Chocolate Crunchy Coconut Oil Energy Bites

November 20th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Snack Attack

At the beginning of the year I wrote about one my favorite snacks, Chocolate Crunchy Coconut Cups. Today I’m here to tell you that not only are we still loving these, but I’ve perfected my technique to make them in less time with less effort and less mess.

Chocolate Coconut Crunch Squares

Thanks in part to this silicone mold,

Wilton Silicon Square Mold

and in other part to my realizing that I should be mixing the ingredients right in a pour-able, heat safe vessel.

Melted Chocolate Coconut Oil Mix

(As opposed to combining everything into a mixing bowl and then ladling out into tippy, paper cupcake wrappers.)

Chocolate Crunchy Coconut Oil Energy Bites

print this recipe!

Nutritional Stats (not including any added sugar, also note these nutritional stats are approximate, as you can see each bite is not exactly the same.)

Each of those little squares holds 1.5 Tbsp of the mixture.  Makes 21 bites.

1 c coconut oil, melted
1/2 c almond butter (or whatever nut butter you like)
1/4 c cocoa (or cacao) powder
1/2 c sliced almonds
1/2 c shredded unsweetened coconut
pinch of sea salt (optional)
1/4 c maple syrup, honey or sugar*

Pour into silicon squares, don’t fret too much about a little mess.

A Little Messy But That's OK

At least I don’t.  That little bit of slop is nothing compared to the frustration I felt and the groans I would bellow out whenever one of those paper cupcake wrappers would tip over.  (P.S., I now have silicone cupcake molds too!)

This blue square guy is totally earning his keep.

Pop Chocolate Coconut Squares Out

Word to the wise: put a cutting board or something sturdy under your silicone mold before filling.  Ask me how I know.

Once your mold is full, transfer to the freezer to harden for at least 30 minutes.  They easily pop right out of the mold once they’re firm,

Chocolate Coconut Energy Bites

and from here move them to a freezer safe container to store in the refrigerator or freezer.

You don’t need a silicone mold to make these, but I make these so frequently that a mold has been a blessing and is well worth the little bit of storage space it takes up in my pantry.

I’ve also recently discovered that these are perfect to take with me to yoga teacher training, especially on the days when we have a three hour practice (!) before breaking to eat and then moving onto lecture.  I like to finish eating a meal at least one hour before a yoga practice – but for three hours of practice, I’m finding that I need a little something during that time for a little energy boost, but I also need it to be something that can be eaten quickly, has at least some nutrition without a lot of volume… much like something you’d want during any endurance event like a marathonhalf marathon or even long training runs.  Thanks to the way medium chain triglycerides are processed by the body, a snack made of coconut oil is my favorite solution!  (Coconut oil was one of the supplements recommended in Grain Brain too.)

*I’ve been leaving the sugar out and enjoying these as a not-sweet treat, but they are even better with some sort of sweetener.  I do recommend adding sweetener for at least the first few times you make them.  If you like stevia, that could be a great way to keep these lower in carbs without sacrificing sweetness.

These are pretty firm when eaten straight out of the freezer, they are softer when stored in the fridge.  When I take these to class, I put a couple into a small Rubbermaid container and then pack them in a cooler bag with a few ice packs – and that’s enough to keep them from turning into complete mush in a very warm yoga studio.  I love the way these magically take away hunger and easily hold me over until it’s time to eat something more substantial.

Know that these are great before or during any sort of sport or other physical activity – running, hiking, walking, biking, underwater basket weaving, whatever!  We often enjoy these nice as a mid afternoon snack or a while-you’re-making-dinner snack too.  And definitely mix up your mix-ins!  I’ve added chopped macadamia nuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax, cinnamon… lots of possibilities here.

That’s it!  Now go forth and be awesome!  After you’ve had a snack, of course.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

7 Responses

  • jen says:

    DUH JENNIFER. I mean I have a little brownie bites pan so I wouldn’t even have to buy anything. But I like the mini cupcakes..I put it in a mini cupcake tin while filling/firming up haha but I just hate having to throw something out.

    gonna have to mix up my toppings… this is only an occasional snack for me but it really does help that OMG EAT EVERYTHING I feel from 4pm till dinnertime. (WHY.) I’m going to have to mix up the filling too.. I like the idea of chopped nuts.. I love the texture as-is with coconut.

    So what’s a good price and brand of coconut oil? Our store only sells spectrum, and I suck it up (it’s $11 for a jar of the unrefined.. and $8 for refined) but I’m wondering about the brands on Amazon, it seems like a better deal, and I think you’ve talked about this before?

    • I’ve been buying Nutiva from Amazon pretty consistently for almost a year now I’d guess. I always shop around to find the best price per ounce (typically ranging from $.50 – .60/oz) because it seems to vary all the time. Sometimes you can find a really good price if you look around at the varying sizes and quantities. (Like a 2 pack, 3 pack, etc.)

      This is actually the best deal there right now for 54 oz at $.44/oz. I often buy the 2 packs and reorder when I see I’m getting low… thanks to Amazon Prime there’s no shipping and it’s on my doorstep in 2 days! I know it seems like a lot to pay upfront for oil – but it is shelf stable for a long time and is at least slightly cheaper than the Nutiva on the shelves at Wegmans. It is definitely my primary cooking oil, I’m sure I use it everyday!

      I totally agree about not wanting to throw things away, I was flying through those paper cupcake wrappers at the rate that I make these… these silicone cupcake molds have been a great solution, although they are kind of a pain to wash, but still better than throwing away and having to add to the grocery list again.

  • Aunt T says:

    Ali–any idea how much fat and calories are in these without sugar? I would use stevia, but I LOVE coconut!

  • Aunt T says:

    Ali, any idea how much fat and calories would be in one of these little squares? I wouldn’t use sugar, but stevia.

    • I’ve updated the post to include the nutritional stats, you can see them here!

      These stats are based on this exact recipe (This recipe made 21 bites, each bite is 1 1/2 Tbsp of the mixture) NOT including any sugar someone might choose to add. Not low in calories, but high in satisfaction and staying power!

  • Jerry says:

    Hello, any suggestions on how to make something like this but without the nuts? I wonder if soy butter would work? My son has a really nasty peanut/tree nut allergy.
    Be well!