These No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls are simple, 3-ingredient protein snacks made with no gluten and no refined sugar, with over 5 grams of protein per serving and ready in under 10 minutes.
While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!
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No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls
These No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls are simple, 3-ingredient protein snacks made with no gluten and no refined sugar, with over 5 grams of protein per serving and ready in under 10 minutes.
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Servings: 10 balls
Calories: 157.6 kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup Peanut Butter - (note 1)
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup - (note 2)
- 1 cup Almond Flour - (note 3)
Optional
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla if used, and almond flour.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir to combine and form a smooth dough. If your dough is too soft, you can add a bit more almond flour, or 1-2 tablespoons of oat flour, to firm up even more.
- Spray a little oil in your hand, grab a tablespoon of dough, and roll into a ball. I made 10 peanut butter balls.
Notes
Note 1: I am using natural peanut butter with no added sugar, no added oil. You can also use almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.
Note 2: Or agave syrup, or coconut nectar.
Note 3: or 3/4 cup oat flour.
Storage: Store in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ball | Calories: 157.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.3g | Protein: 5.3g | Fat: 12.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.3g | Sodium: 55.9mg | Potassium: 86.8mg | Fiber: 1.8g | Sugar: 5.4g | Calcium: 36.4mg | Iron: 0.7mg | Magnesium: 23.1mg | Phosphorus: 43.8mg | Zinc: 0.4mg
Ingredients and Substitutions
This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe
You only need 3 simple ingredients to make this recipe. Here’s how to pick and swap them.
- Peanut Butter – This provides the primary flavor and richness for your balls, along with protein. I like to use natural peanut butter without added sugar or oil. You can easily swap this for almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter if you want a nut-free option or a different taste.
- Maple Syrup – Maple syrup is the natural sweetener that binds the ingredients together. Agave syrup or coconut nectar also work well as alternatives.
- Almond Flour – Almond flour gives these balls their texture and helps absorb moisture, forming a cohesive dough. You can also use oat flour, but you might need slightly less as it tends to absorb more moisture than almond flour.
How to Make No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls
This recipe is super simple to whip up. Here’s how in two pictures.
Pour the 3 ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Combine into a sticky batter and roll small balls..
Carine’s Tips
Let me share a few more tips for a perfect peanut butter balls.
- Firming Dough – If your dough feels a little too soft after mixing, don’t worry! You can easily firm it up by adding a bit more almond flour, or 1 to 2 tablespoons of oat flour, until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Flavor Boost – For an extra layer of deliciousness, stir in a teaspoon of vanilla extract with your other ingredients. It really makes a difference in the overall flavor of the peanut butter balls.
- Chocolate Coating – To make these even more decadent, melt 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate, place them on a parchment-lined plate, and freeze them for about 15 minutes to set the chocolate shell.
- Nut-Free Option – You can easily make these peanut butter balls nut-free by swapping the peanut butter for sunflower seed butter and using oat flour instead of almond flour. Remember that oat flour absorbs more moisture, so you might need a bit less of it.
- Mix-In Crunch – For added texture and sweetness, fold in 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips into the dough before rolling your balls.
Can I use unsweetened maple syrup? I am diabetic. Let me know.
It depends of the brand you use, some sugar-free syrup are mostly made of water as the first ingredient and won’t bind ingredient together. Other brands use so much fibers that it dry out everything. You will need to adjust and play to achieve the same result.
I’m over 70 now & my kids int their late 40s & early 50s. When they were very young we had a HoneyBee Farm so had lots of honey. I made these during the time of no internet, so, not sure where I first saw a peanut butter balls recipe.
I decided fir best nutritional value for my 3 kids would include: 1 cup of dry powder milk, 1/2 c of honey, then measure 1 cup creamy or nutty PB using the same measuring cup for all ingredients in the order listed… mix & adjust adding more of the honey if need a little at a time. I would refigerate to firm up before rolling into ball, checking constancy again. I’ve added vanilla or almond extract & switched PB for Almond Butter when I could over the years.
We were a very busy Family back then and these can be a quick no bake energy sweet treat! My Son had allergies diagnosed at one point; but did not include a peanut allergy! Thank goodness. So, nowadays I ask Friends before giving as a gift. A big treat was hearing about Buckeye Balls & melted chocolate chips w a bit of coconut oil cool slightly using cold balls then dip almost covered in the chocolate, add some fine chopped peanuts to set them in as they harden. Imagine, a 50 year old recipe still going around!
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