Peanut Butter Energy Balls
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These classic peanut butter energy balls will help you roll through your week. Filled with oats, nuts, and seeds, and naturally sweetened with honey and dates. It’s a quick and easy-to-make recipe that kids will love, too!
There’s nothing fancy about these classic energy balls, just real, feel-good ingredients that come together fast. I make them with oats, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, dates, and a handful of chocolate chips, and they’re just sweet enough to satisfy an afternoon craving or keep me going on busy days and outdoor adventures.
There’s no baking involved, and they take only minutes to make. I almost always double the batch because they disappear quickly and freeze beautifully, making them perfect for road trips, hikes, workdays, or anytime I want something easy to grab. To me, they taste a lot like oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough—comforting, familiar, and impossible not to love.
What I love most about this recipe is how flexible it is. Rolled oats give them structure, creamy natural peanut butter holds everything together, honey and dates add sweetness and stickiness, and chopped nuts, sunflower seeds, coconut, chia seeds, and chocolate chips bring texture and flavor. If you’re missing something, it’s easy to swap—use almond or cashew butter instead of peanut butter, or flax or hemp seeds in place of chia. Once you make them, they tend to become a household staple.
Peanut Butter Energy Balls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup natural peanut butter
- ⅓ cup chopped nuts (I like peanuts)
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds (toasted)
- ¼ cup unsweetened coconut
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 3 pitted dates (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.¾ cup natural peanut butter, 3 pitted dates, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 cup rolled oats, ⅓ cup chopped nuts, ¼ cup sunflower seeds, ¼ cup unsweetened coconut, ¼ cup mini chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- Use a wooden spoon to stir until everything is mixed together well. Put the bowl into the fridge for 15 minutes – this helps make the balls easier to roll.
- Use a medium-sized cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to portion the balls and then roll them into 20 energy balls. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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I would want to omit the dates and honey as I don’t like sweet. How would this affect the texture?
As I’ve never tried the recipe without the honey or dates, I can’t say for sure. But I think that there should be enough stickiness from the peanut butter to hold the balls together. If you decide to give it a go, let us know how it works!
I can’t wait to make some of these! Are the chia seeds necessary? I don’t love them and they make me feel bloated so I haven’t had them in my pantry for a while. Can I just increase the other seeds or sub a different kind of nut? Thanks! 😀
No you can omit them. 🙂