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Made with nothing but healthy ingredients, these no-bake Protein Balls are a delicious way to get your day started nutritiously — especially when you’re on-the-go.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe:
- Quick and Easy: These Protein Balls take barely any time to make. You can literally make a batch in under 10 minutes, a real win-win given our busy schedules.
- Healthy Snack: Protein Balls are high in protein (obvi) so they are filling, making them great for breakfast or as a an energy boosting snack in between meals.
- Customizable: From choosing your favorite nut or seed butter, to a whole host of add-ins like shredded coconut and chocolate chips, there’s no limit to making this recipe your own.
- Cost-Effective: Given the simple ingredients, the cost per serving is extremely low, making these the ideal replacement for pricey store-bought protein bars.
- No bake: You don’t have to turn on your oven for these treats! Want more no-bake recipes? Try my Chocolate Tofu Pudding, No Bake Cookie Dough Balls or Coconut Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls!
The Ingredients:
- Nut Butter: Any nut butter of your preference will work for this recipe: peanut butter, sun-butter, cashew butter or almond butter are some of my favorites.
- Dates: These are what help hold all of the ingredients together and add that delicious, naturally sweet flavor.
- Protein Powder: Choose your favorite! Some of the ones I love are Plant Fusion Complete Protein and Ora Organic Vegan Protein Powder.
- Hemp Seeds & Chia Seeds: These two ingredients add tons of healthy omega 3 fatty acids, and are rich in antioxidants and fiber.
Variations and Substitutions
- Nut Allergy? Substitute sunflower seed butter for nut butter. It works just as well!
- Don’t have chia and/or hemp seeds? Substitute with unsalted pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseed, and/or wheat germ.
- Looking for an added nutrition or flavor boost? Shredded coconut, bee pollen, cacao powder, and vanilla all go great in this recipe.
- Chocolate lover? If desired, melt 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Allow to cool and then drizzle over protein balls. Additionally, if you want to add chocolate chips, incorporate them into the mixture before forming the balls.
- Have fun with them! You can roll the finished balls in shredded coconut or drizzle them with melted chocolate.
How to Make No-Bake Protein Balls
Step 1: Place the ingredients into a food processor and blend until combined.
Step 2: Roll into 1 tablespoon sized balls.
Step 3: Chocolate Drizzle (optional): melt 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Allow to cool and then drizzle over protein balls.
How to Store
Protein Balls should be stored in the refrigerator an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze them for up to 4 months.
FAQs
Sure! These Protein Balls are (obviously) packed with protein, which is especially important for breakfast, as it can help you feel full and satisfied, and avoid snacking before lunch.
Yes! Because all of the ingredients are shelf-stable, they are perfect to pack for camping trips, a long flight, or a weekend road trip.
Of course every kid is different, but I’ve been making this recipe for years and my kids and their friends love them. I find this recipe to be a win-win, it’s a sweet treat for kids and parents can’t feel good about how nutritionally dense they are.
Kid-Friendly Tip
Especially since there’s no cooking or baking involved, this is the perfect recipe to get little ones involved in cooking. It’s fun for them to help form the balls with their hands, plus you can teach them along the way about all the good ingredients that go into this recipe and how it helps their bodies get the fuel they need!
More Healthy, No-Bake Recipes
Are you making a batch of protein balls this weekend? Let me know what you think by leaving a rating and review below!
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Protein Balls
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup nut or seed butter of choice (e.g almond, peanut or sunflower butter)
- 5 dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup protein powder
- 3/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
Instructions
- Place the ingredients into a food processor and blend until combined.
- Roll into balls using a tablespoon of mixture per ball.
- For Chocolate Drizzle (optional): melt 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Allow to cool and then drizzle over protein balls.
Notes
- Is this recipe be filling enough to serve on it’s own for breakfast? Because these Protein Balls are (obviously) packed with protein, which is especially important for breakfast, as it can help you feel full and satisfied, and avoid snacking before lunch.
- Do these travel well? Yes. Because all of the ingredients are shelf-stable, they are perfect to pack for camping trips, a long flight, or a weekend road trip.
These were sooo good! Thanks for the recipe!!!!! I used an unsweetened chocolate protein powder and threw in an extra date and a handful of chocolate chips in before running the food processor. The result was a chocolate peanut butter heaven!!!!
That sounds incredible! Glad you like these 🙂 Thanks for the kind comment!
We are going on a trip and I think these will be wonderful to bring! Can I keep them out on the trip without refrigeration? How long will they last?
Yes! They will last for days without refrigeration and are perfect for on-the-go!
My protein balls were very sticky, yummy, but sticky. Any suggestions?
Hmm – They can get a little sticky if you use natural peanut butter sometimes. Not sure what nut butter you went with, but if you freeze or refrigerate them until they’re more firm that will help. They’ll stay fresh in the refrigerator for weeks, and the freezer for up to 4 months. Hope that’s helpful!
That was amazing!
What kind of protein powder do you use? Flavored?
Are these still good without actual protein powder? I give them to my kids and prefer to avoid protein powder.