These wholesome Fig and Date Energy Balls are a fresh flavor twist on classic date energy balls. They’re an easy, healthy snack recipe and taste postively divine!
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With their caramel-like flavor, natural sweetness, and stickiness, dates are a popular choice for no bake energy balls and bars (like these Vegan Protein Bars), but they are certainly not the only option. No baking required and little prep time, which is a plus!
Other sticky dried fruits can work too!
Stay excited about your healthy snacks and try making energy balls with a combination of dates AND figs. (These Golden Raisin No Bake Energy Bites are stellar too.)
Figs are one of my absolute favorite fruits for both sweet and savory cooking.
I love having another excuse to enjoy them any time of day.
Tip!
For even more energy ball flavor varieties, check out Energy Balls | The Ultimate Recipe Guide!
5 Star Review
“Super great recipe!! Nice and quick, really good snack to keep you going throughout the day.”
— Kathryn —
These fig and date energy balls are the perfect healthy snack.
- They’re loaded with fiber, protein, and healthy fats so they’re an ideal option when you’re looking for a quick fix to satisfy your appetite between meals. (These Protein Balls with chocolate chips are another favorite.)
- Fig balls are also a far, far happier, healthier choice than a bag of chips. Low-sodium, low-calorie, and naturally sweetened with the goodness of dates and figs.
- They are also ultra-portable, making them ideal for an on-the-go breakfast or post-workout snack. (These No Bake Granola Bars are another stellar on-the-go option.)
Take these snacks to the gym, in the car while running errands, and keep a few in the fridge for afternoon snack attacks.
How to Make Fig and Date Energy Balls
With just six simple ingredients, fig and date energy balls are an easy, healthy snack recipe you can have ready in just 15 minutes.
The Ingredients
- Oats. The founding structure for fig and date energy balls, oats offer fiber to help you stay full. You can use either old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats to make fig and date energy balls. No need for flour in these fig energy bites!
- Dried Mission Figs. Sweet, high in fiber, and containing vital nutrients like calcium, potassium, phosphorous, vitamin K and vitamin C, dried figs are an excellent addition to any energy bites recipe (try them in these No Bake Pumpkin Energy Balls).
- Dried Medjool Dates. Naturally sweeten the energy balls—no added sweeteners or sugars required. (I also love adding dates to smoothies like this Date Shake).
- Flaxseeds. Contribute extra fiber, protein, and healthy fats to the energy balls.
- Almond Butter. Tastes lovely with the figs and helps bind the energy bites together.
- Vanilla. Enhances the natural flavors of the figs, dates, and almond butter.
The Directions
- Gather your ingredients.
- Place everything into the bowl of a large food processor.
- Pulse a few times to loosely combine, then continue to blend until the batter begins to clump and stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Shape into balls with your hands. ENJOY! Total time is 15 mintues!
Storage Tips
- To Store. Refrigerate leftover energy bites in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. The bites will be safe to eat longer but will begin to dry out. They can be eaten directly from the fridge, though I like to let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before munching.
- To Freeze. Place fig almond bites in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw and enjoy bites as desired.
What to Serve with Fig and Date Energy Balls
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Food Processor. A large 13-cup food processor makes mixing up a batch (or two) of these fig balls a breeze.
- Storage Container. I like to store energy bites in a large, shallow rectangular container with a lid in a single layer.
- Measuring Cups. This everyday set of measuring cups is my fav.
Let’s get rolling!
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Fresh figs contain much more moisture than dried figs. The excess liquid will make the bites soggy and prevent them from holding their shape.
Sure! Coconut fig energy balls would be delish! Swap a few tablespoons of the oats for shredded coconut.
Yes. Energy balls are a fantastic healthy, low-calorie, no salt added snack idea. Energy bites are a great alternative to processed snack foods (like those fig newtons) because they are loaded with wholesome ingredients containing protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and healthy fats that keep you feeling fuller longer.
While I haven’t experimented with it, you could try a dash of cinnamon or crushed walnuts or pecans.
Fig and Date Energy Balls
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Ingredients
- 15 dried Mission figs (6 ounces)
- 7 pitted Medjool dates (4 ounces)
- ¼ cup natural almond butter
- ¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats either old fashioned or quick cooking (gluten free if necessary)
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a steel blade.
