Superfood Trail Mix Bites are a no-bake, easy to make, nutritious, and healthy superfood snack that can be made gluten-free too.
This energy ball recipe is made with healthy seeds and nuts, all the trail mix essentials. Protein-packed energy bites are great for any time of the day.
When busy families are on the go, eating nutritious foods can be a challenge. Often we resort to pre-packed options. These are often not the best choices.
Most times they are filled with unhealthy ingredients, even some you cannot pronounce. This DIY trail mix recipe contains superfoods, nuts and seeds. You CAN pronounce all the ingredients, and they are easy to find too. Healthy snack balls are made in minutes.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for these trail mix energy balls can be found at the bottom of the post.
Have you ever made homemade granola bars? So much better than store-bought. YOU can customize them with all your favourite ingredients.
I even have a chewy version too. Perfect for after school, taking on hikes or just when you need a pick me up.
What Do You Put In Trail Mix Bites?
These little bites are a powerhouse of nutrition, and even if you don’t have time for breakfast, these will help prevent you from skipping the most important meal of the day. Easy to pop a couple of these in your mouth as you run out the door.
You will need:
- oatmeal
- nut butter
- coconut oil (affiliate)
- agave nectar or honey
- cacao nibs (affiliate)
- pumpkin seeds (affiliate)
- goji berries (affiliate)
- chia seeds (affiliate)
- pistachios (or other nuts)
Feel free to swap in other nuts or seeds if you like. Other options would be:
- flaxseeds
- hemp seeds/hemp hearts
- sesame seeds
- sunflower seeds
- cashews
- walnuts
- pecans
- Brazil nuts
- almonds
- pine nuts
This superfood mix is easily customizable. Looking to make it gluten-free? Be sure to use gluten-free oats. I like to use old-fashioned oats since they have more texture. Honey is a great alternative to the agave.
Is Trail Mix Healthy?
Nuts and seeds are the primary ingredients providing the protein element. Homemade trail mix recipes are the best since YOU can control what goes into them.
Portable, nutrient and calorie-dense. Traditional trail mix also includes dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, banana chips, apricots and more. Dried fruit is used since it has a longer shelf life and is more portable.
The more nuts and dried fruit in your trail mix, the better. It’s totally possible to overdo it even with the healthiest blends.
Candies or chocolate chips are a frequent addition. These offer little nutritional benefit. Dark chocolate is packed with powerful antioxidant compounds and needs to be at least 70 percent cocoa.
Eating nuts and seeds daily is an easy way to get nutritional benefits including reduced risk of heart attack, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, hypertension, and diabetes.
The serving size for most trail mixes is ¼ cup, which is about one handful.
How To Make Homemade Superfood Energy Balls
This is an easy no-bake recipe. Even the kids can help with this.
- Combine the dry ingredients is a bowl.
- Heat the nut butter, coconut oil and agave in a small saucepan.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients together, forming into balls.
- Place in a sealed container, and keep in the fridge until ready to eat.
Once you have the ingredients mixed together, you will have to work rather quickly so the mixture does not dry out. If this happens it makes it very difficult to squeeze into balls. You may also want to rinse off your hands a few times throughout the process.
Take a few minutes to make a batch of these superfood mix energy protein balls. You can snack nutritiously all week long without added chemicals and preservatives.
Looking for more healthy recipes using nutritious ingredients?
Homemade muesli recipe is better than store-bought. If you love Alpen cereal, this is BETTER!
Oatmeal donuts are baked and packed with LOTS of healthy ingredients. Who says you can’t have donuts for breakfast?
Kefir oatmeal pancakes are hearty and packed with protein. They are freezer friendly too. Make a batch up on the weekend, and easily warm up on busy weekday mornings.
Hemp heart cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day. Gluten-free and dipped in dark chocolate.
