Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
by Katie Webster
July 12, 2016 (updated 4/25/23) Jump To Recipe
This easy recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites only takes 15 minutes to make and uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. Crushed pretzels are mixed with peanut butter, honey and dried cranberries or raisins for a no-bake energy ball that kids and grown-ups alike will love to snack on.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
The combo of pretzels, cranberries and peanut butter in these balls is sweet and salty and keeps me powered up and satisfied when I snack on them.
The method for making the balls couldn’t be simpler. You just crush the pretzels, mix everything up and then form the balls. This is a great recipe to enlist the help of even your youngest kids. They’ll love it!
Recipe Highlights
- Great make-ahead recipe to keep in the fridge or freezer
- Kid-friendly
- One or two make a satisfying mid-day snack. Or even have these for a grab and go breakfast or as a treat after dinner.
More Energy Ball Recipes to Try
Key Ingredients For These Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls
- Bite-Sized Pretzels
- Peanut Butter: I typically use natural peanut butter made with just peanuts and salt. But I’ve also tried these with a blend of butter that has whole seeds and protein powder and they were great. Other nut butters, including almond butter, sun butter or cashew butter should work fine here.
- Honey
- Cinnamon
- Dried Cranberries or Raisins
How to Make
Place pretzels in a re-sealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or heavy-bottomed skillet until broken up into small bits no bigger than a corn kernel. Stir peanut butter, honey and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in pretzel pieces and raisins with a wooden spoon until completely combined. Roll into 15 balls, about 1 generous tablespoon each, squeezing as you shape.
FAQs and Expert Tips for this Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls Recipe
Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. They become less crunchy as they sit. Alternatively, freeze these peanut butter pretzel balls for up to 3 months or longer. Thaw in the fridge or eat frozen.
If you follow the instructions as listed you should be fine, however, if they’re not sticking together, you most likely have to add a little more moisture. Add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the energy ball dough comes together. Alternatively, add more peanut butter or honey.
The finer you crush the pretzels, the easier it will be to make these into balls. If you crush them to a powder the balls will be less sticky, and you’ll have to squeeze the mix together to get it to hold together (don’t worry, it will.)
Variations to Try
- Add mini chocolate chips instead of the cranberries or raisins
- Use almond butter instead of peanut butter
- Add in a few tablespoons of chia seeds, hemp seeds or shredded coconut
- Reduce the amount of pretzels and sub in some chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds
More Healthy Snack Recipes to Try
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Peanut Butter Pretzels Balls
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 15 balls 1x
Description
This easy recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites only takes 15 minutes to make and uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. Crushed pretzels are mixed with peanut butter, honey and dried cranberries or raisins for a no-bake energy ball that kids and grown-ups alike will love to snack on.
Ingredients
- 2 cups bite-sized pretzels (about 3 ounces)
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup dried cranberries or raisins
Instructions
- Place pretzels in a re-sealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or heavy-bottomed skillet until broken up into small bits no bigger than a corn kernel. Stir peanut butter, honey and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in pretzel pieces and raisins with a wooden spoon until completely combined. Roll into 15 balls, about 1 generous tablespoon each, squeezing as you shape.
Notes
Cooking Tip: The finer you crush the pretzels, the easier it will be to make these into balls. If you crush them to a powder the balls will be less sticky, but you’ll have to squeeze the mix together to get it to hold together (don’t worry, it will.)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ball
- Calories: 93
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 103 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
Keywords: snack, protein balls,pretzels snack,peanut butter snack
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
Yum! These are so good, easy to make, and perfect grab and go snacks for the kids!
★★★★★
I followed the recipe and it didn’t come together at all – it cannot be shaped into a ball. Do you have any advice for why this might be? I wouldn’t think it would have to do with store bought peanut butter, would it?
Hi BB. I have heard this happen once before and we figured out that the culprit that time was that the cook had pulverized the pretzels to a powder. There was too much dry to PB and it didn’t stick. When I make them I break up the pretzels and there are still little chunks of them left (not big ones but not flour like.) If you have the mixture, try mixing together 2 tablespoons PB and a teaspoon honey and then mixinging that into the mix to see if you can save it.
This is a really nice recipe. It’s so easy to make.
★★★★★
Thanks Bianca. I am so glad you like the recipe. Thanks for rating!
Hi Katie – these are delicious! Surprisingly so. We winged it with what we have here in the house so that meant big pretzel rods, thick raw honey,big sultanas (golden raisins) and apple juice sweetened cranberries. Our peanut butter is the kind that is just peanuts and salt and we just did a half batch to us up the already broken rods we had. All of these changes meant that we couldn’t get all of the delicious crumble to turn into balls (of course!) but….ummm… the remaining crumble was really yummy eaten by spoon! I am mostly GF, so will one day make these and give you feedback (accurately following what you say then, so you now based on your recipe).
A hearty hello to your Miss L. from her new friend,Brierley. : ) I will email the photo of her with the pretzel balls.
So excited to discover your amazing blog – so very up my alley…. now to find the pomegranate molasses for that fantastic eggplant recipe….
Hey Marybeth! Great news that you liked these snacks. I love that you went for it with what you had on hand and they worked out. And…So glad to e-meet you! Just got the pictures from camp of the whole cabin. So cute to see what they all look like now that i have been hearing stories about all the girls for two weeks. Please keep in touch!
I love having snacks like this on hand for when hunger hits! The salty sweet combo in these is perfect!
I love the pretzels in here. Sweet and salty is my thing!
I am so with you Allison. I have always been a fan. Glad you agree. Thank you for coming by.
I love that these energy balls have pretzels mixed in – what a fun treat! My kids and I love having easy, healthy snacks on hand and these sound delicious! Pinned!
Thank you so much. It is a great habit to get into having healthy snacks for them. Thanks so much for pinning!
Yum! I will be making these with gluten-free pretzels.
I have been meaning to try that variation, since I know you aren’tthe only one who will want to try it. Please let me know if you do! Happy cooking Gretchen.
I’m sure those days are coming for my (my oldest is 5)! What a great idea to slash the boredom (and save some crackers) but making such a delicious snack for them! 🙂
It is coming! Ha ha! Lol about saving the crackers. I need that bumper sticker. 😉 Have a great day Laura.
Haha – Oh Katie, my daughter is 17 and she still opens the fridge and pantry (both full of food) and laments about how there’s nothing to eat!
I better make some of these pronto and keep them in the fridge though seeing we both love the sweet and salty pretzel, peanut butter, cinnamon, and cranberry combo, I’m thinking we are gonna have a hard time sharing these with each other – and forget about these lasting a week!
Sounds like you may need a double batch! Ha ha! Thanks for visiting Shashi. Have a great day.
These look awesome! I think I would love the salty pretzels in this combination. Look forward to trying them!
Yay! That’s great Laura. So glad you stopped by to see them.
I need to pick up a bag of gluten-free pretzels and make these. They sound like the perfect afternoon snack!
Let me know how it goes if you do try it Hannah. Have a great day.
What a delicious snack! I can’t wait to try them!
Thanks so much Marye.
These are perfect for snacking! I love that sweet and salty combo 🙂
I too am so into the sweet salt thing. Glad you approve. Have a great day Brandy.
Thanks for the simple snack recipe! Love it! 🙂 And the crunch!
Thank you my friend! Have a great day Maria.