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Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites

Treat yourself with these deceptively healthy dark chocolate and cherry energy bites made with delicious, dark chocolate and cherries. The perfect sweet snack that’s packed full of energy!

Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites | Treat yourself with these guilt-free dark chocolate and cherry energy bites made with delicious, dark chocolate and cherries | A Sweet Pea Chef

When Jordan was an itty bitty baby, she really didn’t enjoy falling asleep in her crib.

It was bad.

This led (read: forced) Dustin and me to go on nightly drives to get her fall asleep so we could transfer her back into her crib…and, honestly, to avoid all the crying, screaming, and complaining.

From Jordan.

Okay, from me, too.

All the ingredients used to make dark chocolate cherries energy bites, placed in glass bowls, including dates, dried cherries, cinnamon, dark chocolate morsels, and raw almonds Glass bowl of dried cherries to be used to make dark chocolate cherries energy bites

Over time, Dustin and I actually grew to love these nightly escapades – we had an opportunity to discuss the events of the day, this crazy new blog, called A Sweet Pea Chef, I was starting (hee!), fun pipe dreams, and life.

We also found a perfectly located Starbucks that was located along the Freeway in San Diego right after Jordan would usually fall asleep.  So, once she fell asleep, we’d stop and grab a coffee for our drive.

It was our thing.

It was on those drives and at that Starbucks that we fell in love with Dark Chocolate Cherry Lattes (this was totally before my clean eating days, folks).

And, thus, began our infatuation with chocolate and cherries.

Before and after photos of nut and dried fruit ingredients pulsed in a food processor to make dark chocolate cherry energy bites to show how to make energy bites.

After that winter, though, Starbucks stopped selling their Dark Chocolate Cherry Mocha and we’ve yet to see it again.

It’s been 8 years.

8 years.

And nothing.

Jordan is 9 now!

We figured it was probably time to move on.  I mean, really, what we really loved was the combination of chocolate and cherries.

Because: yum.

Close up of dark chocolate cherry energy bites placed on a baking sheet Close up of a bowl of dark chocolate cherry energy bites garnished with fresh cherries Side angle photo of a bowl of dark chocolate energy bites, ready to be served and enjoyed

Are Energy Bites Healthy?

Since I’ve been trying to eat clean, high-energy snacks and energy bite recipes, I started playing around with energy bite recipes. Dustin suggested I try to make a dark chocolate cherry energy bites recipe.

I’m super excited to show you how to make energy bites with dates, dark chocolate, dried cherries, and other natural, wholesome ingredients. Minus all the sugar and saturated fat that’s often in many so-called “energy bars.” Now, that’s what I call guilt-free!

How to Make Energy Bites

If you haven’t tried making your own homemade energy ball or bite recipe before, it really couldn’t be easier.  I use my food processor, but you could also use a heavy duty kitchen blender.

All you really have to do is add your ingredients to your food processor and blend until it starts to stick to itself.  The best way to achieve the stickiness is to use dried fruits — my faves are dates and then I like to add in different dried fruits, like apricots, raisins, and cherries (duh!) to add more flavor.  Dates make energy bites super easy to make — if your dates happen to be super dry and crumbly, you can soak them in warm water for a bit before using them so they soften some.

To make sure you pack all that energy into your energy bites, you’ll also want to add in protein packed nuts, like almonds, pecans, or walnuts — they make great additions to homemade energy bites.

If you’d like to turn these bites into bars, just form them into a flat rectangle using a parchment paper lined casserole dish and then press into a mold.  Then, divided into bars instead of rolling into balls.  I typically use the amount of 2 bites to make 1 bar, but you can form them into whatever shape you like.

Let’s go over some energy bite awesomeness:

  1. You can control the ingredients that go into your energy ball or bite or bar
  2. They take about 10 minutes to make and last over a week in the fridge
  3. They are super flavorful and handy to grab
  4. You can create any flavor combination you want
  5. They’re totally an awesome snack that’s raw, vegan, gluten-free, clean, and super yummers
  6. chocolate + cherries = <3

High angle photo of dark chocolate energy bites, served in a white bowl Bowl of dark chocolate energy bites, decorated with dark chocolate morsels and fresh cherries

Finally! Dustin and I have a new way to reminisce when Jordan would never sleep and we embarked on this crazy business of ours.

And, we get to enjoy the amazing combination of chocolate and cherry with these dark chocolate cherry energy bites.

Now, it’s your turn!

Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites

4.5 from 2 votes
Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites Square Recipe Preview Image
Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

Treat yourself with these deceptively healthy dark chocolate and cherry energy bites. The perfect sweet treat that's packed full of energy!

Categories: Clean, gluten free, Raw, Vegan
Difficulty: Easy
Keyword: cherrychocolate, dark chocolate cherry, dark chocolate energy bites
Servings: 15 bites
Calories: 81 kcal
Author: Lacey Baier
Ingredients
  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate morsels
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries
  • 2 cups dates, pitted
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Add the almonds to the food processor and blend until chopped, but not all the way to a flour.

  2. Add in the dried cherries, dark chocolate morsels, pitted dates, ground cinnamon, and sea salt.
  3. Process until an even texture. (If you like there to be chunks of chocolate or cherries, you can stop a little sooner before everything is evenly processed - it’s up to you.)
  4. Carefully grab a small handful and roll into about 1-inch balls - the mixture will stick to itself pretty easily. You should be able to make about 12-15 energy bites.
  5. Place the energy bites into the fridge for about 15 minutes to set. These energy balls will keep fresh in an air-tight container for up to a week or you could freeze for longer.

Recipe Video

Nutrition Facts
Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites
Amount Per Serving (1 bite)
Calories 81 Calories from Fat 29
% Daily Value*
Fat 3.2g5%
Saturated Fat 1.7g9%
Cholesterol 0.5mg0%
Sodium 116mg5%
Carbohydrates 14.6g5%
Fiber 3.3g13%
Sugar 9.1g10%
Protein 2.1g4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.

Lacey Baier

Hey there! I’m Lacey Baier and I’d like to welcome you! I’m a healthy lifestyle influencer and the creator of this clean-eating blog and YouTube channel, as well as cleanish, my clean-eating supplement brand. My recipes have been published on Food Network, Good Morning America, FoxNews, Tastemade, Fitness Magazine, and much more. I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and four kiddos. Let’s get started!

19 thoughts on “Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites

  1. These look delicious but I was hoping to use fresh cherries instead of dried ones. I’m sure it would change the consistency but just wondering if you have tried that?

  2. Are you able to find dried cherries without any added sugar? If so, could you tell me where you find them? The ones I’ve been able to find contain added sugar (similar to the way most dried cranberries have added sugar). 😒

    Thank you!

  3. Is it possible to make these with dried cranberries instead of cherries? I mean, do you think they will taste just as good or..? 🙂

    1. Yes, you can easily replace with cranberries – they will be more tart and not quite as sweet, but will still be tasty! Make sure to look for cranberries that have no added sugar when dried.

  4. Love the dark chocolate bites, especially how you add pecans to them. I make something similar but as a bar and only use almonds…will have to try your delicious version.

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