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Home » Snacks » 10 Min No-Bake Energy Balls

10 Min No-Bake Energy Balls

Published: Oct 31, 2021 · Modified: Jul 6, 2021 by Ana · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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Super easy no-bake energy balls are a perfect energy booster for babies and toddlers and help their digestive systems work.

energy balls in a bowl

Honestly, this recipe came about because I was trying to find an anti-constipation cure for my toddler, one that is easy to make and easy to eat on the go (minimal mess).

So I thought of all the anti-constipation ingredients that I can put in there that he wouldn't usually eat on their own - like prunes, flaxseeds and dates. To that we added some protein and fat rich nuts and peanut butter and we got ourselves a delicious energy ball ready in 10 min.

The great thing about this recipe is that it is super adaptable to what you have at home - you just need to mix the right amount of nuts with the right amount or nut butter and dried fruits and you can make these balls.

This is a perfect healthy snack idea for toddlers and even a healthy idea for toddler breakfast as it is very nutrient dense.

Jump to:
  • Nutrition and Ingredients
  • At What Age Can I Give This To My Child?
  • How To Make These 10 Min No-Bake Energy Balls?
  • How to Serve Energy Balls To Baby and Toddler?
  • Possible Recipe Variations
  • Recipes You May Like
  • 10 min No-Bake Energy Balls
  • Comments

Nutrition and Ingredients

ingredients

Oats

  • Use rolled oats
  • Great source of complex carbs and fiber but also the minerals manganese and potassium

Mixed Nuts

  • We use a mixture of cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and brazil nuts (I buy these already mixed). I prefer to use mixed nuts because each has a specific nutritional profile and then we can get a variety of different nutrients in such a small ball
  • Nuts are high in mono-saturated fats and most nuts are also high in magnesium and vitamin E

Nut Butter

  • We use peanut butter made from 100% peanuts (no added salt, sugar, palm oil or preservatives)
  • Contain biotin, copper, niacin, folate
  • If you don't have a nut butter on hand you can easily make one by processing nuts for about 5-10 minutes in a food processor (see our Hazelnut Butter recipe)

Flaxseeds

  • Have a good amount of fiber and manganese. Fiber promotes proper digestion
  • Can use whole or ground here

Pitted Dates and Prunes

  • If your child has ever had constipation problems you may have been given advice to give them prune juice. My child won't drink that or eat prunes so this was a way of getting prunes into his diet and they give the sweetness to the balls that is necessary
  • Prunes are rich in potassium, fiber and antioxidants and contain pectin which is a soluble fiber which helps with stool softening
  • Dates are rich in B vitamins and antioxidants
  • The more prunes you use the more anti-constipation benefit this snack will have, however you can you whichever ratio of dates to prunes you want, or just one or the other

At What Age Can I Give This To My Child?

From 6 months + if you have tested each nut that you are serving separately for allergens.

How To Make These 10 Min No-Bake Energy Balls?

all ingredients in a blender

Blend. Place all the ingredients together in a blender and process until you get a fully blended yet moldable consistency. Should be about 5 minutes in a good processor.

blended ingredients

Make balls. This mixture makes about 16 balls. Roll the mixture into ping-pong size balls.

hand showing how to make balls

This is a great recipe that your toddler can help you make in the kitchen using a learning tower.

How to Serve Energy Balls To Baby and Toddler?

Serve the balls as they are from 6 months onwards if you have tested for all the allergens.

toddler holding an energy ball

Possible Recipe Variations

Add chia seeds to include even more super foods in the mixture.

Add cinnamon and a pinch of salt. For babies over 1 year old.

Add cacao powder and coat in chopped nuts for 1 year old +. To make it full of even more antioxidants and fun for your toddler to roll into nuts.

Recipes You May Like

  • Hazelnut Cookies
  • Kid Friendly Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
  • Healthy Ferrero Treats
  • Spinach Pancakes
  • Healthy Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
energy balls in a bowl
Energy balls for toddlers

10 min No-Bake Energy Balls

Super easy no-bake energy balls are a perfect energy booster for babies and toddlers and help their digestive systems work.
5 from 10 votes
Author: Dora
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 0 minutes mins
Total Time 10 minutes mins
Servings 16 balls
Fridge Life? 5 days
Freezable? 3 months

EQUIPMENT

  • Food Processor

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup mixed nuts
  • 3 tbsp nut butter (peanut butter)
  • 2 tablespoon flaxseeds
  • 1 cup dates/prunes ½ cup each recommended

Optional

  • pinch ground cinnamon
  • pinch salt

Instructions
 

  • Blend. Place all the ingredients together in a blender and process until you get a fully blended yet moldable consistency. Should be about 5 minutes in a good processor.
  • Make balls. This mixture makes about 16 balls. Roll the mixture into ping-pong size balls.

