No Bake Chocolate Energy Bars are the perfect snack for kids or adults! They're made with healthy, nutrient dense ingredients like pumpkin seeds, cacao powder, almonds, and coconut.

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Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• 🍴 Ingredient Notes
• 🍴 Step by Step Instructions
• Step 1: Mix Almonds & Dates
• Step 2: Blend Ingredients
• Step 3: Pulse Rice Cakes
• Step 4: Chill Bars
• Step 5: Remove Bars
• Optional Toppings
• Expert Tips
• How To Store Leftovers
• More Healthy Snack Recipes:
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• 💬 Reviews

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Homemade energy bars are one of my personal favorite snack recipes to make! They're easy, delicious, and healthy. I promise your whole family will love them!

Enjoy them as a grab and go breakfast on a busy day, as a quick and easy snack, or as dessert after any meal.

I suggest meal prepping an extra batch to have on hand in the freezer for whenever a sweet craving strikes!

Easy

All you need to make this recipe is a food processor, a square baking pan, and a few healthy ingredients. You can also use square silicone molds to make perfectly portioned bars.

Delicious

If you're looking for a healthy sweet treat, these homemade energy bars are the perfect recipe for you to try! They have a little crunch from the rice cakes, and a subtle dark chocolate flavor.

Healthy

Compared to store-bought energy bars, these cost less per bar, and they are also made with simple ingredients!

This energy bar recipe is also a great source of healthy fat thanks to the almonds and coconut. Incorporating healthy fats and fiber into recipes is a great way to keep your blood sugar levels stable!

Instead of using corn syrup or other processed sugars, these bars are sweetened with medjool dates!

🍴 Ingredient Notes

• Raw Almonds - Raw works best for this recipe. I usually buy the Wild Soil Organic almonds in bulk from Amazon.
• Medjool Dates - Make sure to remove the pit.
• Salt - Salt helps to bring out all the flavors. You'll just need a pinch!
• Shredded Coconut - I suggest using finely shredded coconut.
• Coconut Oil - The coconut oil should be room temperature and not melted.
• Cacao Powder - You can use cocoa powder, but I prefer raw cacao powder because it's more nutrient dense.
• Pumpkin Seeds - Also known as pepitas! Raw seeds work best for this recipe, but you could try making them with salted.
• Rice Cakes - I like using the Lundberg whole grain rice cakes because they're denser, heartier, and crispier! You can use any rice cake that you have on hand.

If you love healthy snack recipes like this, try my Chocolate Protein Bar Recipe, Chocolate Dipped Dates, or my Cookie Dough Protein Bars.

🍴 Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Mix Almonds & Dates

Start by adding the almonds, pitted medjool dates, and salt into your food processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes until it becomes a sticky consistency. To test that it's ready, pinch the mixture between your fingers to make sure the mixture sticks together.

Step 2: Blend Ingredients

Next, add shredded coconut, cacao powder, coconut oil, and pumpkin seeds into the food processor. Blend until chunky. (About 30-60 seconds.)

Step 3: Pulse Rice Cakes

Finally, break apart the rice cakes into large chunks and add them into the food processor. Pulse a few times until they're broken up and mixed in thoroughly.

Step 4: Chill Bars

Press the mixture into an 8x8 square baking dish or 12 square silicone molds. Place in the freezer for one hour.

Step 5: Remove Bars

Once they're set, use a sharp knife to cut into bars or pop them right out of the silicone molds! Optional: Dip the chilled energy bars in melted dark chocolate.

Optional Toppings

• Melt dark chocolate chips and dip the top of each energy bar in the melted chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle each bar with shredded coconut, flaky sea salt, chopped almonds, or chopped dried fruit.
• You could also just add a drizzle of melted chocolate instead of dipping the entire top of the bar. My favorite dairy-free and soy-free chocolate chip brands are Pascha and Hu Kitchen.

Expert Tips

• Use the Lundberg rice cakes I recommend. They are very dense and they hold up well in the bars.
• Do not leave the bars out at room temperature. (Refrigerate or freeze.)
• Let the bars set for about 30-60 minutes in the freezer before cutting.
• When cutting the bars in a baking pan, don't try to remove the entire square from the dish. Cut the bars in the dish and carefully remove them one at a time.
• Use square silicone molds like I did to save time and make perfectly portioned bars! (Plus, it's super satisfying to pop them out.)
• Add a scoop of protein powder to the almond and date mixture to give these bars a boost of protein!

How To Store Leftovers

Store the leftover energy bars in an airtight container in the freezer or refrigerator. They will last much longer in the freezer! (Make sure you use a freezer-safe container.)

More Healthy Snack Recipes:

After you make these No-Bake Chocolate Energy Bars, make sure to leave a comment & rate the recipe!

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