Quick and easy to make, these homemade Lemon Energy Balls are a great healthy Spring or Summer snack! They’re loaded with oats, almond butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sweetened with a little honey. Take ten minutes out of your day to make these and be prepared with snacks all week!
The hangry monster is real in our house!
It’s something I grew up joking about with my family, long before we even knew the word “hangry.” We just knew that without food for an extended amount of time, someone was going to have a meltdown (kid or adult!). My mom learned to be prepared with snacks early on.
Of course, after I became a Mom history just repeated itself. I swear you can see the hangry look written all over a toddlers face, and you know you have a matter of minutes to get them to food before a total meltdown.
Often times I rely on store bought snacks. They’re so much easier. But, I love making things myself (which should come as no surprise!) so I like to have my own arsenal of a few homemade snack recipes too.
I like to make snacks that are quick, easy, tasty, and made with simple and healthy ingredients.
These Lemon Energy Balls are just that!
They’re made with oats, for a whole grain base that will keep you full longer and give you a little extra fiber. The almond butter brings in a punch of protein and healthy fats, that again, will help you stay full longer.
Just a couple of these energy balls can really kick the hangry monster to the curb!
These Lemon Energy Balls in particular are made with lemon juice and zest, for a fun, bright, tart and sweet, Spring and Summer-y flavor. These no bake energy balls are the perfect thing to make when its a zillion degrees out during the Summer and you want a light, refreshing snack.
Let’s chat about some options for these energy balls.
To make them gluten-free, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
You can use either rolled oats or quick cooking oats in these, or a combination of both. Rolled oats will give you a firmer energy ball with a thicker texture. Quick cooking oats will give you a more melt-in-your mouth type texture. I like both, so I just use whatever I have on hand!
These Lemon Energy Balls are naturally dairy-free. To make them vegan, simply use maple syrup instead of honey to sweeten them. That’s it!
One of the most important ingredients in these is the type of almond butter that you use. I like to use (and recommend, for these) a thicker almond butter, like this brand. If you use a more drippy and oily almond butter, you may need to add more oats for the energy balls to come to the right consistency. If you use a more drippy and oily almond butter, you’ll also have more oil in your energy balls (just something to consider, if you’re conscientious of your intake of oil).
You can personalize these too, for more flavor than just lemon!
There’s a few things you can add to these Lemon Energy Balls to make them even better. Try these combinations:
- Lemon Blueberry Energy Balls: add dried blueberries (about 1/2 cup) (or any other dried fruits work here too!)
- Lemon Coconut Energy Balls: add shredded coconut (about 1/2 cup)
- Lemon Poppy seed Energy Balls: add poppy seeds (about 2 teaspoons)
- Lemon Ginger Energy Balls: add powdered ginger (about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon)
These Lemon Energy Balls are such a fun and healthy snack that we love at our house. You can’t go wrong with adding anything extra in, or leaving them as is!
I hope you try these and love them as much as my family does! You can’t go wrong with a yummy and healthy snack.
After you make them, let me know what you think! Leave a comment and star rating, below, and/or find me on Instagram and tag me in a pic! I love to see what you make.
And if you need a few more snack ideas, I’d recommend my Vanilla Granola, Cereal Snack Bars and baked Maple Pecan Granola Bars.
- 1 cup almond butter (or cashew butter), thick*
- 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup if vegan)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- zest of 3 small lemons
- 2 cups oats, certified gluten-free (rolled or quick-cooking)
- 1/4 tsp salt
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To a large mixing bowl, add your honey, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir together till well combined. To the same bowl, add your oats and salt and stir till you have a consistent batter. *Depending on the brand of almond butter you use, your energy ball mixture may need more oats.
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Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out your energy balls. Roll each one in between your hands briefly, for an even ball. Place into an airtight container in the fridge for at least an hour, or till firm.
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Grab a few and devour!
Store these in an airtight container in the fridge and they last about a week or so.
*I recommend using a thicker almond butter, for similar results. If your almond butter is too runny, you may need to use less of it, or use more oats.
Love! Will add coconut to next batch for sure
I love adding dried blueberries to them!
you left out adding the almond butter to the mxing bowl