Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Balls are the perfect healthy snack to satisfy your sweet tooth! Made with wholesome, high protein ingredients like peanut butter, oats, and flaxseed, they can easily be made vegan and gluten-free.
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Crispy, crunchy, sweet, and salty. I'm so excited about these energy balls!
These little peanut butter oatmeal balls might just fool you into thinking they're a treat. They're the perfect mixture of salty and sweet and I would totally consider them a healthy snack option.
These bite sized treats are super easy to throw together and keep on hand all week, or toss them in the freezer to have ready to go any time!
Ingredients
- Quick cooking oats
- Crisp rice cereal
- Ground flaxseed
- Oat bran
- Salt
- Natural peanut butter
- Honey
- Chocolate chips
- Peanut butter chips
How to make peanut butter oatmeal balls
- In a large bowl, combine oats, rice cereal, flaxseed, oat bran, salt, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips.
- Add peanut butter and honey and stir until well combined. You may need to use your hands to get everything completely incorporated.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Top tips
What are energy balls?
Energy balls are wholesome little snack bites that are full of protein to give you a little energy kick and help you get through the day.
Use natural peanut butter
There are a lot of people who think you shouldn't bake with natural peanut butter because of the separation. I give my natural peanut butter a good stir right when I open it up and store it upside down in the refrigerator.
I go through it pretty fast and have never had any separation problems, even in baking. Just make sure you're not getting a big spoonful of oil when you scoop it out.
If it becomes too stiff in the refrigerator, remove the cap and microwave for 15-30 seconds before using.
How to store oatmeal energy balls
Homemade energy balls are best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. You can also freeze them in a similar container or zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Tips for customizing peanut butter protein balls:
- Swap the peanut butter for almond butter or cashew butter
- Use maple syrup in place of the honey
- Use gluten free oats to make these gluten free
- Drizzle finished protein balls with melted chocolate or peanut butter
- Use whatever kind of chocolate chips you want. I think dark chocolate would be especially nice!
FAQ
The oat bran and flax are what really boost the nutrition in here. Your body can't absorb the healthy bits from flaxseed unless its ground down, so make sure you're either buying ground flaxseed (sometimes called flaxseed meal) or grinding your own in a spice grinder.
Peanut butter doesn't really need to be sweetened in my opinion, especially when we're adding chocolate chips. However, honey is essential because it does a little something to hold the balls together.
These no bake bites are a little crumbly and take some elbow grease to stick together. If you prefer them easier to roll add a few more tablespoons of honey to the mix. Once formed and refrigerated they should stick together just fine with the recipe below.
More energy ball recipes
- Cardamom Rose Energy Balls
- Gingerbread Energy Balls
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls
- Lemon Poppy Seed Protein Balls
- Coconut Date Energy Balls
- Peanut Butter Larabars
- Pecan Pie Larabars
- Homemade Cashew Cookie Larabars
- Larabar Chocolate Brownie Bites
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups quick cooking oats
- ½ cup crisp rice cereal
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ¼ cup oat bran
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 3-4 tablespoons honey
- ⅔ cup milk chocolate and peanut butter chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine oats, rice cereal, flaxseed, oat bran, salt, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips.
- Add peanut butter and honey and stir until well combined. You may need to use your hands to get everything completely incorporated.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Bonnie says
These taste good! I have a recipe just about the same that I use all the time and I can vouch for these as well. I sometimes even add dates (slightly chopped in the food processor) to help hold them together. This makes me want to go make some right now.
Lindsay Moe says
Yum! I love dates in stuff like this, I'll definitely have to give that a try.
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
These look fab! I have a similar recipe and pretty much no-bake bites with PB and oats & choc chips...can't go wrong!
SaltySweetSour says
These look delicious! I'm always a fan of anything that doesn't require an oven.
Kristi says
Very yummy and easy. Everyone in the family loves them.