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Plants Not Plastic

No-Bake Chickpea & Oat Energy Balls

These chickpea cookie dough bites can be made as a snack, dessert, or even a grab and go breakfast. They can be sweetened up with additions like cocoa powder or chocolate chips, like a trail mix bite with nuts and dried fruit, or eaten simply with just the base ingredients!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Optional Cook Time (see directions) 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 12 Balls (~2tbsp each)
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 87.5
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas drained and rinsed; 1/3 cup dry
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp almond butter optional; sub 1/2 a banana
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp unpacked brown sugar sub agave or maple syrup [note#1]
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats [note#2]
  • 3/4 cup oat flour [note#2]
Optional Additions
  • 1/4 cup dried fruit cranberries, raisins, etc.
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts and/or seeds walnuts, pecans, pepitas, etc.
  • 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
  • 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder

Equipment

  • high-speed blender
  • Small mixing bowl
  • baking tray (optional; see directions)

Method
 

  1. Blend cooked chickpeas and water in a high-speed blender to form a paste.
  2. Combine all ingredients with desired additions [note#3] in a mixing bowl and stir until well combine and a solid dough ball forms.
  3. Separate into ~2 tbsp sections and form into into small balls by rolling between your hands.
  4. Eat immediately or store in the fridge for grab-and-go snacks.
  5. Enjoy!
Optional Baked Option [note#4]
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Bake for 7-12 minutes to desired consistency.

Video

Notes

  1. If you're using a liquid sugar, add an addition 2tbsp oat flour or rolled oats to absorb the moisture
  2. You can change up this ratio (i.e. more rolled oats, less oat flour, all oat flour, etc.) depending whether you want them to have more texture
  3. If you want to make a mix of different types of energy balls, mix the base dough first, separate it into sections and then fold in additions before rolling into balls. I like to make a mix of different types to add variety to them as I eat them (i.e. half plain, half chocolate or 3 balls of each type - splitting my dough into fourths and adding 1 tbsp of each topping type to each portion).
  4. I like their texture best unbaked, but if you are putting chocolate chips into your energy balls it's great to get the chocolate nice and melted. You can also simply do this in a microwave instead of the oven!
Optional Additions calories per ball:
  • Raisins - 9kcal
  • Cranberries - 10kcal
  • Pepitas - 14kcal
  • Pecans - 15kcal
  • Walnuts - 16kcal
  • Vegan Chocolate Chips - 27kcal