Do you wanna know what my eating routine was all last week? (Even if you don’t, I’m still going to tell you.)
Well, it’s pretty basic: eating at the Whole Foods salad bar and shoveling these no bake oatmeal peanut butter cookie energy bites into my mouth at an extremely fast pace.
From last week’s eating adventures, I’ve learned two things: 1) it is astonishing how much you can spend on a salad bar AND 2) I absolutely plan on making these energy bites every single week.
Initially I had planned on making these as granola bars, but as soon as I played with the consistency, they ended up working much better as energy bites. And I have to admit, I’m a HUGE fan. They were the perfect pre-workout fuel and basically an any-time kind of snack. And this girl’s got to have her snacks.
I know my love for peanut butter is out of control. Kind of like my love for Justin Bieber. Uhhhh did I just say that? #belieber
Ingredients in these peanut butter cookie energy bites
These peanut butter oatmeal cookie energy bites only need a few simple ingredients but taste like a giant serving of oatmeal peanut butter cookie dough. YUM. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Medjool dates: I love using dates in my no bake recipes because not only are they an amazing source of fiber and vitamins, but they also help to bind energy bites together. Bonus points for adding natural sweetness, too! You’ll need a little water to work with the dates.
- Maple syrup: we’re adding a little pure maple syrup to give these energy bites sweetness.
- Vanilla extract: a splash of vanilla really brings out that cookie flavor!
- Peanut butter: gotta love a classic peanut butter cookie. Be sure to use a natural, creamy peanut butter to get the right texture. Use the code ‘AMBITIOUS15‘ to get 15% off of my fav nut butter brand, Wild Friends!
- Oats: we’re using rolled oats (gluten free if desired) to get the proper texture and that peanut butter oatmeal cookie taste.
- Mix-ins: I love adding chia seeds for a boost of omega-3s as well as cacao nibs for rich chocolate flavor. You can also use mini chocolate chips if you’d like!
Customize your cookie energy bites
Because these peanut butter cookie energy bites are filled with simple ingredients, they’re also easy to customize! Here’s what I can recommend:
- For the peanut butter: feel free to use any nut butter you’d like. I think the energy bites are best with peanut butter because of the flavor, but any other nut butter should work as long as it’s all natural with no additives (i.e. just nuts + salt). It should be very runny/drippy.
- For the mix-ins: have fun experimenting with different mix-ins! As I mentioned, mini chocolate chips are a great replacement for the cacao nibs, and I think raisins or dried cranberries would be delicious for an oatmeal raisin flavor.
Easy oatmeal peanut butter cookie energy bites in 4 steps
- Stir the dry ingredients. Start by stirring together the oats, chia seeds and cacao nibs.
- Process the dates. Next, add your Medjool dates and water to a food processor and process a few times until the dates start to form a past.
- Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the maple syrup, vanilla and peanut butter to the food processor and process again until well combined and the mixture resembles wet cookie dough.
- Assemble the bites. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, then form into 1 inch balls. Store them in the fridge or freezer and enjoy them whenever the snack cravings hit!
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Storing & freezing tips
- To store: these peanut butter cookie energy bites will last for 5-7 days in the fridge.
- To freeze: feel free to add them to a freezer-safe bag or container and store them for up to 1 month. I actually eat them straight out of the freezer because they’re still chewy and delicious and taste like cold cookie dough that I want to live in. I don’t know?
More no bake snacks you’ll love
- Monster Cookie Energy Bites
- Sea Salt Cashew Butter Chocolate Protein Bars
- Chia Banana Bread Energy Bites
- No Bake Chewy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- No Bake Omega 3 Mint Brownie Energy Bites
Get all of my delicious no bake snack recipes here!
I hope you love these oatmeal peanut butter cookie energy bites! Be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Energy Bites with Chia + Cacao Nibs
No bake oatmeal peanut butter cookie energy bites that taste just like your favorite cookie! These delicious, easy oatmeal cookie energy bites are packed with fiber and protein thanks to creamy peanut butter, oats and chia seeds. Add cacao nibs for rich chocolate flavor in every bite!
