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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Jun 5, 2022 · Modified: Dec 15, 2022 by Harriet

    3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls - Easy Energy Bites

    Jump to recipe card

    3 Ingredient peanut butter oatmeal balls are quick and easy to make. You can make this in under 10 minutes. These store well in the fridge and are the perfect eat-on-the-go snack.

    A 45 degree angle closeup shot of  peanut butter oatmeal balls.

    We love using oats in recipes because they are a great way of adding extra fiber to your diet. 

    You can use them to make easy breakfasts like overnight oats, healthy oatmeal banana blueberry muffins, or use oats to make no-bake oatmeal balls or this recipe for peanut butter oatmeal balls. 

    Jump to:
    • 👛 Cost To Make
    • What Are Oatmeal Balls?
    • 🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe:
    • 🥘 Ingredients In This Recipe
    • 🍽 Equipment
    • 🍳 Step By Step Instructions
    • 💭 Recipe Tips
    • 👪 Serving Size
    • 🍬 Calories Per Serve
    • 🥗 Serving Suggestions
    • Substitutions
    • 📖 Variations
    • 🌡️ Storage
    • 🍲 Meal Prepping
    • 📝 Frequently Asked Questions
    • 🍮 More Sweet Recipes
    • 📋 Recipe Card
    • 💬 Comments

    An easy 3 ingredient peanut butter oatmeal balls recipe that is quick to make, delicious, and not too sweet, these are the perfect sweet treat.

    👛 Cost To Make

    Estimated cost = $2.22 or $0.09 a ball

    What Are Oatmeal Balls?

    Oatmeal balls, oatmeal energy balls, or oatmeal energy bites are bite-sized balls made from nut butter, oats, and a natural sweetener.

    The flavors can be kept simple or mixed with other ingredients to give variety, such as chocolate chips, nuts, vanilla extract, and spices like cinnamon.

    🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe:

    You will love this recipe for peanut butter oatmeal balls because:

    • It is a fast and easy snack you can make in less than 10 minutes. 
    • These no-bake peanut butter balls are made with three ingredients and it is a budget-friendly recipe.
    • They are gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.
    • They are also free from refined sugar and honey and are egg-free.
    • They are naturally sweet because of the dates but are not sickly sweet.
    • These are easy to meal prep for snacks and can be frozen.

    🥘 Ingredients In This Recipe

    The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

    Ingredients image.

    Here is what you need to make no-bake peanut butter balls:

    Peanut butter - We used smooth, natural peanut butter, but crunchy will also work well. You can also use other kinds of nut butter, like almond butter.

    Rolled oats - Old-fashioned rolled oats are best for this recipe.

    Dates - We used dried dates for this recipe, but you could also use fresh dates, be sure to remove the seeds before use.

    🍽 Equipment

    You will need a blender to process the ingredients together into a paste.

    If you don't have a blender, you could use a kitchen knife to chop the dates into a fine mince before combining it with the other ingredients.

    It's a little time-consuming this way, but it works.

    🍳 Step By Step Instructions

    Chopped dates in a food processor.

    Step 1 - Place the pitted dates into the bowl of a food processor and process until the dates are minced.

    Depending on the strength of the food processor, you may have to stop the machine from time to time and move the dates around because they tend to clump together and can stain the machine.

    Chopped dates, peanut butter and dates in food processor.

    Step 2 - Add the peanut butter and oats, and process until the mixture combines. 

    Image showing how the peanut butter, date and oatmeal mixture should look like after processing.

    Step 3 - Check the mixture for the correct consistency - it should be slightly sticky, and you should be able to shape it into a ball that holds its shape.  

    Shape into balls

    A hand kneading peanut butter and oatmeal mixture.

    Step 4 - Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and knead it lightly to form a firm dough.

    Image showing what the peanut butter and oatmeal mixture should look like before shaping into balls.

    Step 5 - The above picture shows you what the mixture should look like.

    If the mixture is not holding together, mix in extra peanut butter or water, mixing in 1 teaspoon at a time.

    Twenty five peanut butter balls on a white plate.

    Step 6 - Evenly dividing the mixture into balls, we made 25 pop-in-the-mouth-size peanut butter oatmeal balls. 

    💭 Recipe Tips

    • To get even-sized oat and peanut butter balls, weigh the mixture first, then divide the mixture by 25 for small balls or 12 for larger-sized balls.
    • If it is a hot day, the heat can make the mixture too soft and difficult to shape because it softens the nut butter. If this is the case, place the mixture in the fridge for 15 - 30 minutes so it can chill and set to make shaping easier.

    👪 Serving Size

    This recipe makes about 410 grams (14.46 ounces) of peanut butter oatmeal mixture.

    We made 25 small, 17-gram (0.65 ounces) balls from this recipe and one ball is a serving size.

    🍬 Calories Per Serve

    Each 17-gram (0.65 ounce) peanut butter oatmeal ball is about 75 calories.

    🥗 Serving Suggestions

    • One or two of these are great as a pre-workout snack.
    • Great for packing in lunch boxes for a healthy sweet treat.
    • Enjoy one or two of these instead of cookies with your afternoon coffee or tea.

    Substitutions

    Instead of peanut butter, you can use almond butter, cashew butter, or any other nut butter you love.