Video

Notes

Suitable for 6 months + if you have tested for all the allergens beforehand. 
Ingredients - you can use any nuts, nut butter or a combination of dates/prunes just make sure you use the same quantities to get the right consistency. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1ballCalories: 123kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 3gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 16mgPotassium: 162mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Isi

    January 27, 2022 at 2:20 pm

    Thanks so much for this recipe! So easy to put together and I was so happy to see my 11month old eat them without spitting it back out again. And I can feel good eating them too. This will be one of our go to on the go snacks now, replacing bland store bought rice rusks!

    Reply
    • Ana

      January 28, 2022 at 3:02 pm

      Hi Isi
      I am so glad to hear that you both enjoyed them!

      Reply
  2. Isi

    January 27, 2022 at 2:20 pm

    5 stars
    Forgot to add the stars!

    Reply
  3. imsen

    February 08, 2022 at 5:27 am

    5 stars
    Really easy and adaptable recipe for no bake energy balls. All the family love them and really helps when you want to reach for a sweet treat and you have the balls made so quickly to hand!

    Quick and Easy Family Recipes

    Reply
    • Ana

      February 08, 2022 at 2:38 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Ashley Hansen

    June 22, 2022 at 3:44 pm

    I'm making these for my girl! How long are they good in the fridge and can they be frozen?

    Reply
    • CreativeNourish

      June 23, 2022 at 4:14 pm

      Hi Ashley,

      They keep well for a week in the fridge and they can be frozen for 3 months in the freezer.

      Reply
    • Cris

      September 19, 2022 at 3:52 pm

      I have read some recipes that you are supposed to boil the dates first? Is this true?

      Reply
      • Ana

        September 20, 2022 at 5:42 am

        Hi Cris,

        I am assume the recipe that says you need to boil them does so that they soften and blend more easily. I didn't have to do that for this recipe, because they blend easily but you do need a powerful blender. Instead of boiling them you can just place them in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes and they will be soft.

        Reply
  5. Andreea

    September 30, 2022 at 8:15 am

    Hi,
    Tried the recipe and it did not blend easily at all. Had to put some coconut oil and they are definitely not for a12 months babies - you can feel the nuts and its pretty tough to eat.

    Reply
    • Ana

      September 30, 2022 at 12:59 pm

      Hi Andreea,
      Sorry to hear that. Maybe the blender was not powerful enough? I have tried it in the Kitchen Aid and Magimix food processors and they came out well.

      What could possibly help is soaking the nuts and soaking the dates in warm water for a few hours beforehand.

      The consistency should be like the image above, any nut parts should be a millimeter.

      Reply
  6. Courtney

    December 15, 2022 at 8:51 am

    Any suggestions for excluding the nuts if I don’t have them? Should I substitute anything or just leave them out? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Ana

      December 22, 2022 at 3:56 am

      Hi Courtney,

      I haven't tried making any variations without nuts, but will experiment and come up with a nut free energy ball. If you have nut butter you could put 1/2 a cup of nut butter and if it is too loose add more oats until you get the consistency firm enough to roll into balls.

      Reply
  7. Patel Shivani

    February 20, 2023 at 9:26 pm

    Is it true that I don’t need to cook rolled oats.

    Reply
    • Ana

      February 21, 2023 at 1:56 pm

      Hi, yes, oats do not need to be cooked here.

      Reply
      • Carol

        June 17, 2023 at 10:52 am

        Hi, this recipe looks very nice but I don't want to give sweet things to eat to my baby yet, do you think I could just remove the prunes and dates or what should I replace them with? The balls might break easily if I remove the fruits...
        Thank you!

        Reply
        • Ana

          June 18, 2023 at 3:18 pm

          I think you also need to remove the oats, as you need a sticky binder for them. if you just use the nuts and the rest of the ingredients I think you should be ok.

          Reply
  8. Caz

    August 15, 2023 at 3:53 am

    5 stars
    so easy! i put these into the blender while i am cooking dinner and then i have snacks sorted for her.

    Reply
5 from 10 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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