Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls 3 Ingredient

What Are Oatmeal Balls?

Oatmeal Balls, also called oatmeal energy balls or oatmeal energy bites, are bite-size raw balls made of oats, nut or seed butter, and unrefined sweetener. You can make healthy Low Calorie Protein Balls, super tasty Banana Oat Balls or my very simple No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls. Some oatmeal balls also include dried fruits, chocolate chips, or flavors like vanilla extract and cinnamon. Oatmeal energy balls are perfect for a post-workout snack to quickly refuel on carbs and proteins. They are also great for fixing a sweet craving and a healthy snack on in the morning or afternoon.

Ingredients and Substitutions

These balls can be prepared in just about 15 minutes as long as you have the right ingredients. All you need to make no-bake peanut butter balls are:

Natural Peanut Butter – it means a fresh jar of creamy peanut butter with no added oil or added sugar. Almond butter also works. Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats or quick oats or 50% of each. All oat options work but give different textures. Maple Syrup – Use natural maple syrup or brown rice syrup for low-GI energy bites. Other options are agave syrup or coconut nectar.

Allergy Swaps

You can use this recipe and adapt it to any food allergy you have. Below I listed some options for you to try:

Gluten-Free – pick certified gluten-free oats or use quinoa flakes or puffed quinoa instead of oats. Sugar-Free – a sugar-free liquid sweetener works well like Monk fruit syrup. Nut-Free – use seed butter instead of peanut butter like sun butter, tahini or pumpkin seed butter. Low-Carb – swap the oats for a mix of almond flour, sliced almonds, and shredded coconut. Use a sugar-free sweetener, or try my vegan cookie dough bites.

How To Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls

Start by adding all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stirring with a spatula to combine them together. Your peanut butter might be a bit hard, not runny which can happen if your jar has been opened for a while and stored at room temperature. Then, microwave the peanut butter with the liquid sweetener for 30 seconds in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir the peanut butter maple syrup mixture until it is smooth and creamy. If your peanut butter is already runny, pour it directly into the mixing bowl and top it with the maple syrup.

Rolling Energy Bites

You can place the mixing bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes to make the balls easier to roll. Or, lightly oil your hands with coconut oil. Then, scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoon of batter and roll into a ball between slightly oiled hands to prevent the batter from sticking to your hands. Place each energy bite on a plate covered with parchment paper or in a sealed container. Repeat until all the energy balls are formed. Transfer the oatmeal energy balls into the fridge in a sealed jar or cover the plate with plastic wrapping to prevent the peanut butter bliss balls from drying.

Adding Flavors

You can tweak these peanut butter oatmeal balls by adding simple ingredients to create a range of flavors. The best additions are one or two of the below:

1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract. 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon. 1/4 cup of Chopped Nuts like walnuts, pecans, or almonds. 1/4 cup of Dark Chocolate Chips 1/4 cup of Seeds like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or hemp seeds for a boost of protein. 1/4 cup of dried fruits – chopped apricots, dried cranberries, dried raisins.

Making Protein Oatmeal Balls

To add protein to this simple recipe, you can add one of the below ingredients:

1/4 cup of Hemp Seeds. 1/4 cup of Chia Seeds. 1/4 cup of Flax seeds or ground chia seeds. 2 tablespoons of protein powder – This dries out the recipe, and you will have to add water or almond milk to make the dough comes together.

Alternatively, you can try my Vegan Protein Balls.