Energy ball recipes are a super easy to make and are a great idea for portable breakfasts or on the go snack for busy mornings. This is a great recipe that can be easily adapted to create your kids favorite breakfast ball!

I have 3 boys that wake up very, very hungry.

They have a mission to eat me out of house and home, so I’m constantly looking for kid friendly recipes  and breakfast ideas that are filling with lots of protein.

Breakfasts can be especially challenging and often we need a breakfast to go.

This all started years ago when I discovered a recipe (no longer available) for PB&J energy bars. We used it as inspiration to make our own breakfast balls, sometimes called energy bites.

This article includes affiliated links.

How to Make Easy No-Bake Breakfast Balls

Ingredients Needed

• 1/4 cup of almonds (we used slivered, but you can use any)
• 1/4 cup of cashew pieces
• 1/4 cup of dried fruit (we used dried cherries, but I bet any dried fruit would work)
• 1/4 cup of almond butter (+ 1 teaspoon of coconut oil – omit the coconut oil if you decide to substitute with peanut butter).
• 2 Tablespoons of Dark Chocolate pieces
• 1 cup of toasted granola

Easy Ingredient Substitutions

Tip: You can replace pretty much any of the ingredients. Here are some of our favorite suggestions and the best part is that you can customize your

• Don’t like almonds?  Use walnuts, flax seeds or chia seeds.
• Skip the chocolate chips and throw some toffee pieces instead or increase the amount of dry ingredients and add a dash of maple syrup or brown rice syrup to sweeten.
• Use coconut shavings in place of the cashews (yum!).
• Add a little protein powder in place of another dry ingredient.

Directions for Making Breakfast Balls

Step 1

Throw all the ingredients except for the almond butter and the granola into the food processor.  I chopped them pretty chunky.  The texture is fun in the protein energy bites.

Tip: If you want these to stick together better, consider chopping more finely.  The finer your nut meal the more dense and filling your breakfast energy balls will be.

Step 2

Once it’s chopped, mix in the granola and the almond butter and coconut oil (or butter) making sure everything is well-coated in a large bowl.

Step 3

Put the bowl into the fridge for about 3 hours.  

You want the nut meal to soak up some of the healthy fats from the almond butter.   It will help the balls stick together.

Step 4

We used a 2 Tablespoon scoop or a cookie scoop to portion control our breakfast balls. 

Roll the mixture into balls and place on parchment paper covered cookie sheet. They are ready to eat right away.

Tip: I found that wetting my hands with warm water and drying them slightly helped as I formed the breakfast balls. I squeezed the mixture together quite tightly so they were stuck together well.

Finished Breakfast Ball Recipe

The recipe makes roughly a dozen balls – you might want to double it. I have yet to make a double batch and regret it!  

We usually make multiple versions for a little variety at breakfast time.

How to Store the Breakfast Balls

Store the balls in an airtight container.   Grab 3-4 balls for a breakfast when you are running out the door.  They will last for awhile, but my guess is that your kids will eat them long before they go bad.

Looking for more easy Breakfast Ideas from Kids activities Blog

• Try our no-bake chocolate energy balls recipe too!
• When you’re not in a rush, hot breakfast ideas are a treat.
• If it’s the season, perk up the first meal of the day with these halloween breakfast ideas.
• These breakfast cake ideas may make your kids think they’re eating dessert for breakfast!
• Breakfast Cookies – yup, good for you too!
• A breakfast taco bowl could spice up your morning!
• Easy homemade granola recipe that the entire family will love.

How did your breakfast ball recipe turn out? What are your favorite energy bite ingredients to add?