These lemon poppy seed energy bites are a perfect healthy snack idea bursting with fresh lemon flavor! Not only do they have delicious lemon poppy seed flavor, they are filled with good-for you ingredients: oats, nut butter (I used cashew!), honey, lemon juice and zest, poppy seeds, and toasted coconut! I loved pairing these lemon energy bites with fresh blueberries for a delicious and satisfying snack! Hope you give these super simple no-bake energy bites a try! ?
Without fail, I really do tend to crave flavors based on the season. Pumpkin and apple in the fall, peppermint in the winter, chocolate anytime of year…and carrot cake and lemon flavors in the spring! While it may have been spring for awhile where you live, it’s just FINALLY staying warm and sunny and feeling like spring here. The sunshine, longer day light hours, and warmer weather makes me SO happy. We’ve been loving going on walks, hikes, and bike rides outside!
Anyways, all that to say, while I wouldn’t say lemon is my all-time favorite flavor (that award goes to anything peanut butter and/or chocolate), I truly have loved these lemon energy bites! They are a fun and refreshing change of pace from my mocha no-bake cookie energy balls or monster cookie energy bites. See? I told you I had a thing for chocolate and peanut butter. ?
Here’s what you’ll need to make these delicious lemon poppy seed energy bites!
Ingredients and Substitution Ideas
Oats
Just like with these mocha energy balls and these peanut butter chocolate chip no bake granola bars, I love using quick oats in these lemon bites! I have found quick oats to hold together better and have a better texture in these energy bites. If all you have is old-fashioned/rolled oats, all you have to do is just put 1 cup in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times until they resemble quick oats! Just don’t pulse nonstop or too long or you’ll have oat flour instead.
Cashew butter
While I prefer cashew butter (love the neutral buttery flavor it gives!) in these lemon energy bites, I have also tested them with almond butter which works too! I definitely don’t recommend peanut butter or sunflower seed butter here…I don’t think those flavors would go well with lemon! If using almond butter, the lemon bites will be slightly darker in color.
Honey
I’ve actually only tried honey in this recipe! Honey tends to be a bit thicker/stickier than pure maple syrup and agave, but I’m pretty sure you could try subbing either one of those liquid sweeteners in place of the honey if you wish!
Lemon juice
Needed for that lemon flavor! While I don’t have any substitute ideas for lemon (I mean you kind of need lemons for a lemon recipe…), I think lime juice would be a fun twist on these bites if you want go to for a key lime variation! I used freshly squeezed lemon juice in these bites. You will need 1 lemon for this recipe, but make sure you zest it first!
Lemon zest
Lemon zest is the yellow peel of the lemon, but not the white pith part. While bitter by itself, it adds a delicious stronger lemon flavor to these bites than if you’d just use plain lemon juice! I use a box grater on the small shred size to grate the lemon peel to get the zest!
Poppy seeds
Honestly, I don’t think poppy seeds have much flavor in and of themselves, but lemon poppy seed is a classic combination so I thought I’d add them to these bites! It provides a fun look and a bit of texture. You could possibly use chia seeds in place of the poppy seeds, or simply omit altogether.
Sea salt
A pinch of salt is VERY necessary in pretty much any recipe in my opinion! It really brings out the sweetness in recipes and really helps to balance all the flavors. I rarely measure salt in recipes (I just grate it in), but used about ¼ teaspoon for this recipe.
Coconut
This was a somewhat last minute addition, but I’m so glad I decided to stir in some coconut! Not just regular coconut…I toasted my shredded coconut on a skillet pan on low heat for a few minutes until golden brown. Toasting coconut (just like with toasted/roasted nuts versus raw nuts) really brings out the flavor and is absolutely delicious! I loved the coconut paired with lemon flavors, and it also added some great texture along with the oats and poppy seeds in these bites. That being said, if you don’t have/like coconut or are allergic, you can easily omit the shredded coconut from this recipe or use untoasted coconut if you don’t want to take the extra step of toasting it (but I do highly recommend taking the few minutes it takes!).
Serving Suggestions
As I mentioned, I loved eating these lemon poppy seed energy bites paired with fresh blueberries for a yummy snack! They are also great crumbled over vanilla Greek yogurt paired with fresh berries (like a granola parfait situation using these lemon bites instead of granola for a delicious breakfast (or snack!). They are also obviously delicious on their own! If you’re looking for other delicious lemon recipes, I absolutely love these lemon poppy seed breakfast cookies or lemon poppy seed ricotta muffins-they were the very FIRST recipe that was ever posted on the blog! ?
- 1 cup quick oats
- ¼ cup cashew butter (could sub almond butter)
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons zest)
- ½ tablespoon poppy seeds
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup coconut, toasted
- In a small skillet, toast shredded coconut flakes over low heat until golden brown and fragrant, stirring often. This will only take a couple minutes, and it can burn quickly, so watch closely!
- In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until combined.
- Roll into balls (I got about 12-14 small/medium balls); make them as small as big as you want!
- Keep lemon energy bites in fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to a couple months!
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