PB and J Swirl Energy Balls
Published 10/6/2015 • Updated 7/5/2023
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These no-bake PB and J energy balls are a delicious and simple quick snack made with whole foods. Dried fruit like dates and blueberries are blended with nuts like almonds and peanuts to create that classic peanut butter sandwich taste you know and love. It’s perfectly sweet and salty all-in-one swirled bite!
We’ve been making energy balls (or just balls, as we call them) since this blog started! Our Peanut Butter Protein Balls are one of my favorites and these are a close second. Kiddos love them and they are freezer friendly. Plus, these taste like a PB&J sammy.
While you do need to use your food processor to pulverize the medjool dates, it’s all worth it in the end! You get a little of the peanut butter side and a little bit of the jelly side in every bite.
What You Need for these PB&J Energy Balls
- Medjool dates: we used dates for both the jelly and peanut butter sides of these energy balls. These sweet dried fruits are sticky and soft, making them perfect for binding the other ingredients together.
- Peanuts: unsalted and roasted peanuts are best as they give that classic peanut butter flavor.
- Smooth peanut butter: we recommend using all-natural peanut butter for the most authentic taste.
- Honey: honey adds a natural sweetness and helps with binding.
- Dried blueberries: this fruit gives the energy balls their wonderful jelly flavor!
- Almonds: almonds add an extra boot of nutrition and create the perfect texture and balance out the flavors.
- Food processor: you’ll need a food processor to blend up all your ingredients so they’re nice and smooth.
Variations and Substitutions
- Nuts/Nut Butter: almonds/almond butter on the pb side. You can also use any other type of nut or seed butter that you like, such as cashew butter or sunflower seed butter.
- Make them vegan: simply swap out the honey for maple syrup or agave nectar.
- Dried fruit: and if you’re not a fan of dried blueberries, you can use any other dried fruit like cranberries, cherries, or fig preserves.
A Tips for Making these Balls
- Wet hands: To prevent the PB and J swirl energy balls from coating your hands and creating a sticky mess, wet your fingers with a splash of water before rolling them into balls.
- Double the recipe: You could easily make a double batch of these energy balls and store them in the fridge or freezer for later. They make a great on-the-go snack for busy days.
- Add toppings: You can sprinkle some extra chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or even chocolate chips on top of the energy balls before rolling them into balls.
Storage + Freezer Directions
We prefer to freeze instead of refrigerate these PB and J swirl energy balls because they stay good for a longer amount of time!
Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the balls out on the sheet. Pop them in the freezer for about an hour or two before transferring to a gallon-size bag. They should stay good for a few months.
PB and J Swirl Energy Balls
Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter
- 10 medjool dates, pitted
- 1 cup peanuts
- 1/4 cup creamy, all-natural peanut butter
- 1/4 teaspoon water*, or more, as needed
- 2 tablespoons honey
For the Jelly
- 10 medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup unsweetened dried blueberries
- 1 cup raw almonds or cashews, we've used both!
- 1/4 teaspoon water*, or more, as needed
- pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Peanut Butter Side
- Place peanuts in a high-speed food processor and process on high for about a minute or until the peanuts turn into a meal. Then, add in medjool dates, peanut butter, and honey. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until your dough is formed. If the dough is too dry at this point, add some water in 1/4 teaspoon increments. NOTE- add water in very small amounts, you don’t need much! I used 1/4 teaspoon.
- Scoop out a heaping teaspoon of the dough and roll it into balls. Repeat. You should get around 24 balls.
For the Jelly Side
- Place the nuts in a high-speed food processor and process for about a minute or until the nuts turn into a meal.
- Then, add in medjool dates, dried blueberries, and salt. Process on high for about 1-2 minutes or until your dough is formed. If things are too dry, add some water in 1/4 teaspoon increments. NOTE- add water in very small amounts, you don’t need much! I used 1/4 teaspoon.
- Scoop out a heaping teaspoon of the dough and roll it into balls. Repeat.
For the PB and J Swirl Energy Balls
- Press a peanut butter ball and a jelly ball together and roll between your palms to create a PB and J Swirl Ball.
Tips & Notes
- Storage: we recommend storing these energy balls in a gallon-size plastic bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw for a few minutes and enjoy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How many pitted dates would I use if I don’t have Mejdool dates? I tried to google it but could not find a definitive answer. I think it would be easier if you could mention the quantity in cups. I know Mejdool dates are larger, so I would need more pitted dates in the recipe.
Has anyone tried omitting the jelly side portion of the recipe and just incorporating the dried fruit of choice into the main portion? My thought is the other ingredients within the jelly side are just more of what’s already in the recipe which is amping up the calories as a whole. The only downside, if you see it this way, is you sacrifice the swirl effect…but personally I would rather sacrifice that in the interest of calorie savings given I don’t see this change sacrificing the flavor or the final outcome.
These were great! But mine turned out pretty oily…. anyone else have that problem?
Love peanut butter and jelly. YUM!
Can you sub a different dried fruit, such as strawberries? Dried blueberries are really pricey, but I don’t want to compromise the taste either
These all look amazing, I will be making both the lemon coconut chia ball as well as the PB& Jelly. Super excited…..
Just curious : any idea how many calories in one of these?
PS: I also obsess over and crave pb or any nut butter! LOVE!
Oh I am totally the same with peanut butter! And PB&J if you don’t like that there is something seriously wrong with you!
YES. I couldn’t agree more. Anyone who doesn’t like pb&j just isn’t my friend!
I never would have thought to put those two flavors together in an energy ball. Genius!
😛 …What can I say 😀
Yum, I love the combination of sweet and salty in one bite! And also love their Yin-Yang look 😉