    📖 Variations

    Mix it up by adding other flavors

    Use this recipe as a base and mix in other flavors for variety. You could add any of the ingredients listed below or a combination to suit your tastes. Some ideas for you to try:

    • Chocolate chips or chunks
    • Dried fruit, such as raisins, cranberries, or chopped apricots
    • Chopped nuts, such as almonds, pecans, or walnuts
    • Coconut flakes
    • Miniature candy pieces, such as M&M's or Reese's Pieces
    • Cocoa powder or instant coffee granules, for a chocolate or mocha flavor
    • Seeds such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, or hemp seeds
    • Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices

    Add protein

    Replace a portion of the oats with an equal amount of protein powder to make peanut butter energy bites. 

    After adding the protein powder, you may have to adjust the consistency by adding more oats if it is too wet or adding more peanut butter or a splash of water to make it come together if it is too dry.

    Peanut butter balls with oats on a plate.

    🌡️ Storage

    Refrigeration – Store these 3 ingredient energy balls in a sealed container in the fridge. 

    They will keep for up to two weeks, but they tend dry out the longer they are stored and are still good to eat.

    Freezing – These can be frozen. To freeze them, place the oatmeal balls in a single layer spaced apart on a tray and freeze until solid. 

    Once frozen solid, transfer the balls to an air-tight container or zip-lock bag.

    When you want them, remove the required amount from the freezer, and allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge or for about an hour on the benchtop.

    🍲 Meal Prepping

    If you like to meal prep for the week ahead, this is an excellent recipe for easy weekday snacks, either for yourself or your kids' lunch boxes.

    You can easily make a double batch, keep one in the fridge for the coming week and freeze the other for another time.

    📝 Frequently Asked Questions

    Can you use quick oats instead of rolled oats?

    Yes, you can!

    Can I freeze peanut butter oatmeal balls?

    Yes, these no-bake peanut butter balls - refer to our storage notes above.

    🍮 More Sweet Recipes

    • No bake peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip balls
    • Rice pudding with oat milk
    • Greek cookies with powdered sugar
    • Buttermilk scones
    A hand picking up a peanut butter ball.

    I hope you try this easy recipe for 3 ingredient peanut butter oatmeal balls. If you do, please come back and leave a comment below because I would love to know how you went.


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    📋 Recipe Card

    3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls

    Quick and easy 3 ingredient peanut butter oatmeal balls are the perfect snack. These little energy bites can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes and are healthy to eat. They are also gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and vegan.
    Print Recipe
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    Prep Time : 10 mins
    Cook Time : 0 mins
    Total Time : 10 mins
    Cuisine: : Western
    Course : Snack
    Servings : 25 x 17 gram (0.65 ounce) balls
    Calories : 75 : kcal
    Estimated Cost (AUD) : $2.22 or $0.09 a ball

    EQUIPMENT

    • Blender or food processor

    INGREDIENTS

    • 150 grams (5.30 ounces / 1 cup) of dried pitted dates
    • 180 grams (6.45 ounces / ⅔ cup) peanut butter
    • 100 grams (3.52 ounces / 1 cup) rolled oats
    Tap button to prevent your screen from going dark while cooking.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    • Check the dates to ensure that they are seed free.
      Place the pitted dates into the bowl of a food processor and process until the dates are minced.
      Depending on the strength of the food processor, you may have to stop the machine from time to time and move the dates around because they tend to clump together and can stain the machine.
    • Add the peanut butter and oats, and process until the mixture combines.
    • Check the mixture for the correct consistency, it should be slightly sticky, you should be able to shape it into a ball, and it should hold its shape.
    • Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and knead it lightly to form a firm dough.
    • If the mixture is not holding together, mix in extra peanut butter or water, mixing in 1 teaspoon at a time.
    • Evenly divide and shape the mixture into 25 balls.
    • Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.

    Notes

    This recipe makes about 410 grams (14.46 ounces) of peanut butter oatmeal mixture. From this, make 25 small, 17-gram (0.65 ounces) balls. 
    TIPS FOR SUCCESS
    • To get even-sized oat and peanut butter balls, weigh the mixture first, then divide the mixture by 25 for small balls or 12 for larger-sized balls.
    • If it is a hot day, the heat can make the mixture too soft and difficult to shape because it softens the nut butter. If this is the case, place the mixture in the fridge for 15 - 30 minutes so it can chill and set to make shaping easier.
    VARIATIONS
    • After processing the mixture in step 4, you can mix in mini chocolate chips for an indulgent treat.
    • Replace a portion of the oats with an equal amount of protein powder to make peanut butter energy bites. After adding the protein powder, and the mixture is wet, add more oats, or if it is dry, add more peanut butter or a splash of water.
    • You could also mix or roll the oatmeal peanut butter balls in toasted coconut for a tropical flavor.
    • Add more protein and healthy fats by adding in flaxseeds.
    SUBSTITUTIONS
    • Use almond butter, cashew butter, or any other nut butter you love.
    Nutrition Facts
    3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls
    Serving Size
     
    1 x 7 gram (0.65 ounces) ball
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    75
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    4
    g
    6
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    1
    g
    6
    %
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    1
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    2
    g
    Sodium
     
    31
    mg
    1
    %
    Potassium
     
    94
    mg
    3
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    9
    g
    3
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    5
    g
    6
    %
    Protein
     
    2
    g
    4
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    1
    IU
    0
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    1
    mg
    1
    %
    Calcium
     
    8
    mg
    1
    %
    Iron
     
    1
    mg
    6
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Nutrition Disclosure

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nancy says

      December 17, 2022 at 5:43 am

      5 stars
      These are so yummy and not too sweet.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Harriet! The face and photographer behind Recipe Pocket. I am a mother of two who is a cook by day and blogger by night.

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