These easy Coconut Energy Balls are the best healthy pre-workout snack recipe to eat before a morning workout and fill your body with healthy slow-release carbs. Plus, these energy balls are also vegan, gluten-free, and keto-friendly.

Coconut Energy Balls stacked in a blue bowl.

We love no-bake coconut recipes – no bake bounty bars, no-bake coconut bars, or raw Samoa bars, we can’t get enough coconut treats! So here’s the new addition to our collection of energy balls recipes, some delicious tropical coconut balls.

These vegan coconut energy balls are delicious no-bake energy bites perfect as a healthy snacking option any time of the day. This is a great recipe for cardio lovers. It fills you up with slow-release carbs and keeps your energy steady during the day.

They are naturally:

Gluten-free
Vegan
Keto-friendly – these contain no high-carb dried fruits like Medjool dates. As a result, they are low in carbs and keto-friendly.

Ingredients and Substitutions

This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe

All you need to make them are a food processor and a few simple ingredients.

The ingredients you need are:

Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut – opt for ultra-fine dry coconut threads instead of shredded coconut that would make the energy balls dry.
Quick Oats or Almond Flour – Pick the latter for a gluten-free option.
Coconut Nectar or maple syrup.
Coconut Milk – You can also use almond milk or soy milk.
Coconut Water – Or just water if you don’t have coconut water.
Natural Coconut Extract – I’m a huge fan of coconut so there’s never enough coconut for me!

Protein Balls Add-Ons

You can make protein balls with this recipe by adding a boost of protein and healthy fats using some additional ingredients. For example, adding 1-2 tablespoons of the ingredients below in the batter will up the protein:

Hemp seeds
Chia seeds
Sunflower seeds
Pea protein powder – some coconut-flavored powders add a delicious coconut flavor. But if using them, you may want to skip the coconut extract in the recipe to avoid an overpowering coconut flavor!
Peanut butter – this is a delicious addition to making coconut peanut butter energy balls.

Keep in mind that adding dry ingredients like seeds or protein powder into the recipe dries out the batter. As a result, you may need to add liquid to the batter to bring the ingredients together. If you add peanut butter or almond butter, the opposite happens, and you may need to add more shredded coconut to dry out the batter.

How To Make Coconut Energy Balls

It’s so easy to make these Coconut Bliss Balls that you won’t buy any energy balls from the grocery store after trying this recipe.

First, add quick-cooking oats and unsweetened desiccated coconut to the bowl of a food processor.
Using the S blade attachment, process on the high-speed setting until the ingredients turn into fine powder – almost like flour. It can take about 1 minute to achieve this texture. If needed, stop the food processor scraping down the sides and repeating until the texture is very fine.
Now, add the liquid ingredients: coconut milk, coconut nectar, coconut water, and coconut extract.
Process on high speed again until the batter comes together into a sticky ball – it can take up to 1 minute. If too dry, add more coconut water gradually, about 1 teaspoon at a time. You may have to stop the food processor every 20 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, and repeat. This technique ensures that all ingredients are well processed by the blade of your food processor.
Give the batter a taste, and try to squeeze it between your hand. It should be sticky and hold well when you apply a little pressure on it. If too dry, add more coconut water or water. If too wet, add more desiccated coconut. Always process on high speed for at least 30 seconds after every adjustment made.
Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of coconut mixture and roll it into a ball.
Roll each ball into the fine desiccated coconut to stick around the ball.
Set aside the coconut energy balls on a plate covered with parchment paper and repeat the steps above with the remaining batter. You should be able to form 18 energy bites.

How to make No Bake Coconut Energy Balls in a few pictures.

Flavoring Suggestions

You can also add some other ingredients to this recipe to create a range of coconut balls flavors. For example, stirring 1-2 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips or cocoa powder adds a delicious coconut chocolate flavor to the balls.

You can also swap the coconut extract for an almond extract to make coconut almond energy balls or use blanched almonds instead of cashews.

Keto Energy Ball Option

You can make some adjustments to this recipe to make it low-carb and sugar-free. For example, you can:

Swap quick oats for almond flour.
Swap coconut nectar for a sugar-free monk fruit syrup.

Storage Instructions

You can keep these energy balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or, you can freeze the coconut balls in zip lock bags and thaw for 3 hours at room temperature before eating.

No Bake Coconut Energy Balls on a bowl with one half-bitten.

More Energy Balls Recipes

Below I listed some other delicious and easy energy bites recipes for you to try:

These peanut butter banana energy bites with chocolate chips are healthy breakfast on the go or post-workout energy bites to refuel with healthy carbs and plant-based protein.

Banana Oat Balls

Banana Protein Balls

Pumpkin Protein Balls

a bowl filled with no-bake brownie protein balls with one ball showing the inside chocolate fudge texture

Brownie Protein Bites

Did You Like This Recipe?

Leave a comment below or head to our Facebook page for tips, our Instagram page for inspiration, our Pinterest for saving recipes, and Flipboard to get all the new ones!