Energy balls are such a favorite snack to make because they’re quick and easy and there are so many fun recipe combinations.

These Peanut Butter Date Energy Balls have a tasty combination of peanut butter and chocolate and are sweetened naturally with dates. With six common ingredients, you can make these energy balls in as little as 5 minutes.

I keep coming back to snack balls or energy balls or energy bites, whichever you prefer to call them, over and over because I have so much fun creating new recipes.

This was recipe was inspired and tweaked from this Peanut Butter Cup Energy Bites recipe over at Minimalist Baker. 

One of the awesome things about snack balls is that it’s pretty hard to mess them up too. They almost always taste good. And sometimes you can find a new recipe by “messing up” an old recipe.

Peanut Butter Date Energy Balls are so simple, my children make them often. Even my 8-year-old! He begs to make this recipe (I think it’s purely because he likes to put a lot more chocolate chips in then I do.)

Another great thing about this energy balls recipe is that it’s naturally gluten-free and you can easily make it dairy-free by using dairy-free chocolate chips.

This is a great easy homemade snack for families with food sensitivities, like mine.

And if your family doesn’t have food sensitivities? You won’t miss the gluten, trust me.

Peanut Butter Date Energy Balls

You’ll need:

• 1 cup pitted dates*
• 2/3 cup natural peanut butter**
• 1/3 cup oats, rolled or quick-cooking (use gluten-free oats if needed)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP chia seeds
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I use this dairy-free version)
• a food processor or mixer (I recommend a food processor for the fastest, best mixing)

*Softened dates blend best for this recipe. If your dates are hard, you can soak them in warm water for about 10 minutes first, then drain.

**I get the best flavor using peanut butter for this recipe, however you can try almond or other nut butters. Even sunbutter should work well if you need a nut-free recipe. Choose a natural peanut butter with no added sugar for a less sweet energy bite. (Trust me, the dates add plenty of sweetness!)

Process the dates in your food processor until they are chopped into small pieces.

Add the peanut butter, oats, vanilla extract, and chia seeds.

Mix again.

The mixture should be thick enough to form into balls without being too sticky. And let’s be honest, it’s not always easy to measure out peanut butter perfectly (I tend to eyeball it on a spoon myself), so if it your energy ball mixture isn’t the right consistency, try one of these two things:

If it’s too sticky, add 1-2 more TBSP oats.
If it’s too dry, add 1-2 more TBSP peanut butter.

Easy.

Lastly add the mini chocolate chips to the energy ball mixture. You can pulse quickly (which is what I usually do) or use a spoon to stir it in.

Roll into small balls. You’ll get approximately 12-15 peanut butter date energy balls, depending on the size and how much you or the kids eat before rolling it!

You can enjoy your Peanut Butter Date Energy Balls right away.

Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

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Check out these Energy Ball recipes:

• 5-Minute Peanut Butter Snack Balls
• 5-Minute Blueberry Snack Balls
• 5-Minute Banana Snack Balls
• Chocolate Protein Balls
• Matcha Green Tea Energy Bites
• Chocolate Mint Balls