These healthier oatmeal balls are crispy and crunchy. They need just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar, dairy, or butter. They are easy to make and you can make a large batch ahead of time.
Oatmeal balls in a small white bowl

These crispy oatmeal balls are crispy and crunchy rather than soft and chewy. I love the crispy texture. These are quick snack, breakfast or treat and you can also pack them for an on-the-go snack.

Ingredients

  • Quick oats
  • Maple syrup or honey
  • Peanut butter
  • Coconut oil

Quick oats: Quick oats are rolled oats that are smaller and thinner pieces. This recipe works best with quick oats rather than rolled oats. Quick oats crisp up better and also bind better.

Maple syrup or honey: The oats are sweetened with maple syrup or honey. The sweetener also acts as a binding agent and helps to thicken the peanut butter. I personally prefer working with maple syrup for this recipe but it does work with honey.

Peanut butter: Make sure to use natural peanut butter with no added oils. Peanut butter with added oils will not thicken and set the same. Peanut butter can be substituted with natural almond butter with no added oils or natural cashew butter with no added oils.

Coconut oil: A little coconut oil is added to the oats to help them crisp up.

How to Make Crispy Oatmeal Balls

  • The quick oats are mixed with coconut oil and then maple syrup.
  • Spread the oats onto your prepared baking sheet, trying your best to avoid large clumps or clusters of oats. (See photo below for oats spread out before baking.) Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the oats are lightly browned and crispy.
  • Allow the oats to fully cool.
  • Add peanut butter, maple syrup and remaining quick oats to a large mixing bowl. Add in the crisped oats and stir, breaking up any oat clusters, until you have a thick cookie dough that you can scoop and shape. Crisp oats and dough in a bowl
  • Use a 1.5 cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Pack the dough into the scoop and then release the dough into your hand and roll it into a smooth ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. You can enjoy them right away or place them in the fridge for about 15 minutes to firm up a little more.

Dough rolled into smooth balls

Texture

These oatmeal balls are lightly crispy and crunchy throughout due to the crispy oat pieces mixed in.
A bite taken from an oatmeal ball

Expert Tips

  • These oatmeal balls are lightly sweetened. You can add a little more sweetener if you prefer sweeter. You can also add mini chocolate chips or chopped dried fruit to make them sweeter.
  • Maple syrup gives the oats a more delicate crispy texture and the oats will be easier to break up into smaller pieces. Honey is more sticky and will result in firmer, crunchier clusters of oats that will take a little more effort to break into smaller pieces, which is needed to form them into balls.

A stack of oatmeal balls

More Crispy Oatmeal Recipes

Recipe Save - Raptive

Envelope icon

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Enter your email and we'll send it straight to your inbox!

Plus, you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!

I’d like to receive more tips & recipes from Kirbie's Cravings.

5 from 5 votes

4 Ingredient Healthier Crispy Oatmeal Balls

These crispy oatmeal balls are crunchy and crispy. They are great for breakfast, snack or a treat. They only need 4 ingredients and don't require any flour, eggs, refined sugar, dairy or butter.
Servings: 12 balls
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (88g) + 2 tbsp (11g) quick oats, divided
  • 2 tbsp (27 g) coconut oil, melted
  • 3 tbsp (1.5fl oz/44ml) + 2 tbsp (1fl oz/30 ml) maple syrup, divided, can substitute with honey
  • 6 tbsp (96g) natural peanut butter with no added oils

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add 1 cup quick oats to a medium mixing bowl. Drizzle melted coconut oil evenly across. Using a spatula, stir the mixture briskly for about 20-30 seconds, stopping a few times to scrape the sides of your bowl, until most of the oats look slightly moistened with coconut oil. The oats only need a little oil so they should not look fully wet.
  • Add in 3 tbsp maple syrup. Make sure to scrape the sides of your measuring spoon or cup to make sure all of the maple syrup ends up in the bowl. Mix with your spatula until the oats are evenly coated in syrup. If you are using honey instead of maple syrup, warm up the honey for about 10-15 seconds in the microwave so that it is more liquidy and easier to mix and coat.
  • Transfer the oats to your prepared baking pan. Do your best to spread them across so that there aren't any large clusters or clumps. If you are using honey, the oats will clump up more, but with maple syrup you should be able to spread the oats out more easily.
  • Bake the oats for about 12-15 minutes or until the surface is light to medium brown and the oats are crispy.
  • Remove the oats from the oven but don't transfer them off the baking sheet until they are fully cooled and set. They firm up more as they cool. This should take about 20-30 minutes.
  • Add peanut butter, remaining quick oats and remaining maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Add in the cooled baked oats. If you made the baked oats with honey, see note before adding them in. Stir and combine the mixture, breaking up any clumps of baked oats as you mix. You want the baked oats to be about the size of large crumbs so that you can easily press them together into a ball. If they are too large, you won't be able to shape them. Stir until you have a thick dough/paste that you can scoop and shape. If it seems like your mixture is too dry to shape, you can add a little bit more peanut butter and maple syrup. If the mixture is too sticky, you can add a little more untoasted quick oats.
  • Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the mixture. Pack the dough into the cookie scoop, then release it onto your hand. Press and lightly squeeze the dough between your palms a few times to compact it further, then roll it into a smooth ball. Place onto plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • You can enjoy the balls right away. If they feel a little too warm or sticky, you can put them in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes to help them firm up a little more. Once they are firm, you can enjoy right away. Store any uneaten balls in an airtight container. They can be kept on the counter for a few days or store in the freezer for longer storage time.

Notes

  • 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.
  • Oats baked with honey note: If using honey, the oats will likely be larger clumps and firmer when they are cooled. You will need to use some extra effort to break up the clumps while mixing them into the dough. You can also briefly run them through a food processor to help break them up, but be careful to only run for a few seconds to crush them to about the size of large crumbs--you don't want them to turn into flour. The maple syrup version is less firm so you should be able to break the clumps up easily when mixing by hand.
  • Honey is stickier than maple syrup and also retains more moisture so your balls will be a little stickier/wetter if you use honey.
Serving: 1ball, Calories: 118kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 16mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, NET CARBS: 11
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!