recipe
Vegan Energy Balls
No-bake vegan energy balls with dates, oats, almond butter, and chocolate. Five minutes to make, two weeks in the freezer.
Recipe stats
- Prep: 15 minutes
- Cook: 25 minutes
- Total: 40 minutes
- Serves: 4
You’ll need
- 1.5 cups Pitted Medjool dates
- 1 cup Rolled oats
- 1/2 cup Almond butter (or peanut butter)
- 1/3 cup Vegan chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp Hemp hearts
- 1 tbsp Chia seeds
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Pulse dates in a food processor until they form a paste, scraping down sides as needed.
- Add oats, almond butter, vanilla, and salt. Pulse until combined into a sticky dough.
- Add chocolate chips, hemp hearts, and chia seeds. Pulse 2-3 times to distribute.
- Roll into 1-inch balls — should make 16-20.
- Place on a parchment-lined tray, refrigerate 30 minutes to firm up.
- Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or freeze.
Notes + tips
- Use Medjool dates for the smoothest paste — Deglet Noor are drier and require soaking first.
- Roll balls in shredded coconut, cocoa powder, or hemp hearts for variation.
- Adjust consistency: too dry, add 1 tbsp more almond butter; too wet, add 2 tbsp more oats.
- These are calorie-dense — great for hiking, post-workout, or pre-bed protein.
Why this works
This recipe is intentionally simple. The technique stays out of the way of the ingredients. Plant-based cooking generally rewards clean execution over elaborate technique — the flavours are fresher, the texture cleaner, and the result more satisfying when you let good ingredients do most of the work.
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Recipe by the Stay Healthy Vegan editorial team. Tested in our home kitchens before publication.