Healthy Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites

 

 
This past 4^th of July holiday, after consulting the local fireworks schedule, we hopped in our truck at 8 pm to navigate across town to a big grassy field behind the high school. Although the sun still sat firmly in the sky, not at all close to sinking below the horizon, I wanted to leave the house well in advance…

With last year’s scarring experience of circling for 20 minutes, desperately searching for a parking place in the neighborhoods nearby — and nearly missing the spectacular show — we planned on arriving over an hour early to score a spot close to the park.  
 

 
We eased into one just over two blocks away (much better our half mile trek the previous year!) and slowly strolled towards the school, along with half of the town. We spread out an oversized polka dot beach towel towards the edge of the field for a quick exit and sank down. I tightly zipped up my hoodie; despite reaching a scorching 105°F during the day, our crazy weather quickly cooled off in the evening with a nippy breeze.

Although fairly quiet when we first arrived, the park slowly began to fill with families and college kids. The teenagers and twenty-somethings ran around barefoot tossing a football, nearly clobbering a few innocent passersby with a couple of wayward throws. Once convinced our blanket lay outside of their danger zone, we turned our attention to the small toddlers wriggling in the grass on our other side.
 

 
With their red, white, and blue outfits and star-spangled sunglasses, those tiny kids melted my heart as they rolled around and waved glow sticks in each other’s faces in their friendly childhood way. They exuberantly dashed around in casual games of chase, tagging each other with their flexible neon wands, and eventually collapsing next to their parents before squirming around like dogs on their backs in the cool grass.

At last the much-anticipated fireworks began, bursting in the sky with their rainbows of gracefully streaking sparkles of light and initiating a few car alarms with their deafening booms. Although mesmerizing and incredible, the fireworks memories failed to stick with me as well as the ones of those adorable kids, so the next morning, I set out to make a snack that was just as full of energy as those toddlers.
 

 
Delicious and sweet, these Healthy Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites completely captured those precious personalities with their cute little size and bright fruity flavor. With the same soft texture as oatmeal cookie dough, these fun protein balls almost taste like dessert! Although I may have found them a little too chocolaty and irresistible…

I forgot to share a single one! The entire batch of these disappeared within 48 hours after I rolled them out. I even ignored my stash of gourmet dark chocolate after dinner one night just to enjoy a few more of these bites…

And that was totally worth it!
 

 

QUICK OVERVIEW – CHOCOLATE CHERRY ENERGY BITES

Difficulty: Fairly easy, including for many beginner bakers (or beginner protein ball makers, in this particular case!).

Taste: Lightly sweetened with rich chocolate and bright fruity notes set against a backdrop of comforting oats.

Texture: Very soft and moist, similar to cookie dough, with hearty oats throughout.
 

 

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHERRY ENERGY BITES

Let’s go over what you’ll need to make these healthy chocolate cherry energy bites! There’s a good chance you already have most of these ingredients. There are only 5 of them! (Plus water… But that doesn’t require a special trip to the grocery store!)

Oats. For the first part of the protein ball base, you’ll use oats. I love how they provide some fiber and micronutrients to this healthy snack! They also soften as you shape and store these bites, which creates a texture like oatmeal cookie dough snuck straight from the bowl. Yum!

Tip: Both old-fashioned rolled oats and quick cooking oats work, so feel free to use whichever one you typically stock in your kitchen!

Hint: If you’d like to make these chocolate cherry protein balls gluten-free, use certified gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats or certified gluten-free quick cooking oats.

Protein powder. For the second part, you’ll mix in protein powder. This puts the “energy” in these energy bites! I used PlantFusion vanilla bean protein powder. Unlike some whey-based protein powders, this plant-based one carries no funky aftertaste — just pure vanilla flavor with a subtle sweetness. It’s also gluten-free, vegan, and clean eating friendly!

Tip: You can find it at many health-oriented stores, but I often buy it online here.

Important Note: Many protein powder brands and products behave differently, so they’re not necessarily substitutes for each other. This is especially true of plant-based and whey-based protein powders! Plant-based ones tend to be much more absorbent, so substituting whey-based protein powders for them often results in a sticky, goopy, unshapeable mess. For the best flavor and texture, I highly recommend using the same PlantFusion protein powder that I did to make these protein balls.

If you’d like to know more, see my Protein Powder FAQ Page for additional information and tips!
 

 
Unsweetened cocoa powder. This is the first chocolate component. (Yes, I’m such a big chocolate lover that there are two in this recipe!) You’ll need regular unsweetened cocoa powder. It creates a rich and decadent flavor in these protein balls!

Tip: Skip the Dutched and special dark cocoa powder! These yield a blander flavor in this recipe. They also have a different acidity level, which can change the taste and texture as well.

But why not simply use chocolate protein powder? Well… I’ve found that many of them have a very subtle and mild cocoa taste compared to the rich and strong chocolate flavor that I prefer. Some also have an odd aftertaste, so I prefer using vanilla protein powder (it’s more versatile!) and adding unsweetened cocoa powder for the chocolate flavor instead.

Dried cherries. They add a lovely sweet and fruity flavor to these energy bites, yet they also play another role… Dried cherries act like glue and bind together these energy bites!

