Best Bliss Balls (3 Ways!)

5-Minute Bliss balls (aka energy bites) made with peanut butter and oats make a perfect bite-sized snack for school, sports, and travel!

All you need to do is mix 5 simple ingredients together, roll them into balls and you're set! Plus, I'll show you how easy it is to turn these into chocolate bliss balls and protein bliss balls!

First, I've got to say that I never know what to call these, lol. I refer to them as peanut butter balls with my youngest and as energy bites with my teenagers. Still, they are often called energy balls or energy bites.

Whatever you decide to call them, they make a great snack! This recipe is no doubt one of my favorites that I've made a gazillion times. We eat them at home, while traveling, and pack them in lunches.

They pair very well with coffee or milk and even make an excellent travel snack! And have no doubt that I enjoy them just as much as my kids do!

And just like my PB&J smoothie recipe, these peanut butter bliss balls are not only delicious, but they are nutrient dense, too!

Jump to:

• 🤩Why I Love This Recipe
• 🙋‍♀️Dietitian Tips
• 🍫Recipe Variations
• 🥜Ingredient Notes
• 👩‍🍳How to Make Peanut Butter Bliss Balls
• 📲Helpful Tips
• ❓Questions You May Have
• More Easy Snack Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• Best Bliss Balls Recipe

🤩Why I Love This Recipe

• 5 Ingredients Peanut butter, oats, flax meal, honey, and chocolate chips. They are all simple, shelf stable ingredients that you can find in your pantry.
• 5-minute recipe Can it get any better?!
• Meal Prep Make a bunch and store them in the freezer. When your stash of bliss balls in the fridge start to run low, move some from the freezer to the fridge. This is what I do 🙂
• Easy recipe You don't even need to separate the wet and dry ingredients. Just mix it all together!
• Plant-Based Snack Oats, peanut butter, and flax are plant based ingredients.
• No-bake You just mix everything up, roll them into balls, and store them in the fridge or freezer. No baking, no cooking!
• Quick and easy snack Perfect afternoon snack to give you an energy boost and a great addition to breakfast on busy mornings.
• Dairy-Free As long as you use dairy-free chocolate chips

🙋‍♀️Dietitian Tips

Tip #1 Bliss balls are a great food to use to expose your kids to new tastes and textures. For instance, I made them with chia seeds to see if they noticed. It turns out my daughter liked it until the chia seeds were stuck in her teeth 🤷‍♀️

I've also made these using crunchy and smooth almond butter. My kids really like the taste of peanut butter though, so I learned that if I'm going to include almond butter and I want them to eat some, I've got to use half peanut butter and half almond butter.

Tip #2 Please use caution if you have a child under the age of one in the house due to the risk of infant botulism associated with honey. I've seen too many cases of infant botulism in the hospital not to help raise awareness.

🍫Recipe Variations

Here are two delicious ways to change up this recipe. They both have the same main ingredients, but they have a little bit of a different flavor. Check out the 'helpful tips' section at the bottom for a few more ideas on what you can add for more texture.

Chocolate Bliss Balls

Mix in two tablespoons of cocoa powder, two teaspoons of cinnamon, and two additional tablespoons of both peanut butter and honey. This version will make a few more balls and tastes chocolatey even without chocolate chips!

Protein Bliss Balls

Stir in one-quarter cup of protein powder, two additional tablespoons of peanut butter, and one-and-a-half additional tablespoons of honey. I used Superfood Protein by Choice Juicery to create this recipe.

🥜Ingredient Notes

• Oats Rolled oats work best for this recipe. Whole oats are a whole grain. They provide a source of soluble fiber, which is good for the heart and will help your kids feel full longer. In fact, the American Heart Association recommends that at least half of your grains come from whole grains.
• Peanut Butter Use all-natural peanut butter at room temperature. Peanut butter contains protein, minerals, and healthy fats. Use smooth natural peanut butter (the kind that is made with just peanuts and salt, no added sugar) for this recipe because the consistency really works best for mixing. In my opinion, the Classic Peanut Butter by Nutty Novelties is the easiest to stir and tastes so good!
• Honey Adds just enough sweetness to these energy bites. It also adds moisture, which is needed to soften the oats. I use raw local honey because of its many potential health benefits. But that's just me. Use what you have!
• Flax Meal Flax meal is made by grinding up flaxseeds. They are high in fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, and phytochemicals.
• Chocolate Chips Because kids love them! Use standard or mini-sized, semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

👩‍🍳How to Make Peanut Butter Bliss Balls

Here’s a quick overview of the steps to make these bliss balls. For the full list of ingredients and instructions, scroll down to the recipe.

1. Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients together using a spoon or fork. Mix well, to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Use the back side of the fork or spoon to smooth out the mixture so that it mixes together well.
2. Use your hands or fingers to roll them into bite-sized balls.
3. Place them in an airtight container and refrigerate or store in the freezer.

📲Helpful Tips

• There is no need to buy gluten-free oats unless you are guided to do so by a credentialed health care professional.
• If you store peanut butter in the fridge, let it come to room temperature before making this recipe. It will make mixing a whole lot easier!
• To make mixing easier or for a smoother consistency, use a food processor or high-speed blender to mix the ingredients together.
• Use flax meal as opposed to flax seeds to improve its digestibility and for optimal texture. Flax meal blends right in with the rest of the ingredients.
• If you are feeling adventurous, use chunky peanut butter or toss in a handful of unsalted sunflower seeds for a little crunch.
• Having your hands slightly wet will help make rolling these into balls easier.
• Make them on the smaller side because kids always want more than one!
• Just enough chocolate chips are added so that each energy bite contains at least one chocolate chip. It doesn't sound like much but, trust me, it's enough, even for my sweet tooth 😉
• This recipe is easily doubled and tripled. In fact, I almost always triple this recipe because it makes measuring easier and they store so well in the freezer.
• Feel free to play around with ingredients. Example: chia seeds can be used in place of flax meal. Also, shredded coconut can be mixed in for a taste of coconut.
• If you find yourself doubling or tripling this recipe like I often do, remember that converting tablespoons to cups can make measuring a little easier.

❓Questions You May Have

More Easy Snack Recipes

Did you make these bliss balls and love them? Please give this recipe a 5-star rating or comment below. It's the best compliment!

Don't forget to snap a pic of these easy and delicious bliss balls and tag @carrots.and.cookies on Instagram. Enjoy!

📖 Recipe