No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Balls

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more details.

It’s a game day and that means that I’ve already made up a batch of these Peanut Butter Energy Balls – a delicious protein packed treat that my entire family loves. During high school football season I literally make these protein energy balls every Friday morning so that my son can have them in his sports bag for the big game. 

Made with just a few ingredients, this is a great recipe that comes together super quick and I get so many compliments on them. In fact, when my kids take them to sporting events to share with teammates, I’m almost always wishing that I’d made more for them to share!

Ingredients for Healthy Energy Balls

Believe it or not, this amazing no-bake healthy balls recipe has only 5 ingredients. I keep them on hand at all times because this is a great snack recipe that we make often, especially during sports seasons. This is hands down one of our favorite energy balls recipes – and the perfect make-ahead recipe for game day.

The 5 ingredients that you will need to make these yummy Peanut Butter Energy Balls:

Peanut Butter (I like to use natural peanut butter when I can)

Mini Chocolate Chips

Old Fashioned Oats (any type of quick oats)

Flax Seed (whole or ground flaxseed will work)

Honey

Recipe Notes: 

*for the peanut butter – you can use crunchy peanut butter OR creamy peanut butter. We prefer the crunchy variety.

See below printable recipe card for full ingredients and instructions. 

Note: Honey is the real star of this recipe. SO good for you and it’s really what keeps these protein balls from being too dry. If you feel like your energy balls aren’t sticking together well OR that they are too dry – try adding more honey. 

For years, I made these by rolling them in my hands but when we started sharing them with my son’s teammates, I changed to stirring the mixture really well with a wooden spoon and then using a small ice cream scoop like the one shown below to scoop them into rounded balls. It’s so much less messy this way and also, probably more sanitary. 

Optional Ingredients for Energy Ball Recipes

I usually make this no bake energy balls recipe exactly the same, but from time to time I’ll change it up a little – depending on what ingredients I have on hand. Other ingredients that you could consider for your oatmeal energy balls are:

• Almond Butter
• Protein Powder
• Dried Fruit
• Sunflower Seeds
• Coconut Flakes
• Hemp Seeds
• Chia Seeds
• Cacao Nibs
• Pure Maple Syrup
• Wheat Germ
• Poppy Seeds
• Coconut Oil
• Granola

As you can see, the possibilities are endless and first time you make these, you’ll probably want to follow my instructions – but the best part is that you can continue to make variations of the basic energy ball recipe and modify it to your own selection of healthy ingredients. You can also modify these to your specific diet needs, for example – you can make vegan energy balls, or keto energy balls – nut free energy balls, etc.

How to Make No Bake Energy Bites

This part is SO easy and one of the reasons that I make these delicious snacks so often. And guess what? NO blender or food processor needed! It is, however – really messy so no “during” photos for this recipe … my hands are too full of peanut butter ball ingredients. Literally! 

You just put all ingredients into a large bowl and with washed hands … start mixing it all together. 

Once fully mixed, roll your peanut butter energy balls into individual balls and place them in an airtight container. I usually make these the morning of a sporting event and store them in the fridge all day so my son can have them for his game or match that evening.

These peanut butter energy bites also freeze really well so if I have enough ingredients on hand I often make a double batch and freeze 1/2 of them. I do love to store them in glass or metal containers as those seem to keep them the freshest and work best in keeping them fresh in my son’s game bag.

They will store ok at room temperature but we do prefer them chilled. My kids almost always know that they can find power balls in the fridge, so we keep them in the same metal pink container (as seen in photos) so that they are easy to find for quick and healthy snacking. They are pretty dense, so even a little bite gives quite a pick me up, so it’s not uncommon to open the protein balls container to a peanut ball with a bite taken out of it!

One of the best things about this recipe is that it’s a great healthy snack that is a great option for not only sporting events but also hiking trips, camping – a midday pick me up treat and these no-bake energy balls are also the perfect snack for lactating mothers (I actually first discovered them as lactation bites!) and those trying to build up proteins with wholesome ingredients.

I used to spend a lot of money on energy bars and protein packs but this has been a great option for my family in terms of having healthy options for snacking on hand in stead of the usual granola bar unhealthy snack. These healthy balls are packed with feel-good ingredients that you’ll feel good about keeping on hand, and they’ll love eating! Truly one of my favorite energy bite recipes and I think you’ll love it too!

Looking for more healthy recipe ideas?

We have quite a few recipes that we make 

• Healthy Breakfast Smoothies
• Easy Green Juice Recipe
• Vegetable Cleansing Detox Soup
• Blueberry Beet Smoothie

Print the Recipe for these Peanut Butter Energy Balls