You probably have all the ingredients in the pantry to make this No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls recipe, so it’s easy to whip up a batch.
If you’re looking for more things to cook, check out all of our recipe posts.
We used to work at the farmers’ market every Saturday, which meant waking up super early, packing the car, and sitting outside for hours. We could have bought breakfast and lunch near the market, but that would really eat into our profits if we did, so I would make breakfast and lunch and pack them for us.
One of the things I made to bring for breakfast were these no bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls. They were really easy to grab in the morning and, surprisingly, were really filling.
We stopped doing that market a few years ago, but I do still make these energy balls from time to time to either just keep at home or to take with us on road trips. They’re also really good for a quick snack when dinner’s not quite ready yet.
We love making these as an easy breakfast when we’re running out the door. If you need more ideas because sometimes, that’s how the morning goes, our list of Grab-And-Go Breakfast Ideas is for you.
No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls Recipe
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Quick note: We are calling these energy balls because of the ingredients in them. However, don’t take that as medical advice. If you’re looking for that, please consult with your doctor.
No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls Ingredients:
You can get the full list of ingredients with measurements in the printable recipe card below.
- Walnuts – These add a nice crunch to the energy balls, plus walnuts are good for brain energy.
- Flaxseed – Flaxseed is one of the top superfoods for energy. You can substitute chia seeds, which are also on that same linked list.
- Quick oats – You can substitute rolled oats or old-fashioned oats, as long as you use some kind of oats for the base. They’re also another top superfood for energy.
- Mini chocolate chips – This adds a little bit of sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth, plus a nice bit of texture.
- Chunky peanut butter – Peanut butter is a binder, plus adds protein, and the nuts give these a little more texture. We don’t recommend a natural peanut butter or a sunflower seed butter because the oil content is different and can make these runny and not hold together well.
- Honey – Honey is a binder and a sweetener (and a better sweetener than raw sugar). You could substitute pure maple syrup, which also has a nice natural sweetness, instead.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla (or vanilla extract) adds an extra layer of flavor.
How To Make No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls:
Chop the walnuts finely into small pieces.
You want them to be about the same size as the mini chocolate chips so they incorporate well.
Add the chopped walnuts to a large bowl along with the flaxseed, oats, and chocolate chips.
Give the mixture a quick stir to incorporate everything together.
Quick note: We don’t add any protein powder to this, although I’ve seen some people do that to make these protein balls. For me, personally, protein powder makes everything taste dry. And I don’t count my protein either, so I don’t feel like I need to add it into everything. However, if you want to do that, go right ahead.
Add the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir until combined.
Refrigerate the entire bowl, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop a rounded spoonful of the mixture.
We use a size 50 cookie scoop when we make ours, but you can use whatever size scoop works best for you.
Put the scoop of the mixture in your palm and squeeze it to create more of a rounded shape.
Then, put the round ball on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
If you’re in a rush, you can just scoop and drop them on the parchment paper without shaping them. They won’t be as pretty, but they’ll still be delicious.
Keep going until you’re out of the oat mixture. If you use the same sized cookie scoop that we do, you should get about 60 energy balls. That’s a big batch, so if you don’t think you’ll eat them all, you can make a smaller batch.
Put them in the freezer to harden for at least ten minutes before enjoying.
No Bake Energy Balls: Frequently Asked Questions
We keep the energy balls in an airtight container in the freezer. They tend to fall apart a little at room temperature, so we prefer to keep them cold and take them out when we want an easy snack.
They’ll last between two and three months in the freezer.
These are made from really simple ingredients, so you probably have everything you need in your pantry, except the flaxseed. That’s something that not everyone has on hand at all times, but you should because there are so many benefits to flaxseed.
But if you don’t want to buy flaxseed just for these, you could use chia seeds (which we suggested above) or hemp seeds.
This is how we make them. But, the best part about these recipes is you can use them as a template.
The first time you make it, we suggest you follow our original recipe, just so you have the basics down. But next time you make it, make changes. Use different nuts or seeds, swap the peanut butter for a nut butter of your choice, add some flaky sea salt to bring out the flavors, make them more chocolatey by adding cocoa powder … whatever flavor combination sounds best to you.
More Recipes Using Oats:
If you bought a large canister of oats and you’re wondering what to do with them, we have a few other recipes you might like. We have a great recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes and one for Honey Vanilla Overnight Oats (which uses up chia seeds too, in case you bought those for this recipe).
We have a really popular recipe for Oat Flour Bread, which uses oat flour (obviously). You can easily make that by running some of the oats through a food processor.
No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls
You probably have all the ingredients in the pantry to make this No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls recipe, so it’s easy to whip up a batch.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup flaxseed
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Chop the walnuts finely into small pieces, then add them to a bowl along with flaxseed, oats, and chocolate chips. Give them a quick stir.
- Add the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop rounded spoonfuls of the mixture. Put them in your palms and squeeze them to create more of a rounded shape.
- Put them in the freezer at least ten minutes before enjoying.
Notes
Store these in the freezer.
Nutrition Information
Yield
60Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 57Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 0mgSodium 17mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 1g
What would you add to these no bake chocolate chip walnut energy balls? Let us know in the comments.
Karla goff
Tuesday 7th of January 2020
I made these today I had a little hard time getting everything to stick together. is there a trick . Also this didn't make anywhere near sixty treats. Thank you for any suggestions to make my next time easier.
drugstore diva lisa
Tuesday 7th of January 2020
If yours don't stick, you might want to add a little more honey and/or make sure you are using fresh honey. Old honey can crystalize and it's not as sticky. I would also make sure you don't skip the step of putting them in the freezer before eating them.
Mine always makes around 60 energy balls, so maybe your scoop is larger than mine? I can't be sure. How many did yours make?
Nicole | The Professional Mom Project
Sunday 3rd of December 2017
These look great! I'm always looking for healthy and easy snacks
Amy (Savory Moments)
Friday 1st of December 2017
These look delicious - quick, easy, and healthy, too!