These 3 Ingredient peanut butter oatmeal balls are quick and easy to make.
These dairy free peanut butter balls can be made in under 10 minutes, and they are the perfect eat-on-the-go snack.
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.
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Make these tasty and simple 3 ingredient peanut butter oatmeal balls. They are quick to make, yummy, and not overly sugary, making them the ideal 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 date peanut butter balls recipe because:
- This fast and easy snack can be made in less than 10 minutes
- It is a budget-friendly recipe made with three simple ingredients.
- This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, and nut-free.
- These nut-free energy balls are free from refined sugar and have no honey or maple syrup.
- These energy balls are naturally sweetened because of the dates.
- 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.
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
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.
Step 2 - Add the peanut butter and oats, and process until the mixture combines.
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
Step 4 - Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and knead it lightly to form a firm dough.
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.
Step 6 - Evenly dividing the mixture into balls, we made 25 pop-in-the-mouth-size peanut butter oatmeal balls.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure that the dates have all the pits removed before adding to the blender. Sometimes when you buy a pack of pitted dates, you will find the odd one or two with the pits still in.
- If the dates seem too dry, soak them in warm water to rehydrate them, then drain and pat dry before using.
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 or post-workout snack.
- Great for packing in lunch boxes for a healthy sweet treat.
- Enjoy these easy healthy snacks with your afternoon tea or coffee instead of cakes or cookies.
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:
- Mini 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.
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
Yes, you can!
Yes, these no-bake peanut butter balls - refer to our storage notes above.
If the weather is hot and the peanut butter has been left at room temperature, it can become quite soft and hard to shape.
If this happens place the oatmeal date ball mixture in the fridge for 10 -30 minutes to chill and firm up.
Yes, you can make this peanut-free by using other nut butter like cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower butter, or any other nut butter.
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.
Recipe
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls
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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- Use almond butter, cashew butter, or any other nut butter you love.
Nancy says
These are so yummy and not too sweet.