Ingredients
- 6 large Medjool dates, pitted (about 1/2 cup packed pitted dates)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all natural creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup oats
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons cacao nibs*
Instructions
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In a large bowl, stir together oats, chia seeds and cacao nibs. Set aside.
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Add dates and water to the bowl of a food processor and process a few times until dates begin to break down a bit and form a paste. Next add in maple syrup, vanilla and peanut butter; process again until it begins to look like a wet cookie dough and ingredients are well combined.
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Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. I like to use my hands because it's much easier to get everything mixed well. I know it's a little messy, so my advice is to coat your hands with a small amount of coconut oil so that the dough doesn't stick.
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Once the ingredients are well combined, form into 1 inch balls. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Balls will last for 5-7 days or can be frozen for up to a month.
Recipe Notes
*You can always use mini chocolate chips instead of cacao nibs, just know that the nutrition may be slightly different.
If you prefer a quicker way to make these energy balls: feel free to add the oats, chia seeds and cacao nibs directly to the food processor with the peanut butter mixture (step 2). You won't get nice big oat pieces, but they'll be just as tasty.
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on August 19th, 2015, and republished on March 30th, 2022.
58 comments
Do you think a normal blender be okay instead of a food processor? These look delicious and I would love to try them!
That’s a great question. You might be able to process the dates in the blender if it’s a high-powered one. Let me know if you try it!
I tried the blender (Vitamix) and it worked, but it took a little extra work pulling the dates back out from under the blade because they are so dense.
These look amazing Monique! I make your 4-ingredient oatmeal chocolate chip energy bites once a week and devour them – but I also add shredded coconut and chia seeds. I recently posted about how much I love them on my blog – I would love for you to check it out! https://withlovefromellie.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/no-bake-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-energy-bites/
I love no-bake bites! They are the perfect healthy snack.
Oh my goodness! These taste like cookie dough? I need them in my life!!
These sounds like a perfect pre-workout snack!! Definitely on my “must make” list.
Monique! I stalk your website every day and love your recipes! Looking at buying a food processor but don’t know what brand to buy. Wondering what model you use?
Hi! This is a great one: http://amzn.to/1EEYllt (It’s my Amazon affiliate link!)
I just love these types of recipes. I make something similar but with almond butter, coconut and pecans. They’re so satisfying when you’re craving something sweet. I’m going to make these next :)!
what a great & healthy snack! Perfect for right after the gym, on the way to an activity… perfect for a quick snack in between meals. And such little prep/no-cook time… wonderful recipe!
Obsessed! I need these in my belly now! Perfect snack for pre-workout fuel
I want to try these asap. I think they must be perfect for school lunches. Plus so pretty!!
I love energy bites and eat them often after work outs!
I’ve been looking around for some healthy preworkout snacks and these energy bites look perfect! 🙂
I love bites like these — especially when there’s chia seeds and cacao nibs involved.
These bites look like the perfect craving tamers!
Just made these and they are SO good!
I made these with almond butter and they were very good. Next time I will roll them in toasted sesame seeds!
Made these! They hardly made it to the freezer for later. *drools*
Ok so I just made these and the good news is that they’re really delicious! But the bad news is that they were SUPER messy to make. Even though I liberally oiled my hands before rolling them, I feel like I still spent more time scraping the sticky paste off my fingers than forming the balls. Next time I will just press them into the bottom of a lined square pan and cut them into energy squares instead of balls. Should save myself lots of time and frustration.
Okay, can I just say these are deliciously amazing!!
These are so delicious! For some reason, mine had too many dry ingredients and not enough paste to form all the balls though. I will try cutting back on the oats next time.
Hi. Tongue in cheek. You say these will last 6 – 7 days in the refrigerator – how? My grand kids found them and 5 – 7 minutes was about it !
Haha well that sounds like a good problem to have 🙂 Glad they loved them!
I made these with almond butter instead of peanut butter. Really good!
I made these and my husband and I devoured them. Will be making more again soon. They’re an easy go to snack thats quick, easy and healthy. Thank you!
Delicious! Such a great snack.
Is the nutrition information per bite, or for all 14 or 15 bites?
It’s per bite!
