Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls – Keto & Vegan
Chocolate peanut butter energy balls are healthy, no-bake, vegan, peanut butter chia seed and almond balls with sugar-free chocolate chips. 100% Paleo + gluten-free + grain-free.
Chocolate peanut butter energy balls – healthy snacks
These chocolate peanut butter energy balls are my favorite little morning snack after the gym right now. I know it’s almost Christmas, but it’s not a reason for skipping a healthy breakfast skipping going to the gym!
I love that the recipe can be made in 10 minutes, stores up to 3 weeks in my fridge, and all my family can enjoy it in their way.
My 6-year-old likes to have this in her lunchbox for morning tea. My vegan husband is a sportive guy, so he uses them as a refuel after a long workout.
Nutrient-loaded keto energy bites
We always talk about carbs and macronutrients on low-carb diets. We forget to tell us how much it is important to also reach your micronutrients target.
It’s hard to say how much of them are required. You only need a small amount of each micronutrient. All I can tell you, you need extra micronutrients on a low-carb keto diet. Indeed, the keto diet is a diuretic.
This means you flush a lot of these nutrients with all the water you drink. So this peanut butter granola ball recipe is perfect for reloading your micronutrient levels.
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Chocolate peanut butter energy balls – an easy 10-minute recipe!
So let’s have a look at the simple ingredients you need to make these granola balls:
- Peanut butter – of course, this is the base ingredient. The good news is that the recipe works with other nut butter as well, like almond butter or cashew butter. I personally adore the flavor of peanut butter. Make sure you check the ingredient list for no added oil, no added sugar. You will be surprised by how many other ingredients some brands add to nut butter. It actually requires only one ingredient, peanuts. Check out my article on how to make a homemade peanut butter recipe if you prefer to make this at home.
- Sliced almond – you can also use roasted almonds that you crush into pieces, but I like the texture of sliced almonds. It reminds me of oats without the extra carbs.
- Pumpkin seeds – they are the best seeds to boost your magnesium with 65% of your RDI, so don’t skip this ingredient. Plus, it’s a good source of plant-based iron, too. If you are vegan, 18% of RDI.
- Chia seeds are loaded with fiber and calcium. So it’s another great seed to add to your breakfast for healthy digestion and strong bones.
- Flax meal, like the other seeds above, it’s very rich in magnesium and iron, so if you are vegan, it’s a plus. On a low-carb diet, a flaxseed meal is recommended too as it’s very high in fiber, great to stabilize blood sugar levels.
- Sea salt – optional, especially if your nut butter is already salty
- Sugar-free chocolate chips – I love to add mine before pouring the warm peanut butter as they melt and give great chocolate peanut butter balls. If you prefer to feel the crunch of the chips, add them at the end after you incorporated the peanut butter and sweetener. Another great sugar-free option is cocoa nibs, slightly more bitter but delicious too.
- Sugar-free Monk fruit syrup – this is my favorite go-to liquid syrup on a sugar-free diet. It has a glycemic index of zero, no calories, and it’s all-natural. You can, of course, use different liquid sweeteners. Some people prefer brown rice syrup or regular maple syrup. I won’t say they aren’t fine, they are simply higher in carb, and their glycemic index will impact your blood sugar. So if you are on a keto low-carb diet, choose the same as me, sugar-free maple-flavored Monk Fruit syrup!
More no-bake keto recipes
If you love keto no-bake recipes, I recommend you try :
Enjoy the recipe, and if you made them, don’t forget to share a pic with me on Instagram before you dig in!
xoxo Carine
Recipe Card
Peanut Butter Granola Balls
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup Sliced Almonds
- ¼ cup Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds
- 2 tablespoon Flaxseed Meal
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup Sugar-free Chocolate Chips or dark chocolate chips >85% cocoa or cocoa nibs
Liquid ingredients
- ½ cup Natural Peanut Butter smooth, unsalted
- ¼ cup Sugar-free Flavored Maple Syrup or liquid sweetener of choice
Chcoolate drizzle
- ¼ cup Sugar-free Chocolate Chips
- ½ teaspoon Coconut Oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients, stir to combine, set aside. Note: you can add the chocolate chips now, and they will melt in the next step giving a chocolate peanut butter flavor to the ball, or you can choose to add the chocolate chips after step 3 to keep the crunchy chocolate chips bites in the balls.
