These apple energy balls are a great healthy snack or dessert. They are quick and easy to make and require fairly simple ingredients.

I don’t know about you, but for me to get from breakfast to lunch, I need snacks. No, I don’t want snacks (although that’s also true) but, I need snacks. My stomach will actually rumble to let me know it’s snack time!

Normally I eat quite healthy snacks, like an apple or a carrot – but let’s be honest, these are terribly unexciting. 

I decided that I needed something a little bit more interesting and tasty, but healthy at the same time. 

Hence, the apple energy ball was born!

When I was researching recipes for something along those lines, they all seemed to contain dried apple, which I don’t have. I wanted to something with fresh apple, which means I was going to have to come up with something by myself!

I’m not going to lie, these were my first attempt at energy balls, so I just threw random stuff in the blender and crossed my fingers. Surprisingly they actually came out really well, and lucky for you, I measured what I put in!

I think I’ve found a new love…these delicious energy balls are so quick and tasty, and you don’t even need to bake them.

Whether you want a healthier snack (or even dessert) alternative, or you’re looking for something a little more interesting like me…this recipe is for you.

How to Make Them

Preparation

I started off by coring and chopping a medium-sized apple (shocker!). I left the peel on for extra nutrients (and maybe also a bit of laziness), but you can peel the apple if you’re so inclined.

Next, I soaked the two pitted Medjool dates in boiling water. If you want it sweeter, feel free to add more than two. These need to soak for about 5-10 minutes until they’re soft and plump.

Processing

Time to get food processing…(is that even a word?)

All food processors are of different shape and strength (but all equally important) and so processing times may differ. For this reason, I’m just giving you descriptions of how your mixture should look rather than time.

You could probably also put everything in the food processor in one go, but my food processor is tiny (again, don’t judge) so I did it in the following batches. 

Place the chopped apple in the food processor and give it a short whizz, until the apple is in little bits, almost like it’s been grated. Add the almonds and process until the almonds are in little pieces.

Next, add the desiccated coconut, nut butter, cinnamon, and salt, and pulverize until that’s all mixed in.

By now your dates should be lovely, plump, and mushy. Pop them in the food processor and give it another whizz until well combined.

Lastly, add the chia seeds and oatmeal and process, just until those two ingredients are mixed in.

Shaping & Coating

The mixture will be quite soft but you should be able to form balls using your hands. If not, add some more oatmeal.

Once you’ve got your ‘ball-formable’ mixture, shape about 10 balls, each consisting of about a tablespoon of mixture.

To form the balls, simply take a tablespoon’s worth of mixture and roll it between your palms.

To give the apple energy balls a little pizzazz you can roll them in a bowl of desiccated coconut (or even cocoa powder) to coat them.

Storing the Energy Balls

I really wanted to know which way of storing these was best…so I tried three different places!

After dividing the energy balls into three different airtight containers I put one in the fridge, one in the freezer, and kept one at room temperature.

Here’s how it turned out:

Room Temperature: They stored fine. After a while, though, the coconut coating got a bit mushy, and the energy balls were also a bit soft.

Fridge: This firmed up the balls the slightest bit and the coconut didn’t get all mushy. The energy balls remained delicious!

Freezer: The energy balls got quite hard (obviously!). The feeling of biting into one kind of reminded me of chocolate. They stayed super tasty and the coconut remained great.

After my scientific research, I can conclude that my apple energy balls are best stored in the fridge or freezer. If you know you’re going to keep them for a long time or you made a big batch I would go for the freezer. A freezer is also a good option for a harder energy ball, which I must say I actually really enjoyed.

Otherwise, for a shorter lifespan, and a softer energy ball, keep them in the fridge.

Print Recipe

Apple Energy Balls

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Snack or Dessert

Serves: 10 energy balls

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes

A quick and easy snack or dessert that doesn't need a minute in the oven. If you're looking for a tasty, healthy snack/dessert...these apple energy balls are perfect for you.

Ingredients

• 1 medium apple, cored and chopped
• ¼ cup almonds
• 2 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1T desiccated coconut (plus extra for coating, optional)
• 1T nut butter (I used macadamia)
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1T chia seeds
• ⅓ cup rolled oats

Instructions

1

Pour boiling water over the Medjool dates, and leave them for 10 minutes.

2

Add the chopped apple to the food processor, processing until the apple is chopped into little bits. It will look a bit like it has been grated.

3

Add the almonds and process just until the almonds are in small chunks.

4

To the food processor, add the desiccated coconut, nut butter, cinnamon, and salt and process until well-combined.

5

Once the dates have finished soaking and are quite mushy, drain them. Add the dates to the food processor and process until mixed in well.

6

Add the chia seeds and the oats and process. The mixture will be quite wet, but firm enough to form balls. If it’s still too wet to form balls, add more oats and process.

7

Form balls by rolling tablespoon-sized chunks of the mixture into balls with your palms. It should make about 10 energy balls.

8

Optionally, you can roll the balls in a bowl filled with desiccated coconut after shaping to give them a coconut coating.

Notes

These energy balls store best in an airtight container in the fridge, or in the freezer (for firmer, longer-lasting energy balls).