Fuel up with these delicious no bake peanut butter balls without chocolate! Made with creamy peanut butter, almond flour, and maple syrup, they can be whipped together in less than 15 minutes! {Gluten free, vegan & no refined sugar}
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No Bake Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
If you need a healthy treat to take in your lunch bag or a boost of energy after a workout, you’ve got to make a batch of these no bake peanut butter balls without chocolate!
They’re so tender and full of flavor and come together in no time at all. One batch makes 24 balls, so plenty to enjoy for a while!
Why We Love This Vegan No Bake Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
- Quick and easy: There are no fancy ingredients or supplies here! You don’t even need a food processor. Just stir everything together in a bowl, roll out the protein balls, then store. Done!
- Simple ingredients: There’s a good chance you already have most of the ingredients for these no bake peanut butter balls without powdered sugar. There are only 5 simple ingredients!
- Healthy snack: Unlike many prepackaged snacks that are full of sugar and additives, these healthy peanut butter balls have just 5 ordinary ingredients and one batch makes 24 no bake energy balls! They only contain 97 calories each, including 3g of protein, 8g of healthy fats, and 5g of carbohydrates.
Ingredient Notes
- Creamy peanut butter: Choose your favorite natural peanut butter, preferably without hydrogenated oils or added sugar. You can easily substitute chunky peanut butter for added crunch or try sunflower seed butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc.
- Blanched almond flour: This is the binder for these old fashioned peanut butter balls, making it easy to make them with no oats.
- Pure maple syrup: This adds sweetness and flavor. Choose 100% pure maple syrup. Honey is a great alternative, but don’t serve it to babies under the age of one.
- Vanilla extract: This is technically optional, but vanilla makes these peanut butter energy balls taste a little sweeter.
- Pinch of salt: Salt draws out sweetness and flavor, making it easy to satisfy your sweet tooth while keeping the balls lower in sugar.
How to Make Peanut Butter Balls without Chocolate – Step-by-Step
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the almond flour, peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold until well combined and thickened.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop and drop peanut butter balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. Roll into balls.
- For softer balls, consume at room temperature. For firmer peanut butter balls, allow them to sit in the fridge or freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Recipe Tips:
- If your peanut butter has solidified, you can try to warm it gently in the microwave (assuming you’ve removed all metal). If it becomes too runny, you may need to let the peanut butter mixture firm up before rolling the energy balls.
- These no bake energy bites are quite different from your typical no bake chocolate peanut butter balls. They are not made with any powdered sugar at all and are not covered in a chocolate coating. They are meant as a healthy snack or energy boost, although they can also be enjoyed as a simple no bake dessert if you’d like!
- Feel free to use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy peanut butter if you like a little texture.
Recipe FAQs
The only way your peanut butter balls would be runny is if you added too much liquid or you somehow heated your peanut butter. Allow the peanut butter dough to chill in the fridge. If it is still runny after refrigerating for an hour or so, stir in more almond flour.
If you add too much almond flour and not enough of the wet ingredients, you may notice your five ingredient peanut butter balls are dry. Add a little extra nut butter or a splash of melted coconut oil.
This usually happens if you have too much peanut butter. Try adding a small amount of almond flour to absorb the extra moisture or chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling.
Although these no bake peanut butter treats do not have to be refrigerated, they have a much better texture when stored in the fridge. The cool temperatures will firm up this no bake recipe, giving them the perfect bite!
Storage Guidelines
Store your energy balls in an airtight container in the fridge for approximately one week. They can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for several months. Simply thaw a serving in the fridge and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Eat an energy ball or two as a healthy snack to tide you over for the rest of the day or enjoy them as part of your breakfast or healthy lunch.
They’re great served with some fresh fruit, a cup of unsweetened yogurt or a smoothie (like this banana smoothie without yogurt!
Recipe Variations
- Add chocolate chips: For a little extra crunch, stir in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. So yummy and perfect for chocolate lovers!
- Replace the almond flour with oats: If you prefer oats, you can use rolled oats instead of almond flour. Or, you may want to try these 3-ingredient peanut butter oatmeal balls instead.
- Dip in chocolate: For a spin on homemade buckeyes (chocolate-covered peanut butter balls), these balls should be dipped in chocolate! Melt some chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, then dip each one in the melted chocolate. Shake off the excess chocolate and set them on a sheet pan to firm up.
- Roll in fun toppings: Try rolling the balls in shredded coconut, chopped nuts or hemp hearts.
- Protein peanut butter balls: Add a scoop of your favorite protein powder to make this simple recipe even more energizing.
- Add extra nutrients: Stir in some ground flax seed, chia seeds, or hemp hearts for extra nutrients and fatty acids.
More Energy Ball Recipes
- No Bake Oatmeal Balls
- Carrot Cake Energy Balls
- Pina Colada Energy Balls
- Lemon Coconut Energy Balls
- No Bake Pumpkin Balls
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Healthy No Bake Peanut Butter Balls without Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the almond flour, peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold until well combined and thickened.
- Cover bowl and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop and drop peanut butter balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. Roll into balls.
- For softer balls, consume at room temperature. For firmer peanut butter balls, allow them to sit in the fridge or freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If your peanut butter has solidified, you can try to warm it gently in the microwave (assuming you’ve removed all metal). If it becomes too runny, you may need to let the peanut butter mixture firm up before rolling the energy balls.
- Feel free to use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy peanut butter if you like a little texture.
- These peanut butter balls are best consumed right out of the fridge or freezer since they get quite soft if left at room temperature for too long.
I don’t have blanched almond flour. Could I use heat treated all purpose flour?
Hmm, I’m not quite sure how they would turn out with heat treated all purpose flour as I’ve never tried it myself. If you happen to experiment, please let me know how they turn out!
If I’m using the Weight Watchers app, would I say a serving is 1 or 2 energy balls? Thank you!
Sorry for the delay! I would say a serving would probably be one energy ball. Hope that helps!