Chocolate Coconut Nut-Free Energy Balls (no bake!)

Whether you’re allergic or just don’t have a taste for nuts, these nut-free energy balls are delicious. They satisfy that chocolate craving and give you a boost of energy to help you power through the day.

NOTE: The Bob’s Red Mill products in this recipe are manufactured in facility that also uses nut products. As always, if you have a severe allergy, read your labels and discuss cross-contamination comfort levels with your allergist. I personally (unfortunately) no longer serve Bob’s Red Mill products to my children.

It seems like every energy ball recipe I come across has some sort of nut butter included in the list of ingredients. Since that doesn’t work for us with N’s allergies, I set out to figure out an alternative. I’ve made these four times in the last month so I think we’ve found a winner.

I wanted these to not only be nut-free but also to be free of sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. My son is very allergic to sesame but right now he’s fine with sunflower seeds. However, I’m very cautious and if I can avoid them, I usually do.

Since his allergy is through ingestion and not inhalation/exposure, we sometimes will have stuff in the house that he cannot eat. It’s becoming more and more rare though, as it is NOT worth the risk. Plus it’s so heartbreaking to tell him that he can’t have something that the rest of us may be eating. Parties, potlucks, and events are hard enough when he’s eating a treat I brought him while the rest of the party eats the birthday cake decorated in fun kid-centric designs.

I’m over-the-moon about these nut-free energy balls not only for him but also for me and the rest of my family. We all love these. I often have an afternoon cup of coffee and I always crave a bite of chocolate with it. Usually I’ll grab a square of dark chocolate but lately I’ve been reaching for a couple of these. I feel like I’m eating chocolate truffles! However, they’re sweetened only with dates and a bit of honey so I can feel good about eating them (and they don’t contain heavy cream!).

PS: I tested these without the honey because they don’t necessarily need the sweetness, but they didn’t come together well enough to roll into balls. The honey acts as “glue” for these energy balls.

And then we can’t forget all the other good stuff going on in them. We don’t eat a lot of fish, so I try to get some omega-3 fatty acids in in other ways – such as flax! I used flaxseed meal from Rachel Cooks’ partner Bob’s Red Mill inside these energy bites and I also rolled them in flaxseed meal to keep them from becoming too sticky.

I also add Bob’s Red Mill Protein Powder And Fiber Nutritional Booster for an added boost. The variety I use is unflavored and unsweetened and made from pea protein powder, chicory root fiber, psyllium husk powder, chia seeds and beneficial probiotics. You could definitely use their chocolate variety if you wanted to amplify the chocolate flavor even more in these energy bites. Upping the chocolate power is never a bad idea!

Also hanging out in the food processor with the flaxseed meal and protein powder are oats, coconut, pitted dates, unsweetened cocoa powder and honey. Goooooood stuff. I roll mine in flaked coconut, cocoa powder, or flax. Since photographing them, I’ve been rolling them all in a mixture of flaxseed meal and cocoa powder. You get the benefits of the flaxseed meal plus a little extra punch of chocolate, but they’re less messy than the balls that are rolled only in cocoa powder.

I love the way the coconut looks but I’ll be honest, it was a bit of a beast to get it to stick to the energy balls. Shredded coconut would probably work a bit better if you want to go that route.

I store these in the fridge. It keeps the flaxseed meal from becoming rancid and I like the way they taste when they’re cold. Gosh, I’m not sure my fridge is ever going to be without these nut-free energy balls!

Used in this recipe:

• full-size food processor
• Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal
• Bob’s Red Mill Flaked Coconut
• Bob’s Red Mill Protein and Fiber Nutritional Boost
• Bob’s Red Mill Thick Rolled Oats
• honey
• unsweetened cocoa powder
• pitted dates

 

More healthy nut-free snacks:

 

• Chocolate energy balls (with mocha option)
• Cranberry oatmeal energy balls
• Apple cinnamon no bake energy bites
• Ginger cinnamon apple chips 
• Homemade Cheez-its
• Homemade fruit snacks
• Cereal protein bars by Chew Out Loud
• Chocolate chip oat bars by Real Mom Nutrition

Verdict: I’m addicted.
Husband’s take: Ben loves these, the kids love these, my parents loved these. Nut-free energy balls for the win!
Changes I would make: None at all but I can’t wait to experiment with new flavors.
Difficulty:So easy. The most time-consuming part is rolling them but it goes quickly.

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Bob’s Red Mill as a brand ambassador to bring you this post. They compensated me for my time but all opinions are, as always, my own. If you opened my cupboards and fridge, you’d find a wealth of Bob’s Red Mill products that I purchased myself. Thanks for supporting Rachel Cooks by reading about brands I use and love!