Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls

This has become my  "go-to" dessert for work. It is CHOCOLATE. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway. It is healthy too. Yes, chocolate and healthy. But I am not going to seduce you into thinking this No Bake Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls recipe is low fat too. Because it's not. Sorry.....

These gluten-free chocolate energy balls have a lot of almond butter and that contains a lot of fat. However, it is mostly good fat. The almond butter I use has 18 grams of fat, but only 1.5 of that is saturated. So, if you can deal with that, then these are the perfect little boosts of energy. You could even have them for a healthy morning snack.

🥘 Ingredients

For this no bake chocolate cherry oatmeal balls recipe, you'll need:

• almond butter
• agave syrup
• vanilla
• unsweetened coconut powder
• warm water
• oatmeal (quick oats)
• sweetened coconut
• chia seeds
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• dried cherries

However, chocolate in the AM is just too slippery a slope for me...

Fortunately, these chocolate cherry energy bites also make an excellent afternoon snack!  But the even more excellent thing about them is that they are NO BAKE.  And they are quick to prepare, catapulting them into the perfect summer chocolate dessert or snack category, especially for those of us without A/C (that's air conditioning to anyone that is not from Manitoba and eastwards). But they really are  a great healthy treat all year 'round!

These no bake oatmeal balls are made without peanut butter and satisfy the sweet tooth to the point that if I pack them for work,  I am finding that I don't even need to fret about whether I have emergency chocolate in my desk drawer. And I feel less guilty about eating chocolate , which is always a good thing. Maybe it's the chia? Chia just makes everything feel that much healthier.

🌡️Storing

You can store these chocolate energy bites in the fridge for up to 3 days. They freeze well for up to 3 months.

👪 Serving Size

This recipe makes about 16 chocolate energy balls. You can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving size in the recipe card and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient amounts will then adjust accordingly.

So, if you are looking for a healthy chocolate snack or dessert, you'll love these Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls!

Looking for other healthy no bake chocolate desserts? Give my Chocolate Cereal Clusters a try!

Or try my NO BAKE Healthy Homemade Energy Bars!

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📋 Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls Recipe

No bake and healthy, these chocolate cherry energy balls with oatmeal are taste like healthy black forest energy bites. They are the perfect guilt-free and healthy chocolate snack or dessert!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: North American

Keyword: cherry, chocolate, energy balls, energy bites

Servings: 16 bites

Calories: 156kcal

Author: Terri Gilson

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup almond butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoon agave syrup or substitute 3 tablespoon liquid honey
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1-2 tbsp warm water as needed
• ▢ 1 cup quick oats (gluten-free)
• ▢ ⅓ cup sweetened coconut
• ▢ ½ cup chia seeds
• ▢ 6 tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate chips (gluten-free)
• ▢ ½ cup dried cherries

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, mix almond butter, agave, vanilla and cocoa powder together. Add 1 tablespoon of warm water.
• Add oats, coconut, chia and chocolate chips and stir until evenly coated. Add dried cherries. At this point, if mixture still doesn't stick together,  add water as needed. Transfer mixture to refrigerator to chill until nearly set and easier to handle.
• Lay parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Remove mixture from refrigerator and shape into 1- 1 ½ -inch balls and space apart on cookie sheet. ** I find it helpful to wet my hands when I am forming the mixture into balls. 
• Freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight. 
• Then transfer to freezer bag to store ( I store in freezer for up to 2 months). Thaw when ready to eat (you can pop them in the microwave for 10- 15 seconds) OR  throw them in a lunch bag in the morning and they'll be ready to eat by lunch time!

Notes

🌡️Storing

You can store these chocolate energy bites in the fridge for up to 3 days. They freeze well for up to 3 months.

👪 Serving Size

This recipe makes about 16 chocolate energy balls. You can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving size in the recipe card and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient amounts will then adjust accordingly

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Nutrition Facts

📋 Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 156 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 8mg0%

Potassium 151mg4%

Carbohydrates 16g5%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 135IU3%

Vitamin C 0.1mg0%

Calcium 71mg7%

Iron 1.5mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal (8%) | Carbohydrates: 16g (5%) | Protein: 4g (8%) | Fat: 9g (14%) | Saturated Fat: 2g (13%) | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 151mg (4%) | Fiber: 4g (17%) | Sugar: 6g (7%) | Vitamin A: 135IU (3%) | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 71mg (7%) | Iron: 1.5mg (8%)

🍰More Healthy No Bake Desserts!

• No Bake Healthy Rocky Road Bars
• Microwave Chocolate Banana Mug Cake
• Healthy Apple Crisp in a Mug
• Raspberry Frozen Yogurt Bark