- Pulse a few times to loosely combine, then with a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Blend and pulse for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture begins to clump and sticks to the sides of the bowl, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Portion the mixture into your hands, then roll the mixture into any sized balls you like. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate fig and date energy balls in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. The bites will be safe to eat longer but will begin to dry out. They can be eaten directly from the fridge, though I like to let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before munching.
- TO FREEZE: No bake energy bites may be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Nutrition
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Had all the ingredients and made them this morning after reading your post. Had 2 immediately. Had to add a little liquid so they would hold together. My dates were not the freshest but they are yummy.
Jenice, I’m so excited to hear you liked these bites! I’m guessing they got a little crumbly since the dates weren’t as fresh, but adding liquid as you did was the perfect thing to do. Thanks for trying the recipe and taking time to leave your thoughts. I really appreciate it! Happy snacking :)
These are soooo good! Made a half batch just to try them. Went back and immediately made a full batch. My daughter loved them (me too). I plan on taking them to work and making people try them as well.
Kate, I am so happy to hear that you and your daughter enjoyed these so much! Thanks for trying the recipe and letting me know how it turned out for you.
These energy bites look delicious! I was just wondering if I could use peanut butter instead of almond butter? Thanks!
Yes, it should work to use peanut butter instead! I hope you enjoy!
Tasted Great! I added some protein powder and I put everything in a food processor.
Hi Shannon! I’m SO happy you enjoyed.
Very good! I added a touch of honey and rolled my bites in finely crushed walnuts. Funny how almost everyone has the same tortilla, salsa, hummus experience that knocks out dinner motivation!
Hi Jodie! I’m so excited to hear how much you enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing this wonderful review!
Love these energy bites, substituted chia for flaxseed meal and a bit of honey. Delish!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Anne! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Super great recipe!! Nice and quick, really good snack to keep you going throughout the day, I didn’t have any almond butter so substituted in peanut butter. Just as good!! Can’t wait to try more varieties :)
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Kathryn! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
These sound wonderful. I have persimmons in my freezer and want to know if you have any ideas on how you could turn them into energy balls. They are so sweet I don’t think you’d have to ad any type of sweetner
Hi Suzie! I don’t have any idea how to make these with persimmons, but I did a quick Google search and there are a ton of recipes using persimmons for energy balls! Hope this helps!
I don’t have access to figs. What could I use instead?
Hi Kathryn, I’d probably give these energy balls a try instead.
What should I try instead?
Hi Kathryn, I’m sorry the link didn’t come through. Here you go: https://www.wellplated.com/energy-balls/ or search energy balls on the website for more examples.
Soooooo yummy. I added walnuts. Love this recipe so much.
Hi Nikki! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
OMG…so good. I replaced this natural recipe with buying fig newtons. All good fiber in here. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Nikki! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I haven’t made these yet, but am interested to do so. As I don’t have figs, is there a substitute I could use instead? Thanks in advance for your response. Happy Sunday, Anna Marie
Hi Anna Marie! Figs are a key ingredient in these energy balls but I do have other energy ball recipes that might work for you: https://www.wellplated.com/energy-balls/ Hope this helps!
We do not eat chia or flax seeds. Would any kind of seeds work or perhaps puffed quinoa? Or is the chia there to act like glue, and if so, what can we use as an alternative?
Thank you kindly. I want to make this recipe for my autistic grandchildren and myself.
Hi Kelli! Feel free to swap the flaxseeds for chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. Enjoy!
These were so delicious! I did tweak it a tad as I didn’t have enough dates so I added some raisins with the figs and also vegan chocolate chips. I also substituted peanut butter for the almond butter.
Glad it worked, Allison!
I’ve made these twice now and this recipe is definitely staying in my collection! The first time I made them I used more figs instead of dates because I wanted to use up some I’d gotten. I also used hazelnut butter because that was what I had on hand. I added coffee extract instead of vanilla, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 2 tsp of cacao. Absolutely delicious but my oats remained a little hard and the mixture was just a tiny little bit too crumbly. So the second time I made them I first blended my oats a little to have a coarse oat flour and I also soaked the figs in hot water for about 5 minutes. The texture was absolute perfection with those tweaks! Everything clumped together with no effort without it being sticky or mushy and no sticky hands at all. I’m going to continue making these and experimenting! Thank you for the recipe.
Lastly, for those who are looking for metric measurements, here are mine: 90g oats, 22g flaxseed, 50g nut butter, and 282g dried fruit in total.
Glad it worked out for you, Lisa!