Bite-sized Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Bites. 4 ingredients, grain-free, naturally sweetened & vegan – the perfect healthy snack when you’re craving chocolate & peanut butter. 
Recipes for Energy Bites were very popular circa about 2012-2014. Like all trends I’m a good 2+ years behind. But since its January and healthy recipes are resurfacing, I got inspired to try my hand at making some.
Let’s just say I wish I jumped on the bandwagon back in 2012. Because I’ve definitely been missing out.
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Bites are healthy, super tasty & ready in minutes. You can make them with zero kitchen skills, and you’ll be impressed by how delicious they are. They’re chewy, peanut butter-y, salty & chocolate infused. The chocolate & peanut butter flavors taste natural yet still rich. And the sweetness will remind you of a Lara Bar or Cliff Bar.
I love snacking on these bite-sized morsels. And after looking at the ingredient list – you’ll have zero guilt about eating 5.
No exaggeration – these Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Bites are grain free, dairy free, sugar free & vegan. And no – they aren’t made out of air & celery. There’s no weird ingredients that are hard to pronounce – and you should be able to find them all at your local grocery store. The delicious peanut butter flavor comes from peanut butter & chopped peanuts – then rich chocolate from natural cocoa powder. They’re sweetened with dates so there’s no refined sugars – but if you’re craving a little bit more sweetness you can add 1 tablespoon of honey or brown rice syrup (for vegans).
Then pulse all the ingredients together in a food processor and you’re good to go. My main tip for this recipe is to make sure that your dates are soft before getting started. If they’re hard soak the dates in water first for 15 minutes, then drain them very well & pat them off with paper towel so that no water gets into the mixture. I also wouldn’t recommend using salted peanuts or the flavor will be off and your health factor won’t be quite so awesome.
Seriously, these Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Bites are amazing. 4 ingredients (maybe 5), super healthy, ready in minutes & so delicious. If only being healthy was always this easy…. Clearly, I should follow trends more often.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted medjool dates*
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter , if using natural peanut butter stir well before measuring
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 1 extra tablespoon if neeeded
- ¼ cup chopped peanuts
- 1 tablespoon honey or brown rice syrup , optional
Instructions
- Process the dates the dates in the food processor until they're pulsed into small pieces. Add the peanut butter, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa powder & chopped peanuts and process until will mixed. Taste the mixture. If you like a richer chocolate flavor, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. If you like it sweeter, add the honey or brown rice syrup. Process again until well combined.
- Turn off the food processor. Form the mixture into round balls about ¾ to 1 inch in diameter. You should end up with about 12-14 total. Place on a cookie sheet and allow harden in the fridge or freezer for about 15 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Hey Fiona, did you mean 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder?
Thanks,
Karen
Nope, 3 tablespoons + 1 tablespoons. It’s just written out that way so that you know to add 3 tablespoons first, then add the extra tablespoon if you want a more chocolate-y flavor. 🙂