Miniature chocolate chips. As promised, the second chocolate component… Chocolate chips! You’ll need mini ones to make these energy bites — not standard-sized — because their smaller size ensures the balls can hold together properly. Standard-sized chocolate chips are too big and make the spheres fall apart. Mini ones also virtually guarantee every bite contains multiple chocolate morsels!

Tip: These are some of my favorite mini chocolate chips, and I also love these allergy-friendly ones.

No nuts or nut butters? That’s right! Many protein ball recipes call for nuts or nut butters (almond butter, peanut butter, etc) to bind everything together. We’re using dried cherries instead, so your energy bites are naturally nut-free!
 

 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHERRY ENERGY BITES

Now that you’ve gathered the ingredients, let’s quickly cover how to make these healthy chocolate cherry energy bites. Like I mentioned earlier, this recipe is easy and straightforward. I also have some tips to ensure your protein balls turn out deliciously soft and flavorful!

Prep the cherries. To turn the dried cherries into the “glue” that holds together these protein balls, you’ll hydrate them first. This is really simple — and it’s the same trick I use to make my favorite oatmeal raisin cookies so irresistible!

Pop the dried cherries into a microwave-safe bowl, cover them completely with water, and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. This helps them quickly absorb liquid, and it also softens them to make them easier to turn into the “glue.”

After letting them cool for a few minutes, transfer your hydrated cherries and a bit of water into a food processor. Blitz the mixture until it turns into a smooth paste. Tada — you’ve just made a delicious fruity “glue!”

To prevent the warm cherry paste from melting the chocolate chips, let it cool before stirring it into the other ingredients. As a quick shortcut, place it in the fridge for 10+ minutes to speed up the process. If you remembered to plan ahead (unlike me!) and have enough time to let it rest on the counter, that’s fine too!

Mix. Stir together the oats, protein powder, and cocoa powder in a bowl. Once ready, mix in the cooled cherry paste. If the mixture is too dry, add a bit of the leftover hydrating water a little at a time until you can incorporate all of the dry ingredients.

Wait to fold in the chocolate chips until the end! It’s so disappointing to grab a protein ball, polish it off, and realize there wasn’t a single chocolate morsel inside… But waiting until this point to stir in the chocolate chips ensures a more even distribution!

Shape. Shaping these energy bites is a slightly messy affair. It’s not quite as bad as my favorite healthy truffles, but you’ll still end up with some of the chocolate mixture stuck to your hands. However, you can moisten them with a little water in between shaping each sphere to minimize how much of the mixture sticks to your hands!

Tip: If it’s too frustrating to roll them into balls, then squish them into a round-ish shape with your fingers and palms instead. (Been there; done that!)

Store. Once shaped, pop these protein balls into an airtight container, and slip that into the fridge. From my experience, it’s slightly dangerous leaving them out on the counter… I found it a little too tempting to nibble on a few every time I walked through the kitchen!
 

 

FAQS ABOUT HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHERRY ENERGY BITES

Are these healthy chocolate cherry energy bites gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, clean eating, low fat, or low calorie?
Yes — to everything! When made according to the recipe, these protein balls are naturally vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, clean eating, low fat, and low calorie (compared to other traditional recipes!). To make these energy balls gluten-free, use certified gluten-free oats.

Can I use quick cooking oats?
Yes! Both old-fashioned rolled oats and quick cooking oats (also called “one minute” or “instant” oats) work. Just don’t use steel-cut oats. They don’t soften properly and change the consistency of these energy bites.

What about a different protein powder?
PlantFusion will yield the best results — I promise! You’re welcome to try another plant-based one, but I generally don’t recommend it. Many protein powder brands and products behave differently in both baking recipes and no-bake recipes (like this one!), so substituting a different protein powder can yield a very different texture and flavor. Do not substitute whey-based protein powders in these energy bites; that results in a very liquidy and gooey mess. See my Protein Powder FAQ Page for more info!

Can I substitute something else for the protein powder? Or omit it completely?
I specifically designed this recipe to use protein powder and haven’t attempted this, so I’m not personally sure. If you’d like to experiment, you could try increasing the amount of oats and/or cocoa powder. You could also try replacing the protein powder with some oat flour. If you decide to play around with any of these, I’d love to hear how it goes!

Can I use other dried fruit instead of cherries?
Yes! I’ve made chocolate fig energy bites and raisin energy bites, and both turned out delicious.

My mixture was too dry and crumbly. What should I do?
That’s easy to fix! Add some of the leftover hydrating water, a little at a time, until you can incorporate all of the dry ingredients and shape the mixture into spheres.

I had the opposite problem. Mine was too wet to shape. What should I do?
As long as it’s only slightly too sticky and tacky, that’s also simple to address! Add more dry ingredients — oats, protein powder, and/or unsweetened cocoa powder — until the mixture is stiff enough to shape.

What’s the best way to store these healthy chocolate cherry energy bites? And how long will they last?
Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They’ll keep for at least four days, possibly a week or more… If they last that long!
 

 
Snack time! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram and tag @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy chocolate cherry energy bites!

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Chocolate Fig Energy Bites
♡  Chocolate Blueberry Energy Bites
♡  Chocolate Strawberry Energy Bites
♡  Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bites
♡  Lemon Poppy Seed Energy Bites
♡  Snickerdoodle Energy Bites
♡  Apple Pie Energy Bites
♡  Peanut Butter Protein Balls
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy energy bite recipes and healthy snack recipes!