Healthy, no bake peanut butter bliss balls! They are easy to make, super delicious, kid-friendly, and decadent; but are also vegan, gluten-free and low in sugar. At less than 100 calories, they make for a healthy and tasty snack or dessert!
These no-bake, tasty Peanut Butter Bliss Balls (or, as my daughter likes to call them, “Cookie Dough Bites”) are so satisfying, they’re the perfect guilt-free treat! I love bliss ball recipes because they are so simple to make, and always satisfy my sweet tooth!
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With just 5 simple ingredients, they’re an easy, nutritious snack and are a really great way to get kids involved in the kitchen. I love making a huge batch and enjoying them all week long – as they’re great for a snack or dessert, or you can even take a few for a grab and go breakfast. They make a fun sweet treat, any time of day!
👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Easy Meal Prep Recipe
- Great for a mid-afternoon energy boost
- Tastes Like Cookie Dough
- No Refined Sugar
- No Food Processor Needed
- Perfect Snack or Healthy Treat!
🥘 Ingredients
This recipe calls for just 5 nutritious ingredients, all easily found in your pantry or your local grocery store!
Oats: Rolled oats work best. If you’re gluten-free make sure that the oats you purchase are certified gluten-free as many brands are cross contaminated. I don’t recommend using oat flour as it won’t have the same texture as whole oats, and won’t hold up as well.
Natural Peanut Butter: Use creamy peanut butter. It is the glue that binds all the ingredients together and adds that boost of protein to these energy bites.
Dark Chocolate Chips: I prefer using dark chocolate chips. You can use mini chocolate chips or regular. If you are vegan check that the chocolate chips are dairy free.
Maple Syrup: The only added sugar is natural maple syrup which gives it a slightly sweet taste.
Vanilla Extract: Brings out the richness of the chocolate. You can also add a pinch of salt to bring out the sweetness even more.
Scroll down to the recipe card for complete measurements and nutrition information for these peanut butter protein balls.
📖 Variations
These vegan peanut butter balls are a great base recipe to change up any way you like! Here are some of our favorite ways to modify this recipe:
Protein Bliss Balls: If you want to turn these healthy bliss balls into protein bites, consider adding a a scoop of vegan vanilla protein powder to the batter before mixing it. You can use up to 2 scoops of protein powder depending on the flavor of the protein powder you use. You could also add 1 tablespoon of ground chia seeds, flax seed, or hemp seeds.
Chocolate Bliss Balls With Peanut Butter: For a double serving of chocolate add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the batter before mixing.
Mix-Ins: Feel free to add your favorite mix-ins to give these peanut butter energy balls some texture. Crushed walnuts, pecans, peanuts or even dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, or shredded coconut would all taste great.
Extra Sweet: For a sweeter flavor add a 1/4 cup of medjool dates, soaked and drained. You’ll need to use a food processor if going this route so that the dates completely incorporate with the peanut butter and oats.
Different Nut Butter: You can use almond butter, sunflower butter, cashew butter, or any nut butter you like!
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together the oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, maple syrup, vanilla and salt until combined.
Step 2: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Taking small handfuls of the mixture, roll them into small balls 1-2 inches in size. Or you can use a cookie scoop to create similar sized balls. Place them onto the baking sheet.
Step 3: Refrigerate these peanut butter snack balls for 30 minutes or until solid. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge (they will last at least 1 week, and likely 2!)
❓Recipe FAQs
The answer is, it depends! Some energy bites recipes may look healthy but they’re packed with sugar / sweeteners (typically maple syrup, honey or agave) and calorie dense ingredients. Some energy balls may run you up to 200 calories per serving!
Energy balls can be healthy, as long as they are made with less sugar, and whole food ingredients that are nutrient dense and protein-rich.
Yes! These tasty bites are gluten-free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian … but they taste decadent and indulgent!
Here are some of the reasons why they’re so good for you:
#1 | Low in sugar: You don’t need a lot of maple syrup or chocolate to make these bites sweet. A little bit goes a long way. You won’t believe that each of these cookie bites has less than 4 grams of sugar and less than 100 calories – because they really do taste naturally sweet.
#2 | 100% whole grain: Oats are a heart healthy whole grain. They are rich in fiber, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
#3 | Healthy fats: Peanut butter (and all nuts/nut butters) are rich in healthy fats!
On average, a recipe for bliss balls will take about an hour to make, due to the chilling, baking, or resting time.
Since these are no-bake, so they do require some time in the fridge (at least 30 minutes) so that they can come together. But they require only 15 minutes of active time from you! Then all you have to do is wait for them to chill and they are ready in just 45 minutes!
These low calorie bliss balls have only 90 calories each!! Thanks to some healthier swaps, these are energy bites you can feel great about eating.
🍽 How To Serve
- Serve these vegan peanut butter bites as an afterschool snack.
- Make and take with you while you run errands for a quick and satisfying bite on the go.
- Prepare as a mid-morning protein snack, to hold you over until lunch.
- Make as a healthy dessert to enjoy anytime!
❄️ How To Store
These dairy free peanut butter balls are perfect for an easy make ahead dessert. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or keep in the fridge for over a week. This recipe makes a batch of 16, but if that’s not enough for you, the recipe is easily doubled! I don’t recommend storing these in the freezer as they won’t taste as good when defrosted.
💭 Expert Tips
- Use a cookie scoop to get all of the peanut butter bliss balls the same size.
- If you or someone in your family is gluten intolerant, be sure to use gluten free oats.
- This is such an easy recipe for kids to make – get them in the kitchen!
- If you don’t have peanut butter, try almond butter as a 1:1 substitute. Other nut butters should work as well, but the bites might have a slightly different consistency since some nuts create “more thin” butters than others!
- If you want to make these no bake peanut butter balls truly sugar free, you can omit the maple syrup and they will still taste pretty good 🙂
- If the dough seems too wet to mold into balls, consider adding a tablespoon or two of almond flour.
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📋 Recipe Card
Peanut Butter Bliss Balls
These healthy, 100 calorie peanut butter bliss balls are easy to make, super delicious, kid-friendly, and decadent; but are also vegan, gluten-free and low in sugar!
Servings: 16 balls
Calories: 90kcal
- Use a cookie scoop to get the balls all the same size.
- If you or someone in your family is gluten intolerant, be sure to use gluten free oats.
- This is such an easy recipe for kids to make – get them in the kitchen!
- If you don’t have peanut butter, try almond butter as a 1:1 substitute. Other nut butters should work as well, but the bites might have a slightly different consistency since some nuts create “more thin” butters than others!
- If you want to make these truly sugar free, you can omit the maple syrup and they will still taste pretty good 🙂
- Store the bites in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks!
Serving: 1ball | Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.2g | Protein: 3.1g | Fat: 5.8g | Saturated Fat: 1.7g | Sodium: 60mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 3.2g
