Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Balls | Easy little snack made with dates, peanut butter, protein powder and oats. No refined sugars, and easily adaptable for dairy free, gluten free and vegan diets.
Hi, how was your week?
Mine was pretty busy. I created a bunch of new recipes this week that I can't wait to share, including a pretty healthy little Valentine's Day treat! (This Chocolate Cherry Chia Pudding Parfait) Of course, it doesn't NEED to be served on Valentine's Day, or any other special occasion. It feels decadent enough to fit in on a special day but healthy enough to have every day. Wait.... did I say every day? I meant any day. Of course.
Okay, enough about that. How about this tasty little snack recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Balls.
I love these little snacks. My whole family does. They contain 130 calories and 5 grams of protein per portion ( about the same amount of protein as an egg or half a cup of some types of beans).
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Balls can fit in with a lot of special diets as well, with little 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, I imagine almonds/almond butter would work nicely.
How to make Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Balls
To make these, I use a food processor. If you don't have one, just chop the peanuts and dates with a knife. I chop the peanuts first in my food processor by just pulsing a few times. Take them out and do the dates next.
If your dates are pretty soft then you're good to go. If they're not, just soak them in ¼ cup warm water until they are softened. Drain them, then pulse them in the food processor until they are chopped.
Then just mix your protein powder with the date water (or regular water if you didn't need to soak your dates) and add everything to the food processor.
Pulse until combined and then portion them out and roll them. I like to use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop and that gave me 20 portions. Refrigerate until needed.
I love these – they taste good and they're pretty cute. Hope you like them!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Snacks
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanuts
- 1 cup pitted dates + ¼ cup water
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 cup large flake oats
Instructions
- Set dates in a small bowl and cover with about ¼ cup or hot water. Let sit until softened.
- Pulse the peanuts in the food processor, until chopped. Set aside.
- Drain dates (save the date water) and pulse in the food processor until finely chopped.
- Mix protein powder with date water then add to processor, along with the peanut butter and pulse to mix.
- Add the peanuts and oats and pulse to mix again. You may have to switch to mixing by hand here.
- Use a cookie scoop if you want to, to get perfect 1 ½ tablespoon portions, then roll them between your hands to get round balls. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or so and then serve.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!