Description
These Blueberry Muffin Energy Bites taste just like your favorite blueberry muffin! Made with dates, nuts, dried blueberries, and lemon zest. No-bake, naturally sweetened, and ready in 10 minutes. Perfect healthy snack!
Ingredients
Makes about 20–25 energy bites
- 2 cups mixed nuts (such as 1 cup cashews + 1 cup almonds)
- 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
- 1 cup dried blueberries
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract (or seeds from 1 vanilla bean)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Substitution Notes:
- Nuts: Feel free to use all almonds, all cashews, or even add walnuts or pecans. Just keep the total at 2 cups.
- Dates: Make sure they’re soft and fresh! If your dates are dry, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain well.
- Dried blueberries: Dried cranberries or cherries work too if you want to change up the flavor.
- Vanilla: Vanilla bean seeds give an extra fancy touch, but extract works perfectly!
Instructions
Add your 2 cups of mixed nuts to the food processor and pulse about 10–15 times until they’re broken down to pea-sized bits. You want them ground up but not turned into nut butter, so don’t over-process at this stage!
Toss in the pitted Medjool dates and dried blueberries. Now process continuously for about 1–2 minutes until the mixture fully breaks down and becomes sticky. You’ll see it start clumping together — that’s exactly what you want!
Add the vanilla extract, fresh lemon zest, and sea salt. This is where the magic happens and everything starts smelling like a bakery!
Continue processing for another 3–5 minutes until the mixture comes together into one big sticky ball. Don’t be afraid to let the processor run — you want everything fully incorporated. Stop and scrape down the sides of the processor once or twice to make sure everything gets evenly mixed.
Using your hands (slightly damp hands work best!), roll the mixture into small bite-sized balls, about 1 tablespoon each. Place them on a plate or tray as you go. You should get about 20–25 energy bites depending on how large you make them.
Notes
Don’t skip the lemon zest! I know it seems like a small thing, but it truly makes these taste like blueberry muffins instead of just date balls.
Use soft, fresh dates. Old, dried-out dates won’t bind the mixture properly. If your dates are firm, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes, drain well, and pat dry before using.
The mixture should feel sticky and hold together. If yours is too dry and crumbly, add another date or two and process again.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes (no-bake!)
- Category: Snack
- Method: No-bake
- Cuisine: American