This No Bake Protein Balls Recipe is so easy to make! A healthy snack that is loaded with protein and tastes like cookie dough!
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If you love easy snacks – you’ll love these healthy no bake protein snacks! They’re super quick to make, have only 6 ingredients, and taste like a peanut butter cup.
There are a million ways to customize them – but we love the peanut butter chocolate combo!
Deliciously Healthy Protein Bites
Are Protein Balls Good For You?
Yes, protein balls are good for you – as long as they’re made with good ingredients (many of the store bought ones aren’t)! These energy bites bites are actually high in protein, and have healthy fats and carbs too!
There are so many things to love about these bites (aside from them being delicious!). Here are some of the reasons why we love them.
- Easy to Make– With only 6 ingredients and a few steps, these are super simple to make. Simply mix together, press into a pan, chill & enjoy
- Customizable– You can easily change up the nut butter, add ins, or other ingredients to customize the flavor of these.
- High protein- Most energy bites have lots of carbs or fat. These protein bites have equal amounts of protein, carbs, and fats. They would be a great post workout snack!
Ingredients for No Bake Protein Balls
To make these no bake protein bites you’ll need only 6 ingredients:
- maple syrup
- peanut butter
- oat flour
- vanilla protein powder
- cinnamon
- mini chocolate chips
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.Â
How to make No Bake Protein Balls
This recipe is super easy to make. Here’s how to make them:
- In a bowl mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips.
- Stir in chocolate chips
- Roll into balls about 1/2 tablespoon size
We’ve included substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
Variations of No Bake Protein Balls
Gluten Free: To make gluten free make sure you use certified gluten free oats.
Maple Syrup: We have not tried replacing maple syrup with honey. I think it may work but can’t be sure.
Peanut Butter– Do not use regular peanut butter such as Jif/Skippy. This needs to be a natural peanut butter with natural oils. We haven’t tested cashew or almond butter but think it would work.
Protein Powder– Different proteins will create different flavor profiles, nutrition info and texture. The protein used here was Gold Standard Vanilla Whey Protein. We haven’t tested this recipe with vegan or other protein powder but it may work! A reader tried chocolate protein and loved it, but we haven’t tried that yet.
Oat Flour– Oat flour is simply old fashioned oats ground to a fine texture. If you don’t have oat flour, grind your own old fashioned rolled oats with a food processor or blender until very fine. Purchased oat flour will often have a finer texture. If you want something with whole oats, try these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls or Honey Almond Bites.
To make lower calorie: Omit the chocolate chips.
How to store Protein Bites
Refrigerator: Protein balls can be wrapped and stored in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. You can’t keep these protein bites out of the fridge for more than a few hours, they will get moldy.
Freezer: You can store the bites in the freezer for 3 months. We prefer to eat the protein balls right from the refrigerator but they will be fine if frozen. They might dry out a bit if frozen.
No Bake Protein Balls FAQs
Yes, you can eat raw oats and oat flour in energy balls. They are completely safe to eat raw.
Your protein balls might not be sticking together for a few reasons. It could be because of the protein powder (some are dryer than others) or it could be because of your other ingredients. If you don’t use all natural peanut butter it can cause the balls to dry out. You can add a little bit of water or more nut butter to help the protein balls stick together.
Protein balls should last for up to a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Trying to eat more protein?
If you’re trying to eat more protein, check out our High Protein Dinners Ebook! It has 24 easy recipes you can make in under an hour with 25g+ protein per serving!
Other high protein snack recipes:
We love easy protein packed snacks. Here are some of our favorites:
No Bake Healthy Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon oat flour
- 6 tablespoons vanilla protein powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips.
- Stir in chocolate chips
- Roll into ½ tablespoon sized balls
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Julie says
This was really good. I didn’t have vanilla protein powder I only had unflavored so I added one tablespoon of vanilla extract and that worked well.
Alicia says
I made these with raw organic honey instead of maple syrup and they turned out well! Going to make these in place of my protein bars I was eating for breakfast 😊
Jackie says
Hello, I would like to make these, but it looks like in the pictures, the oat flour and protein powder are the same quantities, but in the recipe it says 6 Tbsp protein powder and 1 Tbsp oat flour. I just wanted to make sure this was correct before I attempt to make them. Thanks in advance, they look delicious!
The Clean Eating Couple says
The recipe is correct! Follow it as is and you’ll have success 🙂 I think the photos might just seem like that but they are different portions!
Liz kane says
Made this and so yummy! I love for a afternoon snack and they really fill you up. I used Santa Cruz natural peanut butter and my batter was still too dry so I added a tiny bit of almond milk and it was perfect. Might not have been enough oil left in peanut butter jar.
Debi says
One of my favorite recipes!! You definitely need to give this one a try!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Debi! I’m glad you like them!
Alexa says
So simple and SO delicious! Definitely will be making again in the near future 🙂
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Alexa! Glad you liked them!
Jennifer Marteny-Bottoms says
Could you use almond or coconut flour in place of oat?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I haven’t tried that so I can’t be sure. Almond and coconut flour are pretty finicky so I don’t know if they will work
Cory Southworth says
I used almond flour because that is what I have and it turned out super dry. I just added a fee splashes if water and it was a lot better!
Lynne Falcigno says
Love u
Rachel says
Such a yummy and EASY recipe!! I used almond butter and chocolate protein powder because that’s what I had. The protein powder was whey free and worked just fine! I love the cinnamon in these!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them! I need to try them with chocolate protein!
Eva says
Made these and they were gone so fast! Taste really good without being too sweet, a perfect healthy snack! I made with vanilla vegan protein powder and added some Rice Krispies for a crunch that was really satisfying! Will become a staple in my weekly meal/snack prep to have something with protein and no additives!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you enjoyed them, Eva! Love the addition of the rice krispies! That sounds so good
Liz says
So delicious and easy to make!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Liz!
Jenna says
Delicious!! Great consistency and so easy. And I have a feeling they will freeze well. I used honey instead of maple syrup and just as good.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked them, Jenna! Thank you so much!