These healthy peanut butter balls taste like pure decadence. Easily made with a few whole food ingredients, these are a wholesome snack any time of day!
This post was originally published on 12/26/2013
I love that these can be used as a treat, dessert, or party snack. Who could ask for a more versatile recipe? No one I tell you! These are perfect for those holiday parties we all will be attending very soon, as they are easily made in bulk and easy to take with you.
Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
This recipe can quickly become addicting. In a healthy, but feel like dessert kind of way. Which is awesome because I am not a skip dessert person.
Another thing that makes these so great is they are easy to make. These are NO BAKE peanut butter balls. No oven necessary, which is always a big perk!
Nut Allergy? Here's how to make these allergy friendly.
If you have a general nut allergy, you can absolutely sub sunflower butter! This allows for these treats to still be tasty, but safe for you to eat. There will be a slight different flavor, since you aren't using peanut butter but they will still be delish!
If you simply have a peanut allergy, you can sub any other nut butter here. The flavor will take on the nut butter you choose, but they will be great!
Storing Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
These are easily made ahead of time so that you have one less thing to do the day you need them. Make them as stated, then put in an airtight container and store in the fridge or cool area on the counter.
Because they are coated with chocolate, the chocolate will melt a little if not in a cool place. They are good a few days out of the fridge since there is no dairy.
Making in bulk
This recipe yields 36 peanut butter balls. Doubling or even tripling the recipe will give you more pieces to work with if you want to gift them (or eat them all alone, no judgement). One serving is 3 balls so more is more in my opinion.
Make the batch in one giant bowl. Because these aren't baked, it won't affect the final result when making a bigger batch. Getting friends (or kids wanting to earn a few bucks) to help you roll the balls would be super helpful. My little 4 year old did a great job!
These are best eaten within a few days, but will last for 5-7 in the fridge. For the best gift, make them no more than a day or two ahead of time so that your lucky receiver has some time to enjoy them.
Healthy peanut butter balls make great gifts
Your friends and family will love you when they get these treats this season! You can decorate these in a variety of ways to make them even more fun. Here are a few of our favorite decor ideas:
- Sprinkle shredded coconut over the top.
- Drizzle with white chocolate.
- Use dried cranberries/cherries/etc and pretzels or cereal twigs to make reindeer.
You can package these in cute cellophane bags or arrange on a plate covered in plastic. The presentation will be adorable and a perfect holiday gift, you can even tie them with a bow!
Undipped or dipped in chocolate?
These are a great uber healthy snack if you leave them undipped. However, chocolate. So we usually lather these in deep chocolatey flavor. It's obviously quicker not to dip each ball, but there are ways to make the dipping go fast.
I like to just get on in there when it comes to chocolate. So I melt the chocolate in a big bowl, then drop a handful of peanut butter balls in at a time. Using a spoon to take one out at a time, then my fingers to place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
When you are done, the bonus is you can lick the chocolate off your fingers!
How to Make Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
These are really simple to make and use few ingredients. You can choose how fancy you want to decorate them or even leave them undipped!
- Mix the peanut butter base.
- Add in the crispy rice.
- Roll into balls.
- Dip in chocolate.
- Decorate if you want!
Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter , see note
- ½ cup maple syrup (see note for date option)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½-3/4 teaspoon sea salt , depending on whether your peanut butter has salt
- 2 cups crispy rice cereal , 1 cup of it crushed a bit (see note)
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- drizzle coconut oil or coconut butter , optional but will help thin out the chocolate so it's easier to dip the balls in
Optional decor
- shredded coconut
- white chocolate , melted and drizzled over the top
- ground nuts of choice
- chopped cranberries or cherries , for reindeer nose
- skinny pretzel sticks or cereal twigs . for reindeer antlers
Instructions
- Put peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix well. If the peanut butter isn't runny, you may need to warm it in the microwave a bit to help it mix better. You can also add it to a food processor if you want.
- Add the crispy cereal to the bowl, both the crushed and whole.
- Mix until you form a dough. I like to use my hands. If using a food processor, you may need to pulse slowly then also mix in a bowl to get it all mixed well.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll small chunks of dough into balls and place on the cookie sheet. If not coating in chocolate, put in the fridge to harden for about 10-15 minutes.
- If coating in chocolate, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil/butter, if using, in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, or on the stove top, until most of the chips are melted. Mix with a spoon to melt the rest. You don’t want to overheat it and burn the chocolate.
- Using a fork or spoon, slowly place the balls into the chocolate, making sure to cover completely, then put them back on the cookie sheet.
