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!
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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
Thanks to some snowy roads, I’m working from home today… and I MIGHT have to take a quick break to whip up a batch of these 😉 They look amazing, Amanda!
You already know what’s going down in my kitchen this week! 😉
Ive got a few monkeys with me currently who I know would just love these little bites 🙂 I made a batch of my own Power Balls on Friday night and they are almost gone already. Those two munchkins love to eat!!
YUM! I love how simple these are, and I’m loving that list of ingredients! I would love to have these on hand for easy and delicious pre/post workout snacks.
Time is actually going by pretty quick this year! I can’t believe I’m graduating in 3 months!
These BITES look delicious 😉 A perfect healthy treat!
Ahh these look so good! I made my first batch of balls/bites a couple weeks ago and now I want them all the time!
Never mind if I said the same last year already but I swear the months are flying by even faster this one. New Year’s Eve was just yesterday and now it’s, what, mid-march???!
Two recipes per week? If only I managed one on the regular again. Oh, and as I’m not so much into the whole ball/bite thing: definitely pieces of heaven. Almond butter-banana-honey-oat heaven – mmh. Actually, I’ve had the chunky monkey flavour idea on my mind for a while, too, thinking somewhere along the lines of brownies with banana chips. Now that you reminded me I feel I -have- to follow up these thoughts with some actions. Or delay them and try yours first …
I’ve been slacking big time when it comes to getting back in the kitchen, but it’s not so bad once you actually get yourself in there… especially when you know something tasty is waiting at the end of it all 😀
All of the mentions of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream I keep coming across these days must mean it’s time for me to either pick up a pint of their new flavor varieties (with the fudge and peanut butter down the center) or visit the local Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop near me. I must admit I never liked chunky monkey since I don’t like actual nuts – just nut butter.
Those look great! I wanna make them this week
First of all, love the name! Second, love the ingredients. Third, these sound amazing. You are rocking it today 🙂
Time is definitely passing by at an extreeeemely fast pace. I can’t say I’m mad about it, though, because spring is RIGHT around the corner(!!!) which means warm weather!
Monkey balls in and around my mouth. 😉 These look amaze-balls! Okay, I’m done. lol
That recipe looks so yummy! I am going to have to give it a try this weekend!
OMG I just pinned the crap out of your photos on this post, haha. Anything “Chunky Monkey” and I’m all in. If I had these laying around my apartment right now… let’s just say they’d be gone without the hour. It’s one of those weeks — I can feel it already. Gotta make these soon!
Xo
Jordan
Oh girl I feel ya. I was up WAY too early today, making me want to eat ALL the foods…
You know I love all things chunky monkey 😉 These BALLS (my new favorite food word, lol!) are definitely my style!
These truly do look like little bites of heaven. Why does chocolate always do that to me? lolz! Using nut butters & bananas are always happening at my house to create healthier options – really who needs granola bars when you have recipes like this one!
They’d be Chunky Tiffany Snack Bites if I made them. I could see me inhaling the entire batch! ha Yum stuff!
Yum! I’ve made similar balls/bites, so these are right up my alley.
And since I have the maturity of a 14-year old boy, they’ll forever be called snack balls to me (although I think must of my blog recipes are titled “bites.”).
You know what this recipe strangely makes me want? Banana bread. Probably because that’s my favorite (and only) way to eat bananas. And looky here, you have a recipe for that too! Problem is that every time I go to make bread, I realize that I don’t have anything to put it in, so I make muffins instead. I need to invest in a bread…what’s it called? Box? dish?
I do believe it’s called a bread/loaf pan 😛
I have all the ingredients in my kitchen already, and it is gloomy outside, so Joseph and I just might be Chunky Monkey-ing it up today!
I saw them on your IG and they looked fantastic! I hope you liked them 😀
I am a huge fan of these kinds of snacks – simple, easy to make, and tasty! Will definitely be making these soon…aka tonight. 🙂
LOVE these! I would totally make these on the weekend and bring them with me for a snack all week long. They’d be perfect as that mid-afternoon pick-me-up!
I always say bites. Somehow it sounds less offensive that way! 😉
TIME IS PASSING SO QUICKLY. How is it the middle of March, heck, past the middle of March? These would be such a good before-bed treat… I’m going to have to try ASAP!
Okay can we just call these I want to make them now!! These sound so good! I keep saying I need to make energy bites with my weekend food prep but I haven’t done it in awhile.
these look super cute and delicious, well duh.
This is the second recipe I’ve seen today using the banana/chocolate combo…I think the universe is trying to tell me something 😉 these look awesome! I’ve never tried chunky monkey ice cream either, which seems a bit ridiculous considering how much I love chocolate, banana, nuts (TWSS!) and ice cream…might have to keep an eye out for that.
And this year is going by so fast, it’s ridiculous. But somehow winter still seems to be dragging on…
I’ve heard that Phish Food is another good one by B&J’s. And we’re having pretty nice weather over here… Just saying 😉
They look yummy!
Banana, chocolate, and nuts…you can’t go wrong with that combo! Yum!
And yes, seriously, time is going by WAY too quickly! Just wait ’til you have a kid…it goes even faster! 😉
Yum! It’s another snow day here today…which means blogging and baking when my little one naps!
The thing that makes your recipes so appealing: it brings together real, basic ingredients that I love..and just be reading your intro I can conjure the heavenly mix of textures and taste in these bites.
I’m whipping up another batch of your muffins today (I may be kinda obsessed) so these will be next on the list 🙂 .
Gosh yeah, this year is running away.
Time is going by way too quickly – it is scary! Last year winter went on forever but now we have sun already 🙂
These bites look simple and delicious and the title makes me want to say it in a thick northern accent (UK northern…Yooorkshire) 😉
Chunky monkey- love it!! These look so good!
Love this nom nom nom nom nom. I also love that you had to google where Chunky Monkey comes from. This is so simple and I can definitely see me popping a few before bedtime :p Happy St. Patrick’s Day, too! I forgive you for making a brown recipe instead of a green one.
OH yes, these look fantastic!!! Great snack for my road trip this week! And I don’t know where you are… but winter has been moving at a snails pace this year!
I’m in the Canadian prairies, which are basically the coldest part of Canada 😆 I guess it’s just been passing by quicker because I’ve been keeping busy with snowboarding and travelling.
YUM! this is an awesome flavor combo!! and yes time is passing SO quickly!! baby itz may be here in SIX weeks!!
I’m sorry, but it is NOT almost Easter. Girl’s got to last until then with no gum – that’s 34 more days. 😉 Buuuuut, I suppose since those look so darn delicious I will forgive you. 🙂
“Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month” -seriously so NOT happening! No way! With A/B, chocolate and banana I don’t see these bites lasting through day 2 in our house! These bites sound FANTASTIC! And the no bake factor just ads up to the quick eating factor – those 30 minutes for cooling are going to be the slowest 30 minutes ever!
You sure are right – this year is whizzing by! Funny how I never felt that when I was younger…
Looks like we are on very similar wave lengths today lady–the chocolate and banana combo will never get old. These look so good and you know I love my bites/balls/snacks!
Just a note that if you use honey and real chocolate chips, these aren’t technically vegan. But they still look really good 😉
Very true. Honey is one of those things that I’m still on the fence about, but I did use dairy free chocolate chips 😀 And the honey could always be replaced with agave nectar.
These are PERFECT little monkey bites!! I love the banana/chocolate/almond butter combo. Seriously can’t beat it!
And yes, time is SURELY flying! I can’t believe it’s almost Spring! (Finally).
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!
I have to brag 🙂 I FINALLLY got parchment paper this weekend.