Date Energy Balls – The Ultimate 3 Ingredient Snack!
Need wholesome snack ideas for at home or on the go? These date energy balls have it all. They are easy to make, satisfying, and delicious.
Unless we are traveling, we avoid packaged snack foods almost completely. They tend to either have junky ingredients or the ones with better ingredients tend to be quite pricey.
Instead, we opt to make our own. Our favorites include homemade gummies, peanut butter banana oatmeal cookies, granola, avocado fudgesicles, and these 3 ingredient date energy balls!
With baby #5 due in a couple weeks, I wanted to stock up on homemade snacks that would store in the freezer and I could pull out as needed for those early postpartum days. These date energy balls are perfect. They have wholesome ingredients and are filled with a blend of carbohydrates and protein, so they won’t spike blood sugar and make a more satisfying snack.
Ingredients in Date Energy Balls
There are lots of recipes out there for energy balls, but I wanted to create something with basic, staple ingredients that we always have on hand—oats, peanut butter, and dates. You can always add optional mix-ins to customize this recipe to your liking.
Oats – Rolled oats are perfect for this; avoid steel cut oats in these date energy balls. My favorite source is to get organic oats in bulk from Azure Standard or the One Degree certified glyphosate free oats.
Peanut Butter – Ideally, look for a creamy peanut butter with the only ingredients being the roasted peanuts and salt. But any sort of nut butter can be substituted for the peanut butter in this recipe.
Dates – Either Deglet or Medjool dates will work in this recipe; the difference is that Deglet dates are roughly half the size of Medjool dates. I’ll put this in the recipe below, but you’ll want to keep this in mind depending on which type of date you are using.
Optional Mix-ins – Unsweetened coconut, chocolate chips, chia seeds, cocoa powder, dried fruit, etc.
How to Make Date Energy Balls
Begin by soaking the dates in warm water for 15-20 minutes. This step may not be completely necessary, but I have found that it does really help when mixing the energy balls together in the food processor or blender to not cause them to get stuck or overwhelm the motor.
After the dates are soaked, add the dates, oats, and peanut butter to the container of a high powered blender (we love our Vitamix) or food processor.
Mix on high until everything is thoroughly mixed together.
Remove the mixture from the container of the blender or food processor into a medium sized mixing bowl.
Stir in any additional mix-in’s that you’d like to add (chocolate chips are the favorite in our house).
Using your hands or a cookie scoop, form the mixture into balls. If storing in the fridge to eat right away, you can put them directly in an air-tight container.
For long-term storage in the freezer, place the energy balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and flash freeze. Once completely frozen, store in freezer bags or a container to pull out as needed.
Date energy balls will store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Date Energy Balls Recipe
Yield: 16-18 Balls
Ingredients:
– 24 Deglet Dates or 12 Medjool Dates
– 1-¼ cup rolled oats
– ½ cup creamy, natural peanut butter
– Optional mix-in’s (i.e. chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut, dried fruit, cocoa powder)
Directions:
1. Soak dates in warm water for 15-20 minutes.*
2. Once soaked, add dates, oats, and peanut butter to the container of a food processor or high-powered blender.
3. Blend until completely mixed.
4. Remove from container and put in a mixing bowl. Stir in any additional mix-ins as desired.
5. Using your hands or a cookie scoop, form into balls.
6. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
7. To freeze, place energy balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and flash freeze. Once frozen, store in freezer bags or a container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
*Soaking the dates isn’t completely necessary, but I’ve found that it really helps to make the mixing process go more smoothly with the blender or food processor getting stuck.
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More Favorite easy, homemade snack recipes:
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Cinnamon Maple Roasted Almonds (4 Ingredients)
Elderberry Gummies
5 Ingredients Peanut Butter Cups
Date Energy Balls – The Ultimate 3 Ingredient Snack!
Need wholesome snack ideas for at home or on the go? These date energy balls have it all. They are easy to make, satisfying, and delicious.
Ingredients
- 24 Deglet Dates or 12 Medjool Dates
- 1-¼ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup creamy, natural peanut butter
- Optional mix-in’s (i.e. chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut, dried fruit, cocoa powder)
Instructions
- Soak dates in warm water for 15-20 minutes.*
- Once soaked, add dates, oats, and peanut butter to the container of a food processor or high-powered blender.
- Blend until completely mixed.
- Remove from container and put in a mixing bowl. Stir in any additional mix-ins as desired.
- Using your hands or a cookie scoop, form into balls.
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
-
To freeze, place energy balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and flash freeze. Once frozen, store in freezer bags or a container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
*Soaking the dates isn’t completely necessary, but I’ve found that it really helps to make the mixing process go more smoothly with the blender or food processor getting stuck.