- When done, if decorating with coconut, nuts or reindeer do so now. Then put them in the fridge to harden, about 15-20 minutes. Keep cool before serving so they don’t soften.
- If you want, decorate with white chocolate drizzle and return to the fridge.
Notes
- Make sure your peanut butter isn't too dry or it won't mix well.
- Sub sunflower butter for nut free.
- Take 1 cup of the rice cereal and crush into small pieces in a plastic bag or bowl.
- If you want to use dates, make sure they are soft. You will need to use the food processor option in order to get the dates pureed. Put everything in a food processor and pulse. Start with about 10 dates and work up from there if needed. You can also use a mix of dates and maple syrup.
- This recipe makes 36 balls, serving size is 3 balls.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Heather
These are so yummy!! I've been craving sweets and this did the trick. I love how crunchy they are!
Thanks!
veggiesdontbite
I am so happy you liked them Heather!! I love the crunch too!
Kyla
Hello! I made these (and they're delicious btw) and I was wondering, how long do they last?
Kyla
(PS. This is me replying to myself saying that I am also "anonymous", who posted the same comment, lol! I thought I deleted that comment! Is there a way to delete it?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Kyla! I deleted the duplicate for you! So happy you liked them. I'd say probably best texture and flavor within 3-5 days. But probably still good for about a week. You could also freeze the leftovers!
Lisa
Super delicious & so easy!! I must admit I ate a fair amount before I rolled & chocolate coated them 😁
veggiesdontbite
LOL! I don't blame you Lisa! I do the same! Happy you liked them.
Michele
Just made them!!! They are delicious!!!
I also added vegan chocolate protein powder.
Doing some more tomorrow!! 😬😬😬
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Michele!! I love that idea!
Kathryn
Oops i forgot to rate with the stars- 5/5 of course!
Kathryn
Just made a batch of these in South Africa-delicious!!!
Thanks Sophia x
veggiesdontbite
So happy you liked them Kathryn!
Veronica
Just made these in Canada and WOW YUM! Used half peanut butter half almond butter, they turned out so good! And so easy! 5 stars!
veggiesdontbite
Yay!! I am so happy to hear you loved them as much as we do!!! thanks so much for the great review. Love the half almond butter!
Carol
These look great. Is the calorie & fat content per serving correct? 652 calories for 3 of these seems very high.
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Carol! My recipe card plugin auto calculates the nutrition info. But I went in and looked, it's correct I did alter the chocolate chips info a little because you don't really use all those since you are dipping them and need enough to do so but have some chocolate left. However, these are made with peanut butter AND chocolate chips so they are calorie dense. You could always leave out the chocolate if you want a lower calorie snack.
Carol
Thanks. What is the diameter of 1 of these?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Carol! I'd say about an inch or so?? It makes 36 but you can make them bigger if you want.
Emily Kemp
Yummeeee, the best part is that this recipe makes 75 haha all for me!
Ashley
I buy dates in bulk. Can you tell me approximately how many are in "a package"? Thanks! These look delish!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Ashley! I'd say it's about 12 or so large medjool dates. It really depends on the date you use though. I like the medjool best! You could put more if you want them sweeter but the chocolate makes them sweet enough in my opinion. Let me know how it works!
Jennafer
How much salt goes into this recipe? I can't seem to figure it out
veggiesdontbite
Jennafer, SO weird that it doesn't have any guidance on it! It's an old recipe so I must have missed it, but I can't believe no one has ever asked. LOL I just updated it. I put about 1/2 teaspoon. Thanks for letting me know!
Jennafer
No problem, thanks so much! I'll be making these in the next couple of days for my Christmas goodie platter 🙂 hopefully I do the recipe justice, haha!
Jennafer
How much salt should I use? I can't seem to figure it out!
Nick Cusimano
I have to say I am not very picky when it comes to desserts but a co-worker brought some to work and they were really good. I'd say there are as good as any chocolate candy that comes out of a vending machine.
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Nick! So nice to hear that a less processed version of a sweet treat can taste just as good. That's my goal, to make healthier food delicious! I really appreciate your feedback!
Valerie
Oh, YUUUUMMM!!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you!! My kids devoured them! And I don't feel bad giving them seconds since they are pretty healthy overall 🙂
Valerie
Yeah! I love those kinds of treats. I feel that way about pumpkin bread and banana bread (ok, they have a lot of sugar, but still...) 😉
veggiesdontbite
Aren't they great? Try sweetening with date paste! It's a natural sugar and isn't refined so you don't feel bad eating more
Valerie
Looking forward to it!