Simple, filling, and healthy vegan chia peanut butter balls for quick energy

I am in week seven of being back on campus for my sophomore year, and I am getting tired of the pre-made food that is in the dining hall. Although I don’t have the space and equipment to do my normal baking, I have the dining hall to get basic ingredients for quick and easy recipes! I am sharing one of my favorite things to make while I am at school with only ingredients that I can get from the dining hall.

These vegan peanut butter energy balls are very simple to make, and they are perfect for on-the-go, quick energy. I love to bring these to the library with me when I know it’s going to be a long night of studying, and it helps keep me awake. These energy balls are also a refreshing post-workout snack especially if you eat them straight from the refrigerator or freezer! This is an easy, 3 ingredient recipe that is perfect for a quick energy boost.

I do not have a car on campus, so I am relying on getting all ingredients for this recipe at my dining hall on my meal plan. I am able to get the oats from the pre-packaged, microwaveable instant oatmeal cups, and I can get the chia seeds from the salad bar area. Getting the peanut butter is more complicated this year because, with all the Covid precautions my school is taking, we no longer have a “spreads station” where I would normally scoop as much peanut butter as I need into a takeout container. Instead, they have a basket of small Smucker’s 3/4 oz packets of peanut butter for us to take. So, after every meal, I grab a few from the basket and keep them in my room. I have been stocking up on these mini peanut butter packets just so I could make these snacks!

Making these energy balls is simple. Seeing as how I don’t have measuring cups here at school, I eyeball everything and alter it based on the consistency of the batter. I mix about one part peanut butter to two-part oats with a big scoop of chia seeds. I used about seven of the 3/4oz peanut butter packets, about a cup of oats, and a couple of spoons of chia seeds to make ten energy balls. The “dough” shouldn’t be too wet where the peanut butter is excessively sticking to your hands and it shouldn’t be too dry where the ball won’t stay together. Roll the dough into balls and put in the refrigerator or freezer in an air-tight container! You can make these energy bites as big or as small as you want. I like to make mine bite-size, about a Tablespoon to Tablespoon and a half big.

Keep in mind that this is a very basic recipe. Feel free to spice it up and add in your own ingredients! You can add in nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, m&m’s, different types of seeds, the possibilities are endless! For peanut allergies, you can also use another type of nut or seed butter, and you can even make these energy balls gluten-free by just use gluten-free oats! Find your favorite combination and let me know what you like best!

For those of you making this recipe with the luxury of measuring utensils, the recipe is below! Give these energy balls a try, and tag me with your creations @beyondbakingbyamandajane on Instagram! Enjoy!

Taste tested with love by family and friends.