Thank you for coming up with protein items that Bariatric Patients can enjoy. We are typically restricted to <10 g fat, <20 g total carbs, < 10g sugar per serving. Someone posted a cookie recipe you had but it was too high in carbs. These are perfect! I may add a scoop of genpro to up the protein a bit more too. Thank you!!!!
Absolutely! Glad you found these – such a great snack or treat!
These came out really tasty! I used the sweetened cacao nibs (the only ones available at substitute Sunbutter for the peanut butter
These came out really tasty! I used sweetened cacao nibs because that’s what my store had, and substituted Sunbutter for the peanut butter (peanuts give me really bad heartburn lately…) – which is why i think mine came out a little wetter than yours look, in the future i might try adding a tablespoon or two of coconut flour to dry it up a bit. Now to keep myself from eating them all in one sitting!
Sunbutter does have a different texture than peanut butter, but I’m glad you liked these regardless! Great idea with a bit of coconut flour 🙂
These were so good!!
Glad you loved them!
These energy bites don’t last 5-7 days in the fridge given how delicious they are! Your whole family will be demolishing these cookies in no time! Incredible recipe in both its simplicity, healthiness and its deliciousness. Will be making these on a regular basis to replace my morning Clif Bars 🙌 Thank you!
So glad they were a hit! Perfect snack 🙂
How do we reduce more sugar from the recipe? Just the dates? 8 gr per 1 serving size is quite high isn’t it?
I’m not sure they’d hold together well with fewer dates!
Super delicious and easy to make! My 2 year old devoured them!
So glad you guys loved them!!
These are really good! I eat them for breakfast, snack, dessert. Hard to stop at just 1!
Haha agreed!! Happy you love them!
This recipe sounds great! I made something similar to this, a couple of years ago, except I refilled it with jam, and it tasted great! I want to try adding jam to this recipe, but I’m unsure since they contain chia seeds. I wonder if it will taste different?
Ooh that sounds incredible! You could try replacing some of the dates with jam and mixing it in in the food processor. I don’t think it’ll compete with the chia seeds in any way. Enjoy 🙂
I have a question about the oats, if you don’t mind? Every time I make energy balls with oats, the oats themselves remain super chewy and fibrous and, well, raw! The texture of the oats is not soft and pliable the way you kinda want them to be. Am I making sense? Anyway – long-story-long, my question is whether there is some way to soften them up or reduce that reedy texture? I mean, aside from literally just…cooking the oats. Am I doing something wrong? Is it worth trying soaking them briefly in hot water/warm mylk and then straining them? Is the rest of the world enjoying soft, pillowy oats without me? ARGH! Thank you!
[For the record, I have tried literally every permutation of oats you can procure. Rolled, organic, certified gluten free, quick-cook, instant, steel-cut…]
Hi, Max! Totally makes sense. Personally it doesn’t bother me and I haven’t tried anything else so I don’t have any great suggestions, sorry! I do think quick-cook oats might have a softer texture. Or maybe you could try toasting them on a sheet pan in the oven?
Hello, I am wondering if these would taste good still if I add brewer’s yeast (I’m breastfeeding)? If so, how much would you suggest I add? Thanks!
I actually have a very similar energy bite recipe that’s specifically meant to be a lactation snack! I’d recommend checking out that recipe 🙂
These are amazing! I accidentally left out the maple syrup and they were still plenty sweet. Definitely making again!
I used regular dates (in a package) and they were a little hard to blend until I added the other ingredients. I also added extra chocolate chips and they are so delicious! Easy to make, will definitely make again.
Hmm were they soft and sticky or a little hard? Sometimes they can dry out! So happy you loved these, though 🙂
I recently had another baby and started breastfeeding, and I was buying those expensive perfect bars for a quick breakfast or lunch when I was occupied with other things. I tried out this recipe this morning, and they are fantastic. Delicious, nutrient dense, and much less expensive than those bars I was buying!
I have been looking for energy bite/power bar recipes that use dates since a have a huge container from Costco. These were so delicious and easy to make. The dates really didn’t blend into a paste until I added the PB and then it came together nicely. I didn’t have a problem with the batter being too messy but the natural PB I used was definitely on the drier side.
Love how quickly these come together! They’re a totally satisfying snack or dessert; not too sweet and perfect crunch from the nibs. Will definitely make these a regular fridge staple!