Made in under 10 minutes with just a handful of wholesome ingredients, these chocolate chip oatmeal date balls make a perfect quick and healthy snack.
You guys, I’m embarrassed… and not only because spellcheck just had to autocorrect “embarrassed” for me for the umpteenth time. Last Thursday was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, and not only was I not aware of that fact until well into the late afternoon, but I didn’t do anything to celebrate it even after I found out. I know… I’m ashamed of me too, but I have this bad habit of not jumping onto bandwagons until well after the fact and doing things on my own time, which is probably why I still haven’t read Harry Potter and why I always have my phone on silent — I’ll attend to it when it suits me, thank you very much, and not when it demands my attention by beeping or ringing. But I digress; back to the issue at hand — chocolate chip cookies…
These… are not chocolate chip cookies — they’re oatmeal date balls. But they do have chocolate chips, which counts for something, right? They’re also packed with good-for-you ingredients like oats, dates, and nuts…
… come together in a flash without the use of an oven or freezer, and are an absolute delight to eat…
Such a delight, in fact, that I ran a serious risk of polishing off the entire batch before I even had a chance to shape, plate, and photograph them. I still ended up a couple of balls short, but I couldn’t help it! I may not be willing to eat raw cookie dough because of the serious fear I have of salmonella poisoning, but all bets are off when eggs aren’t involved… and these little things are addictive!
First, the base is made up of one of my favourite combinations — oats, dates, and almonds. This gives these bites an ooey, gooey consistency with just the perfect amount of caramely sweetness.
Then, that melt-in-your-mouth consistency is punctuated by a light airy crunch from the crispy rice cereal, making these bites a sensory delight for more than just your tastebuds.
Finally… I already mentioned the chocolate chips, right? And the fact that I have trouble controlling myself around these? They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, and easily made vegan or nut-free. Basically perfection.
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Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Date Balls
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 12 bites 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup (80 g) rolled or quick oats
- 1/2 cup (90 g) pitted dates
- 1/4 cup (64 g) nut butter*
- 3 Tbsp (60 g) honey**
- 1/2 cup (15 g) crispy rice cereal
- 2 – 4 Tbsp (30 – 60 g) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Throw oats into a food processor or blender and process until they reach a fine floury consistency. Add dates, nut butter, and honey and continue processing until fully combined. When dough begins to form and stick together, add crispy rice cereal and chocolate chips, pulsing a few times to ensure that they distribute evenly without breaking apart completely.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop out balls of dough and roll them between your hands to neatly shape them. Store balls in an airtight container, either at room temperature or in the fridge.
Notes
* I used almond, but peanut butter would be fine as well. Or you can use soy nut butter for a nut-free option.
** agave or rice syrup would work as well if you want them to be vegan.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
These are great but I find I have to add double the amount of nut butter in order for it to actually stick together. I’ve done it several times and it always comes out crumbly unless I add more almond butter. (I use raw creamy almond butter and it’s fairly oily so I don’t get it.)
This is one of my favorite energy balls and I make it all the time. I add a little ground flax seed SO GOOD!! Thank you so much! They taste like a cookie, great for trail runs and peak bagging!
Crispy rice cereal is probably extruded right?
(Not sure as I avoid that kind of stuff like the plague).
Extruded foods are nutrient-deficient, so I wonder what I could use instead?
Extruded means the food was shaped by pressing it through, basically, a big pla-do fun factory. You know the one that makes the dough come out in tubes or shapes? It doesn’t have any bearing on the nutritional content of the food pressed through it. Avoiding it is like saying, “I don’t eat anything that has been cut with a cookie cutter, they are all nutrient-deficient.” Puffed rice is easy to make, whole and wholesome food that is included in diets throughout India and the Mediterranean. You can do it at home with little trouble. There are plenty of recipes online and videos teaching you how on YouTube. I think you may be confusing processed food with extruded food. Although processed does not necessarily mean nutrient deficient either, you stand a greater chance of it being so if you can’t trust the processor.
Help! I made these the other week and they were deeelicious. I came back to make them again, but the recipe is no longer showing!
My apologies, Claire! I’m currently going through some issues with my server which is causing some plugins to act wonky. I’m hoping to have it resolved asap.
These look wonderful. But I only shop at our coop- health food store. What would you recommend to substitute for the rice krispies?