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Healthy Trail Mix Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups oatmeal (you can also use gluten free oats)
- ¾ cup nut butter
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil
- ¼ cup agave nectar (you can also use honey)
- ¼ cup cacao nibs
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup goji berries
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ cup pistachios (crushed)
Instructions
- Combine all dry ingredients into a bowl, mix, and set aside.
- In a saucepan heat the nut butter, coconut oil and agave nectar (or honey).
- Cook over medium heat, mixing often until the ingredients melt together.
- Remove from heat and pour over dry ingredients.
- Quickly mix together using a large spoon, spatula or your hands.
- Working quickly, so the mixture does not dry out, grab a handful of mixture and squeeze firmly into balls about the size of walnuts.
- Place in a sealed container and keep in the fridge.
- Snack…and ENJOY!!
Nutrition Information
Notes
Once you have all the ingredients combined, you have to work quickly to make the balls before the mixture dries out.
You may want to rinse your hands a few times during the process.
Jamie
This is such a great recipe for my weekly hikes! I’m always looking for healthy snacks to bring and I found just the one! Making a big batch of this soon!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY…these are the perfect little snack for hikes.
Cindy
These are the perfect snack! I especially like the combination of cocoa nibs and goji berries 🙂
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
There are so many great ingredients in these energy bites. Hope you give them a try soon.
Beth
I’m always looking for a quick breakfast option like this with the varied grains and fruits. Love how it has all those plus such great flavor.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
These are perfect for on the go eating….enjoy!!
Naiby
Energy balls are so the perfect snack. They ridiculously don’t take time to make. The ingredients are nutrient-dense, simple with no extra BS ingredients. I like adding cacao nibs to my energy balls, though. Contrarily to chocolate chips, they are wholesome, rich in Magnesium and energy-boosting, which make them a better swap if you crave that chocolate flavor. Thanks for your recipe!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
YES these do contain cocao nibs….love the taste and texture.
Kushigalu
Love the combination of ingredients in this trail mix balls. Best energy bites. My family will totally love these. pinned to make these soon.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
So glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for letting me know.
Eileen Kelly
I was looking for an easy snack to make for the family and this was it. The trail mix bites were easy to make and the family loved them. Great for snacking on after my morning walk,
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
My grandkids love these too. They certainly come in handy on sleepover weekends.
Loreto and Nicoletta Nardelli
We always try to control what goes in the food we eat, where it comes from, etc. Love that we can make healthy, and delicious snack balls like these in 20 minutes. No reaching out for unhealthy snacks any longer!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Homemade is best for sure. You have complete control of the ingredients. ENJOY!
Amy Liu Dong
These energy balls look really delicious and I am so excited to make this for my kids. Yum!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I think they will love them. Better yet, get them to help you make these.
Shelley
At my house, we are huge fans of little bites like these! My husband often takes them for breakfast, and they are the absolute perfect on-the-go snack! Your recipe is so bursting with superfood ingredients – I love your rule of thumb that you “can pronounce all the ingredients”!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I know right?? If I can’t pronounce it….I don’t think I want to eat it. ENJOY!
Corinne
We like to go hiking a lot and these would be perfect to take along! Look delicious!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
These are the perfect pop in your mouth energy balls.
Marie
These look delicious! I love that your added pumpkin seeds… yummm! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us at Merry Monday this week!
Chef G
You are welcome…thanks for stopping by!!
Lane & Holly @ With Two Spoons
Wow, these look so healthy!
Chef G
They totally are for sure.
Crystal Green
These look like a great option for boosting energy and helping us to eat healthy on the go.
Thank you for sharing this with us on the #HomeMattersParty. We hope to see you again when we open our doors on Friday at 12 AM EST.
Chef G
They really are great!!
Heather @Bostongirlbakes
I’m always looking for quick healthy snacks for work! These would be perfect!
Chef G
YES….perfect for sure.
Amanda
I’m always looking for a great, on-the-go snack to boost my energy level late morning or mid afternoon. These look perfect for that!
Chef G
They are great for that…my husband love to have a couple of these when he gets home from work.