A quick and healthy gluten-free snack that is loaded with dried fruit and nuts. These energy balls are perfect for those in-between meal snack cravings! Only 10 minutes to prep!
I need a snack. You need a snack. My kids need a snack ALL.THE.TIME. Snacks make the world go round.
Or they at least make life functional and a little bit tastier when I’m sitting in standstill traffic with my kidlets. Or when my 3 year old is watching her mama get her sparkle on (someone told me women don’t sweat, yeeeah riiiiight…) at a Fit4Mom class. Or when I’ve already had breakfast but it’s not quite lunch time and my stomach is screamin’ GIMME SOMETHING TO EAT.
Ok honestly, doesn’t it seem completely impossible to eat only at designated meal times? Clearly the center aisles of the grocery store are evidence of our need for snacks. They are loooaded with snacky foods. Bag of salty potato chips I’m lookin’ at you (actually my hubby is lookin’ at you). Cookies, oooh cookies…how I love you even though you and I need to be friends in moderation. And then there’s the sugary corn syrup laden bars masking as nutritious granola bars.
Life (and food) is all about balance. And I’m not about to shun cookies. We all need a good cookie every once in a while. But the corn syrupy refined sugar granola bars, see yaaaa laterz. You’ve been traded in for something so much better.
I’m calling them Fruit & Nut Energy Balls. With no guilt added. And no refined sugar and loaded with dietary fiber, potassium, iron, and antioxidants.
That’s the something better that I was mentioning. ⬆️ Not the most flattering picture.
But I’m showing you that pic because that’s what it should look like after you’ve given all the ingredients for these energy bites (minus the nuts and oats) a good spin in your food processor. A big brown heap of honey and dried fruits (raisins, dried figs, dried cranberries, dried apricots, dried blueberries, and dried apple and pear peels.
Not flattering, but once you roll them into balls, and roll them around in some shredded coconut they turn out looking like something you’d want to eat.
We need some truly energizing, tasty bites of snack satisfaction. Especially during the holidays.
Can you believe it’s November?!?! Have you already begun your holiday shopping? Are you an onlione shopper or a mall walker shopper? Or do you have a cute boutique store that I need to know about?! Send me the deets.
Does holiday shopping freak you out just thinking about it? Holiday shoppers at the mall freak me out. Something about that crazy-eyed look people get when they want to find the best Black Friday deal ever.
They probably just need a snack.
So eenywayz, once you’ve got your big dried fruit mound, smoosh in some roasted hazelnuts, sliced almonds, and oats. Grab a little bit of the mixture and form it into little balls by rolling it around in your hands. Then once you’ve made a nice round ball, roll it around in some finely shredded coconut.
Get the kidlets involved with the ball rolling. Get the neighbor’s kidlets involved. Show them that making healthy snacks can be fun and tasty at the same time.
Is anyone else getting hungry? It must be snack time.
Energy balls for everyone!
(And all the kids and adults cheered) ♡
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📖 Recipe
Fruit & Nut Energy Balls
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 23–26 energy bites 1x
Description
A quick and healthy gluten-free snack that is loaded with dried fruit and nuts. Perfect for those in-between meal snack cravings!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sun-dried calimyrna figs, stems removed
- ¾ cup dried apricots
- ¾ cup raisins
- ¾ cup dried blueberries
- ¾ cups dried apples and pears, chopped into small pieces (or use the dried apple & pear peels saved from this galette recipe!)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup honey (or agave or maple syrup for a vegan option)
- ¾ cup whole roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
- ⅓ cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ⅓ cup unsweetened fine shredded coconut
Instructions
- Combine the figs, apricots, raisins, blueberries, cranberries, apple and pear peels, and honey in a food processor. Pulse a few times just to break it all up and then process continuously until it’s all broken down. You may need to scrape the edges of the bowl a few times to get it to fully process until the ingredients clump together and form into a ball.
- Remove dried fruit ball from the food processor and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the hazelnuts, almonds, and oats to the fruit by squishing it into the mound with a metal spoon or just by getting your hands messy and mixing it together by hand.
- Shape the mixture into small balls by taking a little bit of the mixture at a time and rolling it into shape in the palms of your hands. Then roll in shredded coconut.
- Enjoy an energy bite snack!
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use or recommend.
Storage: These energy bites can be stored in the fridge for several weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. I prefer to store and eat them at room-temp which is fine as well!
Shopping note: If you have a Costco near you, they carry many of the dried fruit ingredients needed for these energy bites, including the calimyrna figs, apricots, raisins, etc.
Nutritional information does not include the shredded coconut since this will vary by how much you roll each energy bite in it or if you choose to exclude it altogether.
- Category: Snack
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
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Alyssa says
Great recipe, Shannon! I love that dried figs are front-and-center in this snack! They’re such an underutilized ingredient, which is a shame because they have such a great flavor and chewy texture. Fantastic job! Can’t wait to try this power snack soon.
Shannon says
Thank you Alyssa! I’d love to hear how you like them once you try them out!
Cynthia says
What a great snack. I love the various fruits and nuts you have in the energy bites. I think these would be great as a snack for road trips.
Shannon says
Thank you Cynthia! And snacks on a road trip are definitely a must!
Michele says
These will be perfect for gifts to hand out at Christmas to the neighbors! Pinned!
Shannon says
That’s a great idea Michele!
Mark says
It is great to have little bites like these to keep you going throughout the day. Nice job.
Shannon says
Thanks so much Mark!
Fiona says
I’m totally with you on the need to snack ALL the time! These look delish – pinned!
Shannon says
Thanks Fiona!
Elaine says
These like so yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Shannon says
Thank you Elaine! I hope you get the chance to try them!
Taylor says
These look like the perfect snack and I love that you’ve barely used any non-fruit sweeteners!
Shannon says
Thanks Taylor! I hope you get the chance to try them out!