No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls
Healthy snacking has never been so easy with these no-bake peanut butter oatmeal balls!
It’s an easy vegan energy ball recipe ready in 30 minutes without a food processor or any fancy tool!

What Are No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls?
These peanut butter oatmeal balls are simple, delicious energy balls made with wholesome ingredients such as oats, peanut butter, and maple syrup.
It’s perfect to recharge your energy after a workout or as a quick snack.
How To Make No-Bake Oatmeal Balls
There are many ways to make no-bake energy balls with oatmeal.
Ingredients
The easiest no-bake energy balls are made of 6 ingredients:
- Old fashioned oats – you can use rolled oats, but you may need to add more since rolled oats are cut finely. Also, the texture will be much different, and softer and the batter will be stickier.
- Creamy peanut butter – the key to making soft, melt-in-your-mouth no-bake energy bites is to use a fresh jar of creamy peanut butter. Preferably, choose a brand with no sugar added and no added oil to make healthy no-bake oatmeal balls.
- Maple syrup – you need a liquid sweetener to bind the ingredients together. You can also use agave syrup or brown rice syrup. They are vegan-approved and will make delicious raw vegan energy balls!
- Dark chocolate chips – make sure they don’t contain added milk to make healthy vegan energy balls.
- Seeds or nuts – feel free to mix your favorite nuts, dried fruits, or chopped nuts in this recipe. I love to use a combination of pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and unsweetened shredded coconut. Other options are chopped almonds, flax seeds, chia seeds, raisins, and more.
- Vanilla extract – for a perfect taste.
Making Quick And Easy Oatmeal Balls
This is the easiest healthy snacking recipe ever!
Follow the easy 4 steps below to make these no-bake peanut butter oatmeal energy balls at home in less than 30 minutes:
Combining Ingredients
Combine all the ingredients into a bowl. You don’t need a food processor.
A simple mixing bowl and spatula are enough.
Refrigerate The Dough
This is the trick to harden the batter slightly and make it easier to roll without falling apart.
Rolling The Balls
Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter and roll your oatmeal balls between your hands.
My tip, lightly wet your hands with water before rolling a ball to prevent the batter from sticking to your fingers.
Serving
The best part, you can eat them straight away to fix your sweet craving quickly.
Storage Instructions
These no-bake peanut butter energy balls store very well too for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.
You can freeze these energy balls and thaw them at room temperature 3 hours before snacking!
If you really love this energy bite recipe, double the batch, play with the added ingredients to create different flavors, and freeze for later!
Making No-Bake Oatmeal Balls Without Peanut Butter
If you are allergic to nuts or want a healthier option with less saturated fat, there are plenty of options to replace peanut butter in this recipe.
You can replace peanut butter with the same amount of:
- Creamy almond butter – it is a healthy nut butter option to decrease the saturated fat in the recipe and make healthy no-bake peanut butter oatmeal balls.
- Sunflower seed butter – a great nut-free option, but it can add a bitter aftertaste if you are not used to it.
- Tahini – another nut-free option, also known as sesame seed butter, but be aware that it can add a bitter aftertaste to your no-bake energy ball recipe!
Healthy Add-Ons
This no-bake peanut butter oatmeal ball recipe is so versatile.
You can add or change so many ingredients to create different flavors. Below are some of my favorite ideas for you to try:
- Protein balls – turn this recipe into protein balls using protein peanut butter powder. Make sure you first re-hydrate the powder to get 1 cup, the amount required in the recipe. Then, use it as a peanut butter replacement in the recipe to boost your protein intake.
- Ground flax seeds – add 1 tablespoon of ground seeds to boost your healthy fatty acids!
- Spices – add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin spices, or any flavor you fancy!
More Vegan Energy Ball Recipes
I love to create energy ball recipes. They are easy, healthy, and perfect to fix a sweet craving with a handful of simple ingredients.
I have a collection of healthy energy balls for you to try:
Have you tried these no-bake peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal energy balls? Leave me a review, comment below, or share a picture with me on Instagram. I love to connect with you!
No-bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls
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Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Old-Fashioned Oats
- 1 cup Peanut Butter (Unsalted) - fresh, creamy, no added sugar, no added oil
- ½ cup Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- ½ cup Seeds - I used 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 2 tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut + 2 tbsp. dried cranberries
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients in this order: old-fashioned oats, fresh runny peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, dark chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, salt, and cinnamon.
- Use a spatula to combine all the ingredients until it is sticky and forms a dough.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set the dough. It will make it easier to roll into energy bites.
- Remove from the fridge, slightly wet your hands with water before shaping each energy ball to prevent the batter from sticking to your hands. Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll within your hands to shape energy balls.
- Place each energy ball onto a plate covered with parchment paper.
Storage
- Keep rolling until you form about 30 energy balls. Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
- Can be frozen in an airtight container. Remove from the freezer 3 hours before serving, thaw at room temperature until soft.
Back in the groovy 1970s, my mom used to make energy bars and these are as close as I’ve found to her recipe. Delish! I like mine with dried cherries and apricots, chocolate chips, and roasted pumpkin seeds. I keep them in the fridge for those mornings when I have to run out of the house without a proper breakfast. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I’m in Uganda and I was able to make these with gluten free oats/granola, dates instead of cranberries, cashews instead of pumpkin seeds and honey instead of maple syrup. Somethings are hard to find here. Thank you for this recipe. I love these and so do the locals!!
Is there alternative to oatmeal? My son is allergic.
You can use any other cereals like puffed rice, crushed cornflakes, puffed quinoa or puffed amaranth
Can these made be into bar especially if I use protein in them?
Probably but adding protein powder will make the dough dry and crumbly. Try my no bake protein bars instead
Wonderful recipe but I would halve the maple syrup next time….way too sweet with 1/2 c of maple syrup.
If you are obsessed with peanut butter like myself you definitely have to try these.