3 Ingredient Healthier No Bake Oatmeal Balls (No Flour, Eggs, Refined Sugar, Dairy, Butter or Oil)
These no bake oatmeal balls are soft and chewy. They are just 3 ingredients and don’t require any flour, eggs, refined sugar, dairy, butter or oil. They are easy to make and no baking or cooking is required. You can also customize them with various mix-ins.
These oatmeal balls are a quick and easy snack. I like that you can also pack them for school, work, travel, or any other time you need a snack. You can also add mix-ins to create more flavors and texture.
Ingredients
- Quick oats
- Peanut butter
- Maple syrup
Quick oats: Quick oats are rolled oats that are smaller and thinner pieces. This recipe works best with quick oats because they bind better than regular rolled oats.
Peanut butter: Make sure to use natural peanut butter with no added oils. Peanut butter with added oils will not thicken and set. You can substitute with natural almond butter with no added oils.
Maple syrup: Maple syrup is used to sweeten the oatmeal balls and acts as a binder. You can substitute with honey but you may need to add more quick oats to achieve the right texture for the oatmeal dough.
You only need three ingredients to make these oatmeal balls but of course you can also add mix-ins to add more flavors and texture. For the ones in the photos, I added chopped dried cranberries. You can also use other dried fruits or mini chocolate chips.
How to Make Oatmeal Balls
- Add the quick oats, peanut butter and maple syrup to a mixing bowl and stir until evenly combined. The mixture should turn thick, like a cookie dough consistency and you should be able to scoop and shape it.
- Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Roll the dough between your palms until you have a smooth ball. Place ball onto a parchment paper lined plate or small baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Place the oatmeal balls into the fridge for about 1 hour to help them firm up. They are then ready to eat.
Texture
These oatmeal balls have a soft and chewy texture. They are also very lightly sweetened. You can make them sweeter by adding dried fruit or chocolate chips.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to use quick oats, which bind better than rolled oats. If you only have rolled oats, I recommend running them through a food processor until they become the size of quick oats.
- You can use honey instead of maple syrup but honey will not thicken the dough as much so you will need to add more oats to reach the right consistency.
- If adding mix-ins, I recommend adding about 3 tablespoons of the mix-in of your choice.
More No Bake Oatmeal Recipes
- 4 Ingredient No Bake Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Oatmeal Bars
- 4 Ingredient No Bake Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
3 Ingredient Healthier No Bake Oatmeal Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (101g) quick oats
- 1/2 cup (128g) natural peanut butter with no added oils
- 3 tbsp (1.5floz/44ml) maple syrup, or more as needed to taste
Instructions
- Line a small baking sheet or a large plate with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add quick oats, peanut butter and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula until everything is evenly combined. Your mixture should be thick, like cookie dough. If you are adding in any mix-ins, add them in now. See note for more details on mix-ins. You should be able to shape the mixture with your hands without it sticking to your hands too much. If your mixture is too wet or sticky, you can add a little more oats. If it's too dry, you can add a little more peanut butter or maple syrup.
- Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the mixture. Release it onto your hand. Roll the mixture between your palms until it forms a smooth round ball. Place onto your prepared baking sheet or plate. Repeat with the remaining oat mixture.
- Place the balls into the fridge for about 1 hour to help them firm up a little more. Then they are ready to serve. Store uneaten balls in an airtight container. They can be kept 1-2 days at room temperature (unless you use mix-ins which need to be refrigerated) and can be stored longer in fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Mix-ins note: If adding mix-ins, I recommend adding about 3 tbsp of mix-in of your choice. If using chocolate chips, I recommend mini chocolate chips. If using dried fruit, roughly chop them before adding them in.
- Sweetness note: These balls are only very lightly sweetened. You can add a little more maple syrup (1 extra tbsp) or add sweet mix-ins if you prefer them to be sweeter.
- This recipe works best with quick oats. Regular rolled oats do not bind as well. I used Happy Belly Quick Oats.*
- Make sure to use natural peanut butter with no added oils. The dough will not set if you use peanut butter with added oils. I used Kirkland natural peanut butter.*
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Estimated nutrition does not include any mix-ins.
Really tasty, lovely snack ,easy to make.
They taste so good I have to restrict myself to not eat them to often.
We’re so glad you loved this recipe!
Hi thank you very much for the recipes
You’re welcome! We’re glad you’re enjoying them!
I’m happy that I came across these recipes,I’m looking forward to start on the oatmeal peanut butter and maple syrup to start
We’re so glad you found the recipes and hope you enjoy them!
Easy Peezy recipe and my friends really do like it quick and easy to prepare. Kudos to you.
We’re so glad you loved this recipe!
I added raisins and chopped pecans. It was really a great addition.
Yum! That sounds great!