Fancy a little healthy sweet treat? These cardamom pistachio energy balls are a perfect mid-afternoon snack, with oats, flax, honey, cardamom and pistachio nuts. Made without dates or dried fruit, they come together in less than 30 minutes for when the munchies hit!
I'm definitely someone who needs a little snack now and again constantly, especially when working 😉 So making tasty energy balls has become part of my routine - I need a constant supply!
If you love them too you may like to see my coconut energy balls, my sesame energy balls and my turmeric ginger energy balls. All tasty and healthy too!
And check out my 25 fun snacks round-up for even more tasty treats!
These pistachio protein balls have the best hints of spice, which goes so well with the pistachios. A simple, and delicious recipe, with a bit of a different taste to many bliss balls out there!
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⭐ Why these energy balls are so good
- So easy to make - making these pistachio energy balls really is just a case of blending the oats, and then adding all the other ingredients to a food processor. These no bake energy balls are ready in no time!
- Healthy ingredients (mostly!) - with oats, flax, pistachios and cardamom, there are lots of healthy ingredients in this tasty snack.
- Made without dried fruit - energy balls without dates are a little hard to come by, so these are perfect if dates or dried fruit doesn't work for you.
- Refined sugar free - I've seen some with a lot of added sugar, but these are refined sugar free energy balls using honey in place of regular sugar.
🌰 Ingredients
A really short list of ingredients, and all pantry staples in my home. No strange ingredients you have to spend ages hunting for online! You will need:
- Oats: the basis of these energy balls. Use something like the Bob's Red Mill organic gluten free old fashioned rolled oats if you require certified gluten free oats.
- Flax: helps bind the energy balls together and full of healthy vitamins too. You want milled flax rather than whole seeds.
- Pistachios: be sure to use plain ones - so unsalted and unroasted. Either would change the flavour too much.
- Cardamom: for that lovely hint of spice. The Simply Organic cardamom powder is good.
- Almond butter: to help bind the energy balls. If almonds don't work for you then any nut or seed butter should be fine.
- Honey: these are refined sugar free energy balls, but we use honey for some sweetness.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making these pistachio energy balls at home is super easy, and far less expensive than those in the store! Just a couple of steps for your healthy mid-afternoon snack:
Step 1
Blend the oats and flax so you have a grainy texture. It should still have some 'bite' and not be a fine flour. A few pulses of the food processor should do it.
Step 2
Add all the other ingredients to the food processor alongside the oats and flax. Blend until you get a rough ball of 'dough'. If the dough feels too dry then add some extra water.
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Try not to over-blend the oats in the first step. You want a grainy texture with some bite to it, not a very fine powder.
- Add a touch of water if the 'dough' seems too dry. This may be necessary if using an almond butter that is thicker rather than a more runny liquid.
- Adjust the amount of spice to taste preference.
📋 Frequently asked questions
I think so! These have carbs from the oats, protein from the nut butter and some good fats in the flax. I would say these healthy energy balls are better than a lot of other snacks!
I haven't personally tried it, but I think it should turn out great. You simply need a nut or seed butter that will help hold the energy ball together.
You need pistachio nuts that are not salted or roasted. If they are either of those things, the flavour would be very different! So just plain pistachio nuts.
🍽 More fun energy balls
Find lots of ideas for a sweet treat on my snacks page, including my nut free protein balls, maple syrup popcorn and my apple cinnamon trail mix and these recent recipes:
I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram and Facebook to be the first to hear of new recipes. And do leave a star rating ⭐ if you tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Pistachio Energy Balls
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
- Bowl
- Cookie scoop optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats
- 2 tablespoon milled flaxseed
- ⅓ cup pistachios
- ½ cup almond butter or macadamia nut butter
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Blend the oats and flaxmeal in a food processor so they have a grainy texture, but it isn't a fine powder.
- Add all the other ingredients and blend until it forms a thick 'dough'. If it seems too dry then add some extra honey, almond (or macadamia nut) butter or a touch of water.
- Transfer to a bowl and chill in the fridge for around 20 minutes.
- Use a cookie scoop or your hands to form around 9 energy balls.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of cardamom to taste preference. This is quite mild, so add another ¼ teaspoon for extra spice.
- Swap out the almond butter for another nut or seed butter if not tolerated well.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- flaxseed is not rated on the SIGHI list.
- almond butter (almonds) score 1. Swap out for another nut or seed butter if required.
- cardamom scores 0, but with a note stating that some varieties may not be well tolerated.
Darlene Miller says
Can protein powder be added to these?
Claire says
I haven't recipe tested them with protein powder.
Alice says
Really liked these!
Claire says
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and glad you enjoyed the energy balls!