Loaded with banana, chocolate, and nuts, these chunky monkey snack bites are a nutritious and delicious way to satisfy that sweet tooth, no matter what time it might hit.
Can you believe it’s been almost a month since I posted a recipe? These applesauce oatmeal muffins were the last things to come out of my kitchen… and that was way back at the end of February. Oops.
But let me explain! First, time is going by way too quickly — weren’t we just ringing in the new year? And now it’s almost time to celebrate Easter? Whaaaaaat?!? One good thing about this warp speediness is the fact that winter is moving along at the same speedy pace. Maybe it’s just me, but the cold didn’t feel like it was dragging quite so badly this year.
Second, I was without a kitchen! Maybe not for the entire 3 weeks, but between prepping for my trip, travelling, and feeling like a zombie recovering from jet lag, I didn’t really find a good moment to fit in any recipe making. But I’m back, baby! I want to get back into posting at least two recipes per week, so let’s kick things off with these little guys right here…
Chunky Monkey Snack Bites. Whether you like to call them balls, bites, or little pieces of heaven, one fact remains — these kind of snacks are all sorts of magical. Not only are they a breeze to whip up, but they’re a great way to satisfy that sweet tooth, even when it hits you at 9 AM… not that I speak from experience or anything 😯
Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure I should probably admit that, while I slapped the chunky monkey label on these guys, I honestly have no idea how chunky monkey they really are. My allergies prevent me from eating the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavour (which is apparently where the chunky monkey name comes from — and yes, I Googled it), so I’m kind of grasping at straws here. All I know is that these bites are chunky thanks to the nuts and chocolate, and monkey thanks to the banana.
They’re gluten-free, refined sugar-free, vegan, and probably a few other healthy labels that I can’t think of right now. You don’t need an oven to make them, but you do need a stove… and a freezer. A stove to heat up the nut butter, banana, and honey, and a freezer to help the bites set. Heating up the ingredients also makes the oats release some of their goopiness (adding to the cookie dough texture), and freezing the bites gives them the most addicting texture.
Oh, and I realize that there’s nothing green or Irish about this recipe, but Happy St. Patrick’s Day anyway!
I’d love to know if you make this (or any!) recipe! Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!
Print
Chunky Monkey Snack Bites
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 12 bites 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup almond butter (or other nut/seed butter)
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, etc.)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small pan over medium-high heat, add the almond butter, mashed banana, honey, and vanilla extract, stirring until smooth and fully combined. Bring the mixture to a boil before removing from heat. Stir in oats and chopped nuts, mixing well. Set aside and allow the mixture to cool before adding the chocolate chips.
- Drop dough onto your prepared baking sheet by the heaping tablespoonful, studding the tops with more chocolate chips and/or nuts if desired.
- Place baking pan into freezer and allow to cool for ~30 minutes until bites have set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
What are the nutrition facts for this recipe?
Kick the tires and light the fires, problem oficaiflly solved!
I accidentally made these snack bites too thick! I think I used too much banana when I doubled the recipe (they were just big). Is there a way I can thin them out a bit??
Made these yesterday for the office. Very easy and really good! Thank you for sharing
Hello Amanda
I am looking forward making these delicious morels. I am a vegan since 1975. About agave, it is a man made complex compound sugar. An agave plant takes years to develop sugar for consumption. Man uses GMO to speed up the process. It is not a favorite in my household. I love using local honey. And I do not like sugar. So, your recipe is refreshing to me because most granola recipes contain sugar. Also, have you ever tried making your own almond butter? Try it and you will not go back to store bought almond butter. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Hey Amanda,
What kind of nuts did you add in? (and what butter did you use)? Finally, did you use quick cooking or regular (20 minute cooking) oat? Thanks, 🙂
Hi Beth. I used almonds, Justin’s classic almond butter, and quick cooking oats 🙂
We made these today and they were delicious! But they were also a little too moist. Maybe our banana was bigger than most, or perhaps because we used rolled oats?
I’m loving the almond butter and honey. I wonder if pistachios would work.
I might have the mind of a 13 year old boy, but I honestly lean more toward “bite” with recipes like this…and I actually have one of my own that I’ll be putting on ze blog tomorrow! I can’t wait to share them…definitely one of my best “let’s throw random things in the food processor and see what happens” recipes! Lol
These look absolutely amazing!! *dribbles*
Just made these! They are in the freezer as I type! Tho I did sample the “dough” and it’s fabulous.. the oats DO get soft and thick yum… can’t even imagine the frozen version tastes better but I trust you 🙂
I was so excited about this because I don’t currently have access to my food processor (I’m in a temporary home between places…1 more month!!) so can’t make the typical ‘bites’!
I skipped the chopped nuts and used maple syrup instead of honey based on what I had around.. so excited for this weeks work treats!
So, do I keep them in the fridge… will they get too hard in the freezer over time?
It was definitely hard not to eat all the dough before it had a chance to freeze! I’m glad you liked it 😀 You can keep them in the fridge OR the freezer, depending on which texture you prefer. They don’t get too hard in the freezer thanks to the nut butter and oats, but they do firm up a little. A few minutes out will soften them up enough though.