These Date Energy Balls are absolutely delicious (think oatmeal cookies!) and are super quick to make! They’re no-bake treat that are great for breakfast, snacks, dessert, or whenever you want them. These oat date bites are perfect for lunch boxes, road trips, movie nights, and more!

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I just love little bliss balls and energy bites or whatever you call them. These date energy balls are probably my favorite I’ve ever made. I think I even like them better than my vegan chocolate bliss balls!

But seriously, these oat date balls legitimately taste like oatmeal cookies (sans raisins, lol). I think it’s the vanilla flavoring that makes these date bites taste like a baked good.

These 5-ingredient energy balls couldn’t be any easier to make. Just whiz everything up in the food processor, scoop out each bite using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, roll them into balls, and refrigerate or freeze. That’s it!

To dress them up you could roll them in cocoa powder, sesame seeds, finely crushed nuts, or you could even dip them in melted chocolate. I highly recommend these unsweetened chocolate chips if you do.

But anyway, these date balls are really easy to make for meal prep and really great for on the go. They’re great for taking with you on a road trip, to school or work, or put them out on movie night with your other favorite snacks. Kids will love them too and they’re spouse-approved in my house.

Closeup of the food processor full date mixture.

Ingredients

See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list (with amounts) and instructions.

Medjool Dates: Try to get Medjool dates that are plump and moist (sorry). Dry dates can be revived with hot water, but I think these date balls taste better with plumper and juicier dates.
Vanilla Extract or Powder: I’m still using up a large supply of vanilla extract I have, but I’ve heard good buzz about vanilla powder.
Unsweetened Soy Milk: I almost exclusively use soy milk in my kitchen and I only use the kind that comes in a shelf stable carton. This is because I can find organic non-GMO soy milk that’s literally made from just organic soybeans and water. I love to use this type of soy milk for sauces, my morning tea, and making my homemade soy yogurt.
Rolled Oats: I always use sprouted rolled oats in all my cooking, but any rolled or old fashioned oats should work here.
Unsweetened Unsalted Peanut Butter Powder: I love the flavor that this peanut butter powder gives the date balls.

Substitutions

Medjool Dates: While you can use other dates (like Deglet dates), Medjool are plumper, sweeter, and often wetter, which makes them easier to blend up.
Vanilla Extract or Powder: Use whatever you’ve got. If using vanilla powder, I’ve heard it’s more concentrated, so start with half the amount and add more if you need to.
Unsweetened Soy Milk: Any unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk should work. Note that if your non-dairy milk is vanilla flavored, you may want to skip adding vanilla extract or powder to the recipe.
Rolled Oats: You could also use quick cooking oats, I think. But I would not try this with steel cut oats as you might get some unpleasantly hard chunks in your date energy balls.
Unsweetened Unsalted Peanut Butter Powder: If you cannot have peanuts, try almond flour, ground flaxseed, or cocoa powder instead. These may require more or less liquid so you can always add a little more liquid if too dry and crumbly or a little more powder if too wet and sticky. If you want to use straight up peanut butter, you might need more oats or to add something powdered to make them less sticky.

A cookie scoop full of date mixture hovering over the food processor.

How to Make Date Energy Balls

Watch me make this recipe or follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Note: If your dates are hard or dry, soak them in hot water for 30 minutes, drain them, and then process them. Make sure they’re pitted!
Blend the dates: In a food processor fitted with an s-blade (the standard blade), blend the dates until they make a paste.
Add remaining ingredients: Add the vanilla, unsweetened soy milk, rolled oats, and powdered peanut butter (or other powder).
Blend everything together: Blend until the mixture is cohesive. You should be able to pinch the “dough” with your fingers. It should not stick to your fingers too much but it shouldn’t be dry or crumbly either.
Troubleshooting: If the mixture is dry or crumbly, add a tablespoon more plant-based milk and use a small spatula to scrape the sides of the container. Blend again. If the mixture is too wet or sticky, add a tablespoon more peanut butter powder (or whatever powder you’re using) and use a small spatula to scrape the sides of the container. Blend again. Repeat either until you have a well-formed dough that you can easily manipulate.
Make the date energy balls: Line a quarter sheet pan or any size tray or plate with parchment paper or wax paper. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out 1-tablespoon sized chunks of the mixture. Using your hands (wetting your hands first can help if the mixture is sticking to you a bit), roll each bite into a smooth ball and place back on the tray.
Chill and store: Let these set in the freezer or refrigerator for 2-4 hours, then transfer to an airtight container or food storage bag. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or the freezer for up to 3 months.

A metal tray lined with parchment paper with date energy balls neatly arranged in rows of 3.

Expert Tips

Taste and adjust if needed: After blending the mixture, try a pea-sized amount. If it’s not sweet enough, you can add a little date syrup or maple syrup. Note that this might throw your wet to dry ratio off and you can fix that by adding a little more peanut butter powder.
Dress them up: If you want to roll them in anything dry (like sesame seeds or cocoa powder), do it just after you’ve rolled the date balls. If you want to dunk them in melted chocolate, freeze them for at least an hour first.
Add other mix-ins: If you want your date energy balls to be a little chunky or crunchy, try folding in (by hand with a spatula) raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, unsweetened chocolate chips, or chopped walnuts or cashews.

Serving Suggestions

These date energy balls make a great snack with fresh fruit. You could serve them with a bowl of my 3-Ingredient Plant-Based Chocolate Sauce if you like!

Or if you want a sweet and savory spread for game night, movie night, or a get-together, try serving these alongside a tray of veggies with Butter Bean Hummus or Spinach Artichoke Hummus.

More Plant-Based Recipes to Try

Portrait-style photo of a pile of date energy balls on a white plate, a bite taken out of the top ball.

Date Energy Balls Recipe