No-Bake Oat Chocolate-Chip Energy Balls — A Sports Dietitian’s Favorite Travel Snack for Athletes
Whether you’re heading to practice, driving to an away game, or just need something reliable in between practice these no-bake energy balls are one snack I recommend often to my athlete clients. They’re made with just six whole-food ingredients (no unknown ingredients or powders) – ready in 10 minutes and don’t require refrigeration or a cool box. The best part? They taste like chocolate chip cookie dough. Just real food that travels well and fills up your energy tanks.
What Are Energy Balls?
Energy balls are nutrient-dense, bite-sized snacks made by mixing together wholesome ingredients like oats, nut butter, honey, dried fruit, and nuts, then rolling the mixture into small balls for easy, on-the-go snacking. No baking, no cooking – just mix, roll, and go.
Sports Dietitian’s Take: Why These Are The Perfect Travel Snack For Athletes
As a board-certified sports dietitian, one of the most common questions I get from athletes is: what are travel friendly healthy pre or post workout snacks?
Here’s why they’re the perfect take-anywhere snack for athletes:
- Portable: Energy balls don’t require refrigeration or a cooler. Pack them in a zip-lock baggies or container with a lid and they hold up well in your gym bag, locker or suitcase for a few days.
- Batch-Friendly and Make-Ahead: Make a batch once and you’re stocked for the whole week or weekend of tournaments.
- No weird ingredients: These are made from real, recognizable whole foods — no powders or ingredients that requires a nutrition degree to decode.
- Nutrient-Dense: Athletes burn through significant calories every day and need quality fuel to replenish what they’ve lost. Here’s what each ingredient contributes:
- Oats: Oats are a whole grain – rich in dietary fiber to aid in keeping you feeling full for longer and provides a few grams of plant based protein too. Athletes need plenty of carbs including slow-burning carbs like oats which are digested slower.
- Almond butter: Almond butter is just made from ground almonds. It provides a trio of nutrients: monounsaturated heart-healthy fats, dietary fiber, and plant protein. Athletes need plenty of healthy fats in their diet to support brain health, reduce inflammation, and meet their higher calorie needs.
- Flaxseeds: Flaxseeds are one of the few sources of naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fats help reduce inflammation – and athletes create a lot of inflammation with pushing their bodies during intense or high volume exercise. Omega-3s also support both brain and heart health. They also contain dietary fiber and protein to support satiety and fullness.
- Honey: Honey adds sweetness, trace minerals and much needed carbs to refuel glycogen tanks.
- Bittersweet chocolate chips: Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants can support recovery after exercise.
Enjoy these energy bites 1-2 hours before a workout, post-workout or whenever you need a healthy snack!
The Grocery List: Ingredients You’ll Need to Make This Recipe
- Oats, quick-cooking or rolled oats
- Almond butter
- Ground flaxseed
- Honey
- Pure vanilla extract
- Bittersweet chocolate chips, preferably at least 60% cocoa
- Raisins, dried tart cherries, or chopped nuts like walnuts
How To Make Them (Step-by-Step Tips)
- Combine all ingredients. Add oats, almond butter, ground flaxseed, honey, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips to a large mixing bowl. Stir well until fully combined and the mixture holds together when pressed.
- Chill if needed. If the dough feels too sticky to roll, cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This firms it up considerably.
- Roll into balls. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll between your palms into a ball. Lightly wet hands help prevent sticking. Repeat for all 12 balls.
- Store or pack. Enjoy immediately, refrigerate in an airtight container, or portion into zip-lock bags for travel.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Instead of Almond butter: you can use whatever nut or seed butter you have such as peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or cashew butter. Either crunchy or creamy works.
- Instead of Dark Chocolate Chips: you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips or even white chocolate chips. Make it dairy-free by using vegan varieties or even using any dried fruit such as raisins, dried cranberries, dried tart cherries or chopped up dates.
- Instead of Honey: you can use maple syrup or agave syrup in place of honey.
Tips for Success
- If you are finding the dough to be too sticky cover dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The dough will harden and be less sticky.
- Try wetting your hands with a bit of water before trying to roll the bites.
Frequency Asked Questions
Yes, they’re one of the best travel snacks for athletes because they don’t require refrigeration for up to 5 days. They are also are portable and nutrient-dense consisting of a mix of carbohydrates, healthy fats, and protein.
You can use either quick-cooking or rolled oats for this recipe. I’d advise against from using either steel-cut oats or instant oats. Steel-cut oats need to be cooked before eating. Instant oats aren’t sturdy enough and won’t hold up well if used.
Keep them on your counter or pantry for up to 5 days. Or store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in a zip-lock bag or air-tight container. You could also freeze them up for 6 months.
Yes, this recipe contains only safe to eat edible ingredients. Rolled or quick-cooking oats are perfectly safe to consume raw – without cooking them.
Yes, Eat 2-3 energy balls 1-2 hours before practice or a game or directly after finishing practice or a game. They do contain a bit of fiber so test them out on practice days not on competition or game days to avoid GI upset.
No-Bake Oat Chocolate-Chip Energy Balls — A Sports Dietitian’s Favorite Travel Snack for Athletes
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/2 cup flaxseeds, ground
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Using a large spoon mix all ingredients together until well combined.
- Scoop out about 1 tbsp of dough and roll into 12 bite-size balls.
- Enjoy immediately or store in a air-tight container in the fridge.
