Summer is officially here, and that usually means right around now I’m craving tons of recipes with fruit in them. Fruit salads, fresh berries, cut up watermelon, mango salsa, grilled pineapple, etc. I wonder why that is? Something about fruit just seems summery to me! With that being said, I’m excited to share a fun, easy summer recipe today – sugar free strawberry energy bites!
Cody and I devoured these for dessert one night. They are only 6 ingredients, sugar free, healthy, kid friendly, and can be made in less than 5 minutes. They have a sweet strawberry taste (duh!) and I rolled them in shredded coconut chips for extra flavoring. I’d say strawberry-coconut describes their flavor best.
Another thing I loved about these is how fun they are to eat. You can just pop them in your mouth like grapes, so they make a good on-the-go snack as well. You can take them to work as a mid-day snack, use them as a pre-workout energy boost, or just eat them as a dessert after a meal like we did.
When I thought of the idea for them, I actually intended for them to be a pre-workout snack I could eat all week. After Cody and I demolished the first batch though, I made a second and third to last all week (that’s how good they were!). So we used them for dessert and as a pre-gym snack.
I think they’re pretty kid and family friendly too. After all, who doesn’t love strawberries? But more than that, they are very healthy, packed with nutrition, and easy to eat. You can roll the balls for these as tiny as you want, so kids with smaller mouths can still enjoy them!
Anyway, I really enjoyed this easy summer recipe, and hope that you like these strawberry energy bites too!
6 Ingredient Strawberry Energy Bites
When I say “6 ingredients” I really mean just that. These are very easy to make, and likely, you have all the ingredients at home now.
- Strawberries
- Dates
- Cashews
- Walnuts
- Rolled Oats
- Shredded Coconut Chips
Besides the strawberries, I usually buy all the rest of those ingredients in bulk (at places like Costco) or online. I find it’s usually cheaper that way! These ingredients are things I tend to use in dessert recipes and baking often, so I usually have them lying around.
Step 1 is to combine all ingredients except the coconut chips in a food processor/blender. Process until the nuts are broken up into tiny pieces (but not fully ground). The mixture will start to form a paste-like consistency.
Next, scoop out all of the paste into a bowl. The mixture will be very sticky and thick, but this is normal. Also, I kind of recommend cleaning your food processor/blender bucket right away after you transfer the mixture to a bowl. Otherwise the stickiness could become hard to clean later!
It’s now time to roll the energy bites. You should be able to form the dough/paste into a ball with ease. Depending on how big of a batch you made, this is the step where it would be fun to get a buddy or kid involved for helping you roll them out!
As far as how big you want to roll them, that’s up to you. I would say roll them in your hands until you get a ping-pong shaped ball, but for some reason as I type that out it sounds huge! So maybe aim for a 1″ diameter? How big or small you roll them will also determine how many you make. I was able to make small-medium sized balls and ended up with 15 in total. If you made them slightly bigger you may only get 12-13 out of your batch.
Create as many strawberry energy bites as you can from the dough, and place them on a plate. Now, it’s time to wait for a bit. I placed my balls in the refrigerator for about an hour before completing the final step of these. When you roll them in your hands it warms them up, and I think rolling them in the shredded coconut at the end is better if they’re cooled down. They’re easier to handle that way too. So for now, place them in the fridge for about an hour.
Final Step, Roll In Shredded Coconut
Take your shredded coconut and pulse them in a blender/food processor for a few seconds until the pieces become even smaller. This will provide a good outer coating for the strawberry energy bites!
After letting the strawberry energy bites rest for an hour in the fridge, take them out and one by one, roll them in the shredded coconut flakes you just pulsed in the blender. This part is fun to do with a partner too, because the end product looks really pretty/decorative I think! It’s fun seeing the final product come together at the end.
Also, if you don’t like shredded coconut, you could simply skip this step. I think these taste great without the coconut coating too, but you could also experiment with other ideas like more chopped nuts, sesame seeds, etc.
It’s taken me a looooong time to learn to love coconut-flavored things, but I think I’m finally there. It was always something I avoided when it came to sweets, but over time I must have tried enough recipes with coconut in it, that I think I really like it now! I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in my family who likes them though! like I said, the coconut part can be skipped. But I really liked using it for these bites.
Finished Strawberry Energy Bites
That pretty much sums up all the steps involved for these! Take everything (besides the coconut chips) and blend them together. Roll the dough into balls and refrigerate for an hour. Finally, pulse some coconut chips, then roll the strawberry energy bites in the shredded coconut and you’re done!
In my mind, these are a great summer recipe that I look forward to sharing with people in the coming months. I love how easy they are (to make and to eat), how few ingredients there are, and how healthy they are. I think they have great flavor without being too sweet, and I really do think they live up to their name of being a good energy-boosting snack!
Whether you use them as a pre-workout energy boost like I did, as a dessert (like we also did…) or as a midday snack, I hope you like them!
Strawberry Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 5 strawberries sliced
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1/2 cup cashews*
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup rolled oats*
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut chips
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients except the coconut flakes in a food processor/blender. Process until the nuts are broken up into tiny pieces (but not fully ground) and the mixture forms a paste-like consistency.
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Roll the paste/dough between your hands and form 1″ diameter balls. Place them on a plate and then put them in the refrigerator to cool for 1 hour.
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Pulse the coconut chips in a blender/food processor for a few seconds, until the chips become even smaller.
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After 1 hour, take the strawberry energy bites out of the fridge and roll them in the shredded coconut flakes.
Notes
* Regular or gluten free oats will work just fine.
* Depending on how big you roll the balls, you could get anywhere from 12-15 bites out of this amount.
* These can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
