10 minutes and 5 ingredients are all you need to whip up these healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Energy Bites! They’re nut-free, gluten-free, vegan, and taste like soft and doughy poppable bites of banana bread!
This recipe is for my fellow impatient banana bread lovers.
The ones who can’t understand how something that takes an hour plus to come together can be called a “quick” bread; the ones who need their craving for a soft and tender bite of doughy banana goodness satisfied yesterday.
This recipe is also for anyone who happens to be looking for a healthy snack option that comes together in 5 minutes, requires only 5 ingredients, is allergy-friendly, and tastes like a little poppable bite of banana bread.
No-bake/protein/energy bites and/or balls may be one of my favourite things to snack on. Why? Simple.
First, they are simple. A handful of pantry staples, a food processor, a few minutes of hands-on time that bring back fond childhood memories of playing with Play-Doh, and voila! You’ve got yourself a delicious grab-and-go snack that’s guaranteed to tide you over until your next meal.
Second, they’re naturally delicious. Whole food ingredients, no refined sugars, and a balance of carbs, proteins, and fats means all the satisfaction without any of the energy highs and lows.
And finally, they just straight up taste good.
The only thing that can be bothersome in some cases is the fact that most energy bites are made with some kind of a nut base… which isn’t normally a problem since nuts are a great source of plant-based protein and healthy fats, but they’re not so great if you’re allergic to them.
You know all those snowboarding trips I go on? I almost always bring some kind of snacks to share, and energy bites are my go-to since people love them and they make a great high energy snack that doesn’t take up a lot of room. My last trip threw me a little curveball, though…
See, I’m usually the most allergy-ridden of the bunch (womp, womp) so the only thing I really need to avoid is peanuts, but this time we had someone coming along who was allergic to all nuts and gluten… And because I didn’t want anyone to feel left out since I totally know how much that sucks from having to live with my own food allergies, I decided to come up with an energy bite recipe that was totally allergy friendly. No nuts. No gluten. No dairy. No soy. No corn. None of the most common food allergens.
These banana bread energy bites are loosely based on my carrot cake energy bites, and like those, these are lighter and fluffier than most other energy bites thanks to their lack of nuts. They’re soft, doughy and quieten those banana bread cravings in under 10 minutes. And if you need more protein (or if you’re allergic to coconut or don’t have any flour on hand), you can swap the coconut flour for your favourite protein powder and call it a day. Just make sure your bananas are super spotty — that’s when they’re the sweetest and moistest (sorry).
Happy eating!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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No-Bake Banana Bread Energy Bites
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 10 bites 1x
Ingredients
- 1 medium-size ripe banana (100 g)
- 4 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup (28 g)coconut flour*
- 1/2 cup (40 g) rolled oats
- 2 Tbsp (20 g) dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Into the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender, add dates and banana, processing until dates have broken down and mixture is smooth.
- Add coconut flour and oats, continuing to process until ingredients are well combined and the mixture sticks together easily. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
- Using a heaping tablespoon, roll dough between your hands to form balls. Set aside on a plate and repeat with remaining dough. Store balls in an airtight container in the fridge for best results, or freeze for longer periods of time.
Notes
* You can easily sub the coconut flour for your favourite protein powder to add more protein, or use 2 Tbsp. of each. ** Make sure to use certified gluten free oats if you need these to be gluten free.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Learn more about living gluten free by visiting Udi’s Community Page or following them on Facebook!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Udi’s Gluten Free. The opinions and text are all mine.
I made these last night after finding your recipie.
While tasty they never hardended up and ended up mushy. I followed the recipie but they weren’t able to be rolled into balls. Is this common?
This looks amazing!!! Will certainly be trying this out this week! Thank you for sharing.
I hope you like them, Nikita!
You’re killin’ me today Amanda, this looks incredible and I love the flavors!! My Hubby would love this! Pinning now! Thanks for sharing!!
These were so easy to make and delicious. Everyone devoured it. You should add a “Time To Consume: 5 Minutes”!!
Wow. Second time I’ve made them in two weeks!! Made a triple batch for J’s baseball team tonite. They were gone in literally seconds. Seconds. Home run!! LOL TY again
Aww I’m glad you guys like them, Shannyn! Thanks so much for letting me know 😀
I dont have medjool dates but i do have smaller ones. Would i still need to use four?
I would probably use around 7 or 8 since I fin those tend to be half the size. And it might help to soak them in water for a little while before so that they’re easier to process.
What is medjool dates?
They’re just a certain variety of date, Heidi. Just like apples have different varieties (gala, ambrosia, honey crisp, etc.), dates do too. You can use any kind of date in this recipe, but Medjool are my favourite.
