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Cranberry Walnut Powerballs – No Bake Healthy Snacks

These Cranberry Walnut Powerballs remind me of a no-bake cookie recipe that used to be popular when I was a kid, with a healthier twist.

I still remember going to see The Jungle Book with my best friend, Emma, and her mom, smuggling in no bake cookies in our coat pockets. We liked to live on the wild side. 😉

cranberry walnut powerballs

It's been about 40 years since we smuggled cookies into the movie, but I remember that those no bake cookies had peanut butter and powder sugar.

These cranberry walnut powerballs have “the good stuff” like coconut oil, walnuts and flaxseed.

Coconut oil, peanut butter and hearty rolled oats help fill you up while honey adds natural sweetness.

powerball ingeredients

Cranberry Walnut Powerballs

Ingredients

  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or another dried fruit like raisins, cherries or goji berries)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts or seeds)
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or cacao nibs (I prefer Enjoy Life)
  • 1 cup peanut butter or nut butter
  • 1/2-3/4 cup honey
  • 1/4-1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil (my favorite is Nutiva, which tastes like fresh coconut)
  • coconut flakes, unsweetened, to coat the balls

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients except coconut flakes. Mix well.

ingredients in bowl

Add honey, coconut oil and peanut butter. Blend thoroughly.

peanut butter powerballs with cranberries and coconut

If you're in a hurry, you can skip rolling the cookies into balls.

Simply sprinkle enough coconut into a 9″x9″ glass pan to cover the bottom of the pan so the bars lift out easily. Press the mixture into the pan, refrigerate for a few hours, then slice into squares.

If you have more time for prep, roll the mix into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter, and then roll the balls in the coconut flakes to coat. This makes them less sticky.

Place in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a few hours to firm up. Store in the refrigerator. Makes around 35-40 1-inch balls/squares.

Allergy Friendly Options

If peanut butter is an issue, almond butter or sunflower butter can be substituted. If you can't tolerate walnuts, go ahead and swap in peanuts or pepitas.

Enjoy Life chocolate chips are allergy friendly. They are nut free, soy free, dairy free, and gluten free.

For the coconut, you want to make sure to use unrefined high quality coconut oil and unsweetened coconut flakes, to maximize the coconut flavor.

If you can't tolerate coconut, substitute palm shortening and roll the finished cranberry walnut powerballs in cocoa powder or crushed nuts.

To Make your Cranberry Walnut Powerballs Gluten Free

Make sure to select gluten free oatmeal if you want your powerballs to be gluten free.

Oats don't have gluten, but they can be cross contaminated, so look for packages that are specifically labeled “gluten free”.

cranberry walnut powerballs
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Cranberry Walnut Powerballs

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These cranberry walnut power balls are easy to make with healthy ingredients and no refined sugar.

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 40 balls 1x
  • Category: snack

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or another dried fruit like raisins, cherries or goji berries)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts or seeds)
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or cacao nibs
  • 1 cup peanut butter or nut butter
  • 1/23/4 cup honey
  • 1/41/2 cup coconut oil, unrefined
  • coconut flakes, unsweetened, to coat the balls

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients except coconut flakes. Mix well.
  2. Add honey, coconut oil and peanut butter. Mix thoroughly.

“Quickie” option

  1. Sprinkle enough coconut into a 9″x9″ glass pan to cover the bottom of the pan so the bars lift out easily. Press the mixture into the pan, refrigerate for a few hours, then slice into squares.

“Normal” option

  1. If you have more time, roll the mix into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter, and then roll the balls in the coconut flakes to coat. This will make them less sticky.
  2. Place in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a few hours to firm up. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes

Makes around 35-40 1-inch balls/squares.

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

These will easily keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge, if they last that long.

cranberry walnut powerballs

More Snack Recipes

You may also enjoy the other Sweets and Snacks recipes on the site, including:

Originally published in 2012, last updated in 2020.

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19 Comments

  1. Thanks for this recipe I need to get these and have them when I get hungrey for a snack. Since my Dr. has been trying to get me to take the statins for several years now so far I’ve been holding off.

    1. Steel cut oats are very course and would make these very chewy because they are not cooked. If you really wanted to use steel cut oats, I’d soak (overnight in water with some vinegar or lemon) and dehydrate them to make them easier to digest.

      1. Laurie, THANK YOU for the link to printfriendly.com!! The best bit of information – computerwise – I’ve seen in a loooong time! Thank you!






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    Alison Rose

    1. Alison, I just checked subscriber information, and it shows you were added to the list at 8:46 am, a while after you posted this. The email was sent, so maybe it just took a while to go through? Let me know if you haven’t received it by tomorrow.