- In a small bowl, add the liquid ingredients: peanut butter and sugar-free liquid sweetener, microwave 45 seconds. This step will soften the peanut butter making it easier to combine with the dry ingredients. Don't over-warm.
- Pour the liquid ingredients onto the dry ingredients, combine using a spatula until it forms a sticky batter that you can easily shape into granola balls. If you didn't add the chocolate chips in step 1, stir in now.
- Slightly grease your hands with coconut oil, grab some dough and roll the granola balls. I recommend a 'golf ball' size to make 12 granola balls in total with this batter.
- Roll the prepared granola balls in extra sliced almonds if you like to add some crunch on the sides. Place the granola ball on a plate that you have covered with parchment paper - this prevents the ball from sticking to the plate.
- Repeat the rolling process until you form 12 granola balls.
- Place the plate in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up the granola balls. Meanwhile, melt the extra chocolate chips with coconut oil.
- Remove the plate from the freezer, drizzle some melted chocolate on top of each granola ball. Place the plate in the freezer again for 5 minutes to set the chocolate drizzle.
- Store up to 3 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container or up to 10 days in the pantry in a cookie jar.
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Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only. The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized. You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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This is the 2nd time I’ve made them…they repeated perfect and are again awesome. I have one after I workout. Thank you!!!
I made them today and they turned out perfect. Thank you for such a brilliant and easy recipe. Proper comfort food! Vraiment delicieux 🙂
Thank you very much! Merci
Sounds delicious and I can’t wait to give them a whirl…I would suggest proof reading your articles before you put them out in the world!
Thanks Selina, I am sorry if you have didn’t enjoy my writing. Note that I am French and English is my third language. I write my recipe ideas for free on this blog as a passion, for fun, as a mum eating low carb for 7 years now. I really do my best with English but unfortunately can’t do better. Enjoy the recipe, XOXO Carine
Hi I followed your recipie to the letter and instead of your wonderful looking balls I have a pile of sticky mess and a lot of expensive ingredients wasted. The mixture would not stick together no matter what I did it just disintegrated even after being in the freezer. Not happy I can’t even re use this pile of sticky mess☹️
I am sorry to hear that. If it is sticky and it doesn’t hold together it means it is too wet and you are missing some fiber to absorb moisture. This can happen if your flaxmeal is thick and can’t absorb liquid. You can always adjust raw balls adding more flaxmeal 1 tbsp at a time, it will absorb extra liquid and hold things together. Also keep in mine that raw baking is always a bit sticky, not liquid, you should be able to roll balls. You can slightly rub your hands with coconut oil before rolling balls. I hope you get better result next time.
How much flaked coconut Carine? (I’m making them right now and don’t see the amount in your recipe????)
Hello! There is no coconut in this recipe, you can add some but it is sliced almonds that I use. I hope you enjoy the recipe. XOXO Carine.
Hi Carine,
Is Agave a good substitute for liquid sweetener?
Hi, Agave is full of fructose and sugar so I don’t recommend this liquid sweetener. On low carb keto diet the only liquid sweetener allowed is Monk fuit syrup, it has no sugar no carbs and taste like maple syrup. Enjoy the recipe, XOXO Carine
Hi,
Your pictures and video of this recipe shows that you’re using shredded coconut?
Yes, I am using unsweetened desiccated coconut not sure why you can’t see this in the dry ingredients. I used 1/4 cup. Enjoy the granola balls. XOXO Carine.