These banana peanut butter energy bites are packed with flavor and nutrition, are vegan, and make for the perfect snack or pre-workout energy boost!
![Banana Peanut Butter Energy Bites -- made with dried banana, dates and quinoa crispies! [vegan]](https://www.simplyquinoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/banana-peanut-butter-energy-bites-5.webp)
I recently discovered the most amazing thing in the bulk section of my grocery store: dried bananas.
Like dried mangos, but bananas. Holy smokes they're so good! They're the perfect dipping vessel into my homemade peanut butter, they don't get your fingers all sticky like dates do, they provide a nice little energy boost because of all the natural sugars AND the ones in my store are 100% pure organic banana. Kinda genius if you ask me.
Ever since learning about these little gems, I've been wanting to come up with a recipe to use them in. I've pretty much just been snacking on them out of the bag and that's not really blog worthy so…to the drawing board I went.
Initially I was thinking some sort of granola/breakfast treat, but then energy balls popped into my head. You guys know how much of a sucker I am for energy bites!
I figured the bananas would be a perfect addition to the stickiness of energy bites and since I had just gotten done making a big batch of peanut butter, I kind of feel like it was fate.
Friends, these banana peanut butter energy bites are where it's at! I mean not only do them combine two of the best ingredients together (banana + peanut butter), but they're also packed with nutrients, slow releasing carbohydrates and yet they're still sweet enough to have as a dessert.
Dates + banana + cashews + peanut butter + quinoa crispies = pure heaven.
But before we dive into the recipe itself, check out this video where I show you how to whip up these delicious banana peanut butter energy bites!
Energy bites are probably one of the simplest snacks on the planet. They take only a few minutes to make, last forever in the freezer and they're totally portable so you can take them with you to work or for pre-/post-workout fuel.
I actually have two sitting next to me on my desk right now as I'm writing this! With a cup of herbal tea? Snack perfection!
Oh and just in case banana + peanut butter isn't your jam, I've got a bunch of other energy bites for you to try:
- Coconut Chai Protein Quinoa Energy Bites
- Chocolate + Tahini Quinoa Energy Bites
- Muesli & Quinoa Energy Bites
- Vegan Snickerdoodle Energy Bites
Your turn…
What's your favorite on-the-go, quick snack? Often times mine might be just a piece of fruit, but I also love energy bites + homemade granola bars. Let me know yours in the comments below!
xo Alyssa
More Scrumptious Energy Ball Recipes to try:
- No-Bake Gingerbread Energy Balls
- Coconut Chai Protein Quinoa Energy Bites
- Superfood Chocolate Brownie Energy Bites
- No-Bake Healthy Pumpkin Spice Truffles
- Muesli & Quinoa Energy Bites
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Energy Balls
Banana Peanut Butter Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup medjool dates about 10 - 12
- 1 cup chopped dried banana you could also try banana chips
- 1 cup cashews or nuts of choice
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 - 2 tablespoons water if needed
- 1/2 cup quinoa crispies
Instructions
- Add dates and banana to the bowl of a food processor and process until chopped. Add in cashews and process again until it resembles a sandy texture.
- Add peanut butter, cinnamon and sea salt to the food processor and whirl again until combined. If the dough comes together, no need to add water. But if the mixture still a bit crumbly, while the machine is running, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture comes together (I used about 1 tablespoon). Pulse in quinoa crispies.
- Form the dough into golf ball-sized bites and roll them gently between your hands until completely smooth. Store in fridge or freezer.
Video
Nutrition
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![Banana Peanut Butter Energy Bites -- made with dried banana, dates and quinoa crispies! [vegan]](https://www.simplyquinoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/peanut-butter-energy-bites.webp)
Wow these are amazing! So yummy my husband and little 4yr old boy loved them too. Those quinoa crispes are a genius idea. Many thanks for sharing x
Woo!! Thrilled y’all like them 🙂
OMG – these are awesome. Peanut butter and banana also one of my favorite combos. Quinoa crisps are genius. Will make these by the batch! Do you know if they stay crisp if in a sealed container? Also, you can find dried bananas at Trader Joe’s. Thanks again Alyssa. This recipe will be high in my energy bite rotation ????.
YAY! Quinoa crispies are a game changer, I’m not even kidding. I put them on everything! And yes, they stay crispy sealed in a container and keep for at least a week if not longer. They’re kind of like granola!
How to dry the bananas
I buy them like that 🙂 You can find some here: http://amzn.to/1WFAldA
These look AMAZING! I’m going to make them and add them to my other quinoa energy bites I already have in my freezer! Thanks for creating the most delicious recipes!
Yay! Let me know how they turn out…they’re so yummy!
Thanks for this recipe. I’d like to give it a try but I don’t see any nutrition facts about serving size or calories. How many of this bites should I eat?
You can eat as many as you feel like you need. If you’re going for a simple light snack, one will probably be fine, but if you need something a little more substantial, you could have 2 or 3. You can calculate the nutrition facts here: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Where can I find quinoa crispies?
You can make them actually! Here’s my tutorial (there’s also a video showing you how!) 🙂 https://www.simplyquinoa.com/how-to-make-quinoa-crispies/