they’re so darling too. I’m in love with them ;–)
Love your blog
Will have to pass it on to a couple of my gluten free friends
Thanks Sophia! :)
These looks awesome! I find the inclusion of brown rice cereal especially appetizing. I also love that they don’t require a food processor.
I just made these and I wanted to eat all of them in one sitting. Did I tell you that I made the gingerbread pancakes for Christmas breakfast? My family loved them. They don’t like healthy food, either. :D
I saw the post with the picture of them! You made them into waffles and they looked amazing. I’m so glad they went over well. That would have been embarrassing if they didn’t… ;)
These looks great, I love the idea of sweet and slightly salty at the same time :) My go recipe is oats, coconut, dates, cacao, almonds and chickpeas – they create a great fudginess without ruining the taste!
I would have never thought to add chickpeas but I like the idea! I’ll have to try it sometime. :)
These look amazing! I’ve been on such an energy bite kick lately. With my current internship rotation I sometimes only have 2 minutes between patients, so energy bites are the perfect fast snack. I can’t wait to try these!
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Justin´s Almond Butter sounds amazing. I read about it quite often on blogs and am kind of sad that we don´t have it here and that I can´t try it. Your Energy Balls look amazing..and so tasty :).
It is so good! You’ll have to get some when you come back to the states. :)
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looooove everything about these! pinned these to my iHeartBalls board :)
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Interesting very healthy ingredients, can’t wait to try them out!
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Is the rice cereal in the almond joy energy balls recipe the kind to be cooked? Or crispy rice? I noticed a couple other kinds (one was sprouted) when I was looking for it, too. Don’t know which one to get.
No, it’s not the kind you cook. It’s crispy rice cereal. You could use sprouted if you want. I would just make sure you get whole grain to keep them healthy! :)
Thanks!
how many calories is in the almond energy balls? I am dieabetic need to watch my
sugars and calories please answer by email
Hi Mary Ann, I just updated the post to include the nutrition facts. If you make 22 from a batch then there are 103 calories per energy ball and roughly 4 grams of sugar. But this will vary depending upon the ingredients you use. For the most accurate reading, I recommend using My Fitness Pal. They have a great feature that allows you to copy and paste the URL of the recipe and then you can change the ingredients to represent the specific brands you used. I hope that helps!
These look great! Is there anything that can be substituted for the rice cereal, which isn’t available where I live? Thanks in advance.
Do you have access to any kind of puffed grain? Like puffed millet? That would work nicely. Otherwise you can substitute extra oats. The texture will be slightly different but they should still taste good. :)
Could you sub anything for the oats? These look yummy and I have yet to try Justin’s AB….I just can’t have oats : (
I’m having a hard time thinking of what you could use in place of the oats but I will put on my thinking cap and get back to you! :)
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I don’t think I have ever tasted anything so delicious that is healthy like this. I made both these and the blueberry muffin energy bites. Both are amazing.
They are in the fridge right now. Hoping they will hold together in a ball.
Will have to get a scoop. They are very sticky to roll by hand. Didn’t do that. Thank you for this great recipe.
These are really tasty! I had a little bit of a hard time having them stick together but that was my own fault for not using mini chocolate chips (I didn’t have any on hand!). I also had to use a little more almond butter to get them sticky enough but they really are tasty. I just need to buy mini chocolate chips and I’ll be making these babies again.
I’m so glad you like them, Kelli! I wonder if the almond butter could have been the culprit for them not sticking? I find that if I use natural nut butters that require stirring, they can be less oily in the recipe. I know it doesn’t make sense but I’ve had it happen a few times now!
I do think the almond butter played a part. Mine was towards the end of the jar so it was actually a little hard.
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