Thanks
Ludmilla
You could probably get away with just subbing in some old-fashioned oats 🙂
oh no no no you gotta have the crunch — it adds another dimension, texture-ally speaking (is that a word? I can’t spell it if it is). Rice cakes could work, or puffed wheat, or grape nuts if you have good teeth. Anyway, we use cashew butter, throw some coconut in while grinding up the oatmeal, and boy oh boy do we love these things!
Can’t go wrong with a combination like this! I love how easily these no bake “ball” recipes can be morphed into other flavors! I confess that I too have never read any of the Harry Potter books OR watched the movies. And besides embarrassed (omg, I actually spelled it right for the first time EVER!), I can never seem to get proscuitto spelled right on the first try! Excuse me…proscIUTTO! Ugh!
I’m going to have to make these! Without the Rice Krispies tho.
These look so freakin’ good! I’m still behind on the HP trend, too, so I guess we can suffer through not knowing the story together!
Oh yum! I’m going to have to try these. Pinning it now. Thanks for the awesome recipe! (Stopping in from the SITS Girls link-up.)
This look awesome. I’m pinning them now.
One of my health coaching clients has been craving sweets so I made him something similar with peanut butter, dates, oats and maple syrup. Easy and so good! 🙂
These balls look like they would hit the perfect afternoon snack spot!
I like using dates in baking. Simple, natural and so sweet. The addition of the crispy rice cereal was genius.
I always have trouble spelling avocado. I have to literally sound it out, and you can forget about vinaigrette.
I always have trouble spelling “appetite.” I always think there’s only one ‘p’ in it! It’s the word that got me eliminated from the middle school spelling bee. -_-
How do you get your balls to look so dang perfect?! (keepin’ my head out of the gutter here.) As you may have guessed, chocolate chips aren’t my jazz, but I do love mint chocolate chip ice cream!
I’d probably eat the batch before making most of the balls as well. o.o
I’m a sucker for cookie dough.. Yes, I admit it.. It’s so dang good!
I keep my phone on silent too, and love leaving it be. These…look…SO…good. I am also STARVING right now, but it’s almost bed time SOoooO I don’t want to eat a lot. I do want to eat a lot of these though.
Just another one of your recipes that literally makes my mouth water looking at it. Pinned for lata!
Great Recipe! I was just looking at a container of dates wondering what to make! Great timing! Goodness, your silpat is so clean, btw!
Oh my gosh, I can’t spell embarrassed either! It takes me at least three tries – ugg, why is it so hard? And yeah, I totally missed chocolate chip cookie day too. At least you made up for it! Big time. These energy balls look uh-maaaaay-zing and I’m not sure if it would last more than an hour around me. Oats and dates and chocolate make my world go round!
GREAT MINDS!! I actually finally bought rice cereal, inspired by your recipes, but haven’t tried it on anything other than yogurt yet haha… why are balls so addictive?
Rice cereal is SO good made into bars with almond butter and honey. Just saying 😉
These look delicious!
I love making date balls. But my maturity isn’t steller when it comes to talking about them. (Twss)
ALWAYS get the red line under embarrassed. Case it point- just happened right there!
Chocolate chips are best in banana bread or banana baked goods- especially if it’s a less sweet type of bread!
These look scrumptious. Will definitely add peanut butter though. Peter Pan peanut butter is the only one for me!
Hehe, I totally get what you’re saying on jumping on the bandwagon waayyyy later. I think we’re both “mavericks” in that sense, and we just like to do things as we feel they’re right at the time. 🙂 Now, I haven’t read any of the books you’re reading! But I have def. soaked up Harry Potter when I was in h.s. That’s crazy, lady! 😛
Okay, these look absolutely unbelievable buuut there’s a more serious matter at hand…
You’ve never read Harry Potter?!
Forget the movies. Forget every single one. But the books? They’re a must.
😆 So I hear… and I’m sure they’re amazing, but I’m seriously one of the last people I know that hasn’t read them so I think now I’m just avoiding them as a matter of principle.
Denying yourself a new experience that broadens your world view or imagination (not necessarily just Harry Potter books) on principal or to prove a point doesn’t serve anyone, especially yourself. Open your world. Don’t care what people think. Live. Read anything and everything. There is no cool points to be won in real life.
Chocolate chips are best in my mouth.
Aaaaaand that’s what’s up. 🙂
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