These amazing, simple protein balls are super easy to make – all you need is 5 ingredients, 5 minutes and a food processor! They are vegan, full of protein and other super nutritious ingredients. The best thing about these energy bites is that they can be stored in the fridge for up to 10 days with no problems!
These cashew-dates energy bites are an absolute lifesaver sometimes. I always make two batches and eat them all week long, it saves me from eating chocolates or other bad sweets when I am craving something sweet. They taste so much better as well! Can’t describe how soft and crunchy they are at the same time. They not only help with sugar cravings but also give you energy and a very good dose of protein. Perfect as a pre-workout snack (or any-time snack)!
To make them you need your favourite nuts, you can use almonds, cashews or for example walnuts. You also need some good quality dates. The best dates to use are Medjool Dates as they are large and plump and have a very soft texture that helps the whole mixture stick together. Dry, regular dates might not work well and your mixture might be falling apart. The key word to look for is “fresh” even if they are not medjool. I buy regular, fresh Iranian dates in a box from my local Asian fruit and vegetables shop. If you are in London, I am sure you have one close to you as well.
If you are looking to include more protein in your diet, it is very likely that you are already using some sort of protein powder. If you aren’t, get one! But be careful as most protein powders (especially whey) are full of artificial flavours, animal ingredients, GMO products and other things that you probably won’t be able to pronounce. Steer clear from all those types of protein powder. I always use hemp protein powder – 50 % protein and 100 % vegan. Why use animal protein when there are plant-based options? You will see only one ingredient on the package and that’s hemp, absolutely natural and very nutritious. I add it to my everyday smoothie and of course these delicious energy balls.
Once you get into the habit of making these energy bites on a regular basis, you will always have something healthy to snack and you can add all sorts of other ingredients of your choice! I add chia seeds and cacao powder to make them the perfect healthy energy balls!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup cashews (or other nuts)
- 1 cup pitted medjool dates
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tbsp hemp protein powder (or other powder)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional but highly recommended)
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients in a food processor (nuts first) and blend until you get a smooth mixture.
- Roll into little balls and store in the fridge
Notes
I suggest you double the recipe as they can be stored in the fridge for a long time!
I love making protein balls but never have tried using hemp seeds before. I definitely need to try this recipe out and get my hands on some!
Hemp seeds or hemp powder would both work, good protein! Hope you like them Thalia :)
I have a packet of hemp protein powder that I have been meaning to use! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Rachel, it will definitely be put to good use! :)
What brand of cocao powder do you prefer.
Hi Raelene, if you follow the link in the ingredients list on the cacao, this is the one that I use (Sevenhills), not sure if it’s available where you live. The important thing is to use raw and unsweetened cacao, regardless of the brand. Hope this helps! :)
could use other dates in this recipe? Honey, for instance,
Hi Ash, you don’t need to use medjool dates, you just need to find really fresh ones. If your dates are too dry, the mixture might not stick very well and fall apart. If that happens you can try and add honey or dates syrup to add some “stickiness” to it. Hopefully this answers your question :)
Hi Monika
I just made the protein balls as per recipe instructions i used almonds and cashews and dark choc hemp protein powder.They are really nice to eat if you want a snack and want to eat healthy.I used chia seeds and i would make more next time as i am gluten free and this feels you up in between meals.
Hi Kam, thank you, I am so glad to hear this! These protein balls are a life saver when you need something sweet to give you some energy, without any bad stuff!
Do you have a food processor recommendation?
Hi Kelly, I don’t really have one to be honest. I don’t use a very expensive blender (I keep meaning to invest in a good one) and I have no problems making the protein balls. I am sure they will be fine even if you are not using the best blender. :)
This is so interesting! I haven’t tried any of these. I wonder though, if my niece will love these, considering they are veggies. Thanks for this exciting tip and recipe!
Out of curiosity, which part of this recipe do you consider a veggie?
I’m pretty sure they meant vegetarian ;)
I made these today with Banana protein powder added and I must say they are amazing! Thanks for the recipe 😋
Lovely! I am glad you liked them, thanks for leaving a comment! :)
I don’t have a food processor will it work in a blender?
Hi Ian, hard to say, it probably depends on the blender you have, but I know it won’t work with my blender. Normally with blenders the mixture has to be more liquid. If you do decide to try it I suggest you chop the nuts first with a knife and then if the blender doesn’t work you can try and mash the mixture somehow. Hope that helps! Thanks
Made these for my morning at office snack. But both my mostly grown sons were enjoying sampling. So I may be making another batch mid week. Really like the lower saturated fat option. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Lisa, thanks for your kind comment, I am so glad you liked the recipe! Hope you get to make it again soon! :)
Love these, have made several batches now, and passed this recipe along to everyone I know ;)
Just wondering what the calorie content would be roughly.
I modified the recipe using almonds instead of cashews, and choco vegan protein powder.
Thank you for the great recipe…Even better frozen!!
Hi Sheila! Thank you so much for your kind comment and for spreading the word on my recipe. Never tried them frozen actually, that’s’a great idea! The recipe is very versatile so you can mix and match different nuts. I am not quite sure about the calories though, I am not a big fan of including the calorie content as sometimes the number can be deceiving. You can try Recipe Calorie counter, hopefully it works. :)
Any substitutes for dates? I am T2 diabetic.
