5 Best Energy Ball Recipes to Keep You Fueled for the Day

Everybody loves a tasty snack! What about tasty snacks that are good for you, tuck easily into a purse or briefcase, and are easy to make? Those are the trifecta — and they come in the form of energy balls, which can help you boost your energy just when you're starting to wear down for the day. Scroll down to find some of our favorite energy ball recipes!

The base energy balls recipe

Do you know what the best thing about energy balls is? All you need is one basic recipe, and you can customize it in any number of ways to create your own delicious recipes.

Here are the basics:

• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats: Full of fiber and healthy nutrients, oats are one of the best bases for energy balls. They absorb liquid ingredients well to make an easy no-bake recipe, plus they give you the chewy feeling of cookie dough.
• 1/2 cup nut butter: Peanut butter, hazelnut spread, or something else — the choice is yours. They’ll all add some protein and healthy fat to the mix, plus they’re a good binder to help hold everything together.
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup: Part sweetener, part binder — you can choose either depending on what best goes with the other mix-ins you’ll be adding.

That’s your basic recipe for energy balls. Depending on what you add, you may need to tweak your ratios of dry ingredients or wet ingredients by a tablespoon or two — more oats to dry your mix out a little, or a little more sweetener and nut butter if the mix proves too dry and crumbly to stick together.

Next comes the mix-ins! Once you’ve picked mix-ins from the recipe ideas below, all you need to do is mix everything, roll the dough into balls, and chill them in the fridge for an hour or so until they are set. Then you can pack them into lunches, toss a bag in your purse — you know the drill!

1. Classic chocolate chip energy balls

Not just a classic, but it’s super simple, too. Just add half a cup of chocolate chips to the recipe above and you’re good to go. Use peanut butter and honey as your binder and sweetener.

2. White chocolate-macadamia energy balls

Make a decadent, yet surprisingly healthy treat by mixing in 1/4 cup macadamia nuts and 1/4 cup white chocolate chips to the recipe above. Peanut butter and honey work well here, too.

3. Cranberry-almond energy balls

For a flavor reminiscent of cranberry-almond biscotti, add 1/4 cup of dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of chopped almonds to your base recipe. Try almond butter and honey as your binder and sweetener for this recipe.

4. Trail mix energy balls

Go nuts with this one! Add three tablespoons of chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons of raisins, and 3 tablespoons of nuts — peanuts, mixed nuts, cashews, you decide! Choose a nut butter that goes with your nut of choice plus honey to sweeten.

5. Oatmeal raisin energy balls

You’ve already got the oats, so just add 1/4 cup of raisins plus ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Use a lighter flavored butter like almond butter and try maple syrup as your sweetener.

Save money on ingredients for all your favorite snack recipes!

What are your favorite healthy snacks? How about these hiking snacks that will keep kids on the trail all day? We've also got a scrumptious fruit leather recipe that will satisfy any sweet tooth. Whatever snacks you like to make to boost your energy or stop the stomach from rumbling between meals, make sure you search for a Save coupon book in your area for savings and deals on the ingredients you'll need!