I made these tonite! I could not find coconut flour anywhere so I subbed in ground almonds – it workred and they were SUPER YUMMY! J already ate most of them, more tomorrow!
Energy bites like these are my favourite thing to devour when I need a sweet but healthy snack. You definitely can consider I will be making this recipe!
Oh my. These look and sound delicious. The pictures came out beautiful too!
I threw out my bag of coconut flour a long time ago because I had no idea what to do with it after a few pancake fails. I might have to make these with my Vega mocha protein power. Banana mocha bite? #icanteven
I meant ‘banana mocha biteS’
#ihatetypos
Yeah I’m definitely having myself some of these! Yum Yum!
AMANDAAAA THIS recipe is so awesome! I discovered something recently…while I’m not allergic to peanut butter, I DEFINITELY have some kind of intolerance to it (swollen airways, rashy hands, bloaty, gas, fatigue, THE WORKS!) which is so sad….but almond butter will always be there. I thought of you…and will be all over your peanut free recipes as I stay away from them for a while.
Not even kidding you, when Niki and I made a batch of no bake bites the other day, she was like, these are sweet play dough.
You and her are both..the T word.
YUM- you can never have to o many energy balls..these look great! I’ve been meaning to make a bath as my sister is currently breast-feeding so her appetite is through the roof…rather than snack on junk, I thought energy balls would be a better option for her. I tend to eat a lot of gluten-free meals without planning- my favourite foods seem to be naturally gluten-free including the breakfast I’m about to dig into: Grilled sweet potato with an omelet & sautéed mushrooms :)!
My go-to gluten free dish is rice and beans. 90 second in the microwave and dinner is served!
Five ingredients. I can totally handle that, and I just so happen to have some spotty bananas on hand, and you know I’ve always got dates. I’ll be giving these a whirl for sure. Get it, whirl…sorry food processor joke. 🙂
HAHA NICE!
LOVE how simple this recipe is…You ROCK woman! Hope you’re having a beautiful week!
I might have to get on making these this week! I have coconut flour AND mocha protein powder, I’m pretty sure that would be an epic combo 🙂
Ooh I love banana bread and these look lovely! I can’t wait to be back in a kitchen with a food processor so I can make ’em! 🙂
How do you get your balls so round? (LOL) My balls always come out looking for like eggs and other awkward shapes. (I’m laughing so hard) But seriously! And I think the reason I like making pie crust is using my hands to mold it. It brings me back to my youth!
I keep meaning to get into making these quick energy bites since they are super easy, but then I never get around to it. Or I just bake my dates instead and eat them like delicious candy. Thanks for sharing and the pictures are gorgeous!
YUMMMM I love all things banana bread (never make it cuz I’m lazy and like you said it’s definitely not really a “quick bread”). Must make these.
I have a BUNCH of dying bananas on the counter that are practically begging to be made into these energy bites! I’m not too big of a banana fan (gasp! blasphemy, I know), and I usually only find myself eating them in the form of sugary bread. Love that these are good for you and so fast!
Yum! Balls with bananas sound delicious.
Those look really good. I use my mom’s recipe for banana bread, and she made those into muffins years ago, so I have both instructions for a bread or muffins. The muffins take 17-20 minutes to bake, depending on the oven, so much faster.
Nom The best chocolate chip banana bread recipe that I’ve ever had was the actually Gluten Free! I had them last year when Alex and I went to the Token Creek Eco Inn. You have to try them http://suzlyfe.com/race-gluten-free-banana-chocolate-muffin-recipe-token-creek-favorite/
Simple, but perfect. It’s all about the flour.
I’m inpatient and I love banana bread! Therefore these look delicious. You sure know how to work a banana girl.
Such cute little things. I have a feeling that I’m supposed to have a smart answer for your question but I’m not exactly the…..errrr….most nutritionally sound person on the planet so I’d have to say my go-to gluten free dish would be coffee and a chocolate bar. Hehehe.
Mmmm, these look tasty! I bet Ethan would really love them. He loves my DIY Larabars, and he’s also big on bananas.
My go-to snack is my Banana-Maple-Oat Muffins made with oats and Greek yogurt and bananas! I thought these looked like such a yummy ball version, and I love play-doh playtime, but I need to get my hands of a food processor first…
I love portable snacks! These look so good!
This looks like a great way to use up over ripe bananas. Personally, I’m not into bananas but my other half loves to buy them, forget to eat them, and then refuse to eat them when they’re too ripe. I’ll definitely use this recipe next time that happens (which will in all likelihood be soon).
These look so easy and good I might just make them today! I’ve been needing some better afternoon snacks for me and the kids 🙂