Hi Rita, the main ingredient of the recipe is the dates as they create the sticky mixture. I am really reluctant to give any other recommendations before trying it and to be honest I am struggling to think of any substitutions. Dates are very sweet so I can understand why you might want to avoid them. Are you able consume sweet potatoes in small quantities by any chance? I think a sweet potato puree might work with the other ingredients, but I haven’t tried it so I am no sure how it would work. Let me know if you do find an alternative, good luck! :)
I made these yesterday with Vega vanilla protein powder (didn’t have hemp seed powder) and they were so delicious! It was my first time making any kind of energy ball and I was worried it would be a mess but it was surprisingly unfussy! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe–I’ll definitely be making them again :)
Hi Diane, I am so glad to read that you liked them! Yes,they are surprisingly easy to make. :) Thanks for your comment!
HI, You are very sweet and so helpful . I have a question hope you can help me in this… I have made date ball in my small cafeteria. the customers like the product but i have problem with these balls. my date balls are cove with nuts BUT the nuts are falling apart and they don’t stick nicely on the balls. would you advise what can be used or done to solve this problem? the balls tests so good but the they are kind of messy with all the falling apart nuts. Thanks
Hi Aris, thank you so much for the kind words. From what I understand you are saying that you have made the balls and then you are trying to cover them in nuts? I would suggest slightly greasing each ball with melted coconut oil with your hands and then dip the balls in the nuts. The oil will help them stick. It would also help if the nuts are very finely chopped. Hope this helps, let me know how it goes! :)
Thank you dear Monika, Yea that’s right. I make the balls and then try to cover them in nuts. I’m new in the U.S. this is my 3rd year so my English language is not perfect to explain what i want tot say clearly. :D
I tried sesame oil but didn’t work, however I haven’t tried coconut oil yet, I will try it next time, also i may try date syrup, what do you think? otherwise i will use a glue and get out of this :D .
Your English is great Aris! I hope the coconut oil works, but to be honest most times when I try to cover them in nuts I have no problems even without using oil. I wonder if maybe the dates you are using are not sticky enough? Hope you get it to work without using glue :)
Hi Monika,
Just made these lovely energi bites with my daughter and they are delicious! I am curretnly counting calories so iwonder if you have an idea of how many calories these bites containes? aprox…
Hi Maria, I am so glad you liked them, I hope you daughter did as well! It’s hard to say how much calories as I tend not to calculate calories for my meals for different reasons, but I think if you use Calorie Counter you might be able to get the calories based on the ingredients. Hope this helps, thanks for your comment! :)
I’d like to try these. I just picked up most of these ingredients from the bulk store because I want to start eating healthier, but I didn’t grab any walnuts and I have no other nuts at home. Is there anything I could use instead of nuts? maybe oats or quinoa ? :S
Hi Katie, congratulations on trying to eat healthier! :) You can use any nuts normally, but to be honest I haven’t tried them without nuts. I think it my ruin them a bit, as they will lose their crunch and all of the protein and nutritional goodness that comes from the nuts. If you do try it, let me know how it goes. :)
I was looking to try this recipe – trying to stay away from added sugars in my diet. If I wanted to remove the cacao powder, but use protein powder – would that work?
Hi Vince, you can replace it with protein powder. However if you buy raw cacao powder, it has no added sugar. Only about 1 g of natural sugars per 100g. It is also quite nutritious. Don’t think they would taste as good if you skip it, but I don’t think it would be a problem in terms of consistency. Good luck!:)
Wow, these are amazing! I had all the ingredients already, but since I was short on dates I supplemented with a little maple syrup (I meant to add coconut nectar but grabbed the wrong bottle!) to help hold them together – and it worked. I have hemp protein I bought because I had read it was super healthy, but rarely use because I don’t love the taste. I made one batch of these because I wasn’t sure how tasty they would be, but next time I’m definitely making a double batch! I melted the coconut oil, and also added a tsp of vega vanilla protein powder. Yum!
Hi Jenny, thank you! I am so glad you liked them, they are so versatile, the ingredients can always be adjusted like you did. :)
THESE ARE SUPER YUMMY AND NOW IN HIGH DEMAND WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY! I USED FLAX INSTEAD OF HEMP JUST AS A PREFERENCE, AND I ADDED A LITTLE EXTRA CASHEW BUTTER JUST BECAUSE I LIKE IT SO MUCH. I LOVE RECIPES WHERE YOU ADJUST FOR YOUR OWN TASTE BUDS.
THANKS FOR SHARING!
Hi Dei, I am so glad you and your friends like them! Yes the recipe is very flexible and you can add other ingredients as well. Thanks for your comment :)
So do I! See my version below!
Hi guys! I did use Medjool dates, around 10 opened and de-seeded of course, put them in food processor with about a handful of choc. chips, along with about a 1/4 of cocoa powder as well as about 1/2 cp of creamy peanut butter and 1 cp of quickoats. Pulse that for about 2 mins to thoroughly crush it all then add in about 1/3 cp of honey and mix well for about 30 secs. then pull all of it out into a plate, start balling and you will end up with about 20 or so depending on how large you want the balls! DELISH! REFRIGERATE FOR ABOUT 2 WKS! OR YOU CAN FREEZE THEM. ENJOY! They are not too sweet as you want them and super snacks!
Note: I did NOT use any nuts, just the creamy p-nut butter. Any brand does fine.
Good idea, protein balls can have so many variations :)
what is the nutritional breakdown please
I added protein powder and used Almond butter, had to play around to get it to the right consistency. Then I rolled them in wheat germ. Nice snack when your craving a sweet.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for your comment. Yes, they really help with sugar cravings. :)