Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls Recipe

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This peanut butter chocolate protein ball recipe is easy to make with only 6 simple ingredients. Made with dates, peanut butter, protein powder, and oats, these peanut butter energy balls have no added sugar, and are easily adaptable for dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan diets.

These protein bites take only about 10 minutes to prep and require only a handful of ingredients. These little no bake snacks are great for meal prepping at the beginning of the week.

With 5 grams of protein per portion (about the same amount of protein as an egg or half a cup of some types of beans), and the combination of chocolate and peanut butter with oats, these are the perfect mid-day snack.

You can make these chocolate protein balls fit in with a lot of special diets with small modifications. 

• For a gluten-free diet, make sure to use gluten-free certified oats. 
• If you follow a vegan diet, use Vegan Protein Powder. 
• For dairy free diets, use a dairy free/vegan protein powder. 
• For peanut allergies, try almonds and almond butter or cashews and cashew butter.

Love the combo of chocolate and peanut butter? Me too. Try chocolate peanut butter Rice Krispie treats, chocolate peanut butter overnight oats, or chocolate chip peanut oat butter cookie bars next.

Ingredients

See the recipe card for exact amounts.

• peanuts: for a crunchy bite.
• peanut butter: I use creamy peanut butter. for protein, flavor, healthy fats, and keeping the ingredients together.
• dates: Medjool dates act as a sweetener and a binder, helping to hold the ingredients together.
• protein powder:  I like chocolate protein powder in this recipe for a chocolate and peanut butter combo.
• oats: the combination of quick oats and large flake oats gives the best results. The quick oats kind of swink into the mixture and the large flake oats give a nice bite.

Substitutions

• peanut butter: try natural peanut butter instead or a different nut butter.
• protein powder: try vanilla protein powder and mini chocolate chips together like a cookie dough protein ball. Or try another type of protein powder.

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Instructions

To make these, I use a food processor. If you don’t have one, chop the peanuts and dates with a knife and mix everything in a large bowl.

1. Add the peanuts to the food processor and pulse a few times to chop.
2. Remove them to another small bowl and repeat with the dates. 
3. Add a scoop of protein powder to the date water and mix well.
4. Add this plus all other ingredients to the food processor bowl and pulse until combined.
5. Use a small cookie scoop to portion them out evenly. Mine is a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop. This gives me 20 portions. 
6. Roll the portions into balls and refrigerate.

Tips for making protein balls

• Customize: Try adding some hemp seeds, chia seeds, or ground flax seeds to the mix. You may need to add a splash of water to accommodate the addition. Try different flavored protein powders to suit your taste.

Storage

Store protein bites in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.