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This easy, no-bake peanut butter protein balls recipe pairs chocolate, oats, and other simple ingredients for a healthier treat that tastes like cookie dough and packs 9 grams of protein per serving.
If you have a sweet tooth but are trying to focus on nourishing foods, you’re going to love this recipe. With the chocolate + peanut butter flavor combination, these taste like a candy bar but pack a satisfying punch of protein for under 200 calories per serving. They’re made with ingredients healthy enough for breakfast! And bonus, they’re a good meal prep recipe if you like to keep easy snacks stashed in your fridge for when a sweets craving or in-between-meals hunger pang hits.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Creamy peanut butter – Peanut butter is the main binding agent in this recipe. It adds moisture and also acts like “glue” to hold everything together. Also, it bumps up the protein and adds rich, nutty flavor. If you want to use all-natural, unsweetened, single ingredient peanut butter, a few good options are Spread The Love Naked Organic Peanut Butter, Once Again Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, and Crazy Richard’s Creamy Natural Peanut Butter. Otherwise, regular creamy peanut butter (like Skippy) will also work great.
- Sweetener – I usually use granulated monk fruit/allulose sweetener or coconut sugar here. However, you can use regular granulated sugar, regular brown sugar, or keto brown sugar. In this recipe, we don’t need a sticky liquid sweetener (such as honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup) because the peanut butter adds enough moisture.
- Coconut oil – This adds healthy fats and helps these protein balls set properly as they chill. Use virgin coconut oil for subtle coconut flavor, or use refined if you don’t want to taste the coconut oil.
- Pure vanilla extract – For depth of flavor and rich aroma.
- Salt – To create a balanced flavor profile. (TIP: If your peanut butter is salted but not sweetened, hold off on adding extra salt until the mixture is made, then taste it and add salt if desired.)
- Old-fashioned rolled oats – Old-fashioned rolled oats add structure and chewiness. In a pinch, you can use quick oats, but your protein balls will be a bit softer, stickier, and less chewy.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut – Coconut adds healthy fats, fiber, and minerals. It also acts as a binder here. If you only have sweetened coconut on hand, omit the added sweetener.
- Vanilla protein powder – My go-to brand is Equip Foods Prime Protein Powder because I like the clean ingredients. Instead of vanilla, you can use any flavor you like; caramel, peanut butter, and chocolate are all great here.
- Golden flaxseed meal – Acts as a binder to help thicken up the mixture. Brown flaxseed meal will also work, it’ll just add more of an earthy, slightly bitter flavor.
- Mini chocolate chips – Chocolate chips are optional here, but they pair well with peanut butter and make these protein balls feel like a treat.
How to Make Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls With Oats
- Add the peanut butter, sweetener, oil, vanilla, and salt to a medium bowl. Stir well to combine. Add the oats, coconut, protein powder, and golden flaxseed meal.
- Stir well, and then stir in the mini chocolate chips. (TIP: At this point, the mixture will have the texture of cookie dough. You can eat it now if you like edible protein cookie dough, or roll it into balls and let it chill in the fridge to set.)
- Use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure out the mixture and roll each into a ball. Arrange the balls in an airtight container layered between pieces of wax paper. Chill at least 15 minutes before eating so they can firm up. (TIP: Their texture hardens the longer these are in the fridge.)
Variations
- If peanuts aren’t your thing, swap out the peanut butter for any kind of nut butter you like.
- You can skip the chocolate chips and add chopped peanuts (or any kind of chopped nuts you like) to increase the protein even more.
- The easiest way to customize the flavor of these is to change up the protein powder.
- Instead of adding mini chocolate chips to the batter, dip the protein balls in melted chocolate after they set in the fridge for fancy chocolate truffle vibes. Every time you reach for once it’ll feel like a special indulgence, but you’re actually nourishing your body!
Storage Tips
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
My Best Tips For Peanut Butter Protein Balls With Oats
- Either runny “natural” peanut butter or thicker regular peanut butter will work here. If you use the runny kind, leave all ingredient amounts the same, but let the protein balls sit for a bit longer in the fridge to firm up before eating. (But personally, I love these on the softer side before they fully firm up. They remind me of peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough!)
- I like using mini chocolate chips here. Because they’re smaller, they stretch further. You still get chocolate in each protein bite, but you can get away with adding less.
- These protein balls are naturally gluten free, but to make sure there wasn’t cross-contamination during processing, check to see if the labels (especially on your oats) say they’re certified gluten free.
- To make this recipe vegan, use a vegan protein powder, such as pea, soy, hemp, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it’s safe to eat raw old-fashioned rolled oats because they’re steamed during processing.
There are a ton of binder options! Peanut butter or other nut butters is a good choice because it’s thick and sticky so it helps things hold together well. Sticky liquid sweeteners (such as honey or maple syrup) are also good because they can also act like “glue”. Additionally, sticky dried fruits (like dates, prunes, figs, etc.) work well.
Then once you have the sticky part handled, you need to add ingredients to soak up moisture and add structure. That’s where things like oats, nuts, nut flours, chia seeds, flaxseeds, unsweetened shredded coconut, etc. shine.
That depends on what ingredients you add to them! Protein balls can pack a satisfying punch of protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
One of the biggest pitfalls can be the added sugar. To keep the sugar low, use a keto sweetener or just omit the added sweetener if your protein powder is sweetened. Look at the sweetener in your protein powder (my go-to Equip Prime Protein Powder is stevia-sweetened). Also, you can use your favorite keto chocolate chips if you like instead of regular chocolate chips.
More Treats For Peanut Butter Chocolate Lovers
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
- Easy Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Oat Protein Balls Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter natural peanut butter or regular peanut butter will work
- 1 tablespoon granulated monk fruit/allulose blend or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt see Notes
- 6 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
- 4 tablespoons vanilla protein powder or any flavor you like; caramel is also delicious here
- 1 tablespoon golden flaxseed meal
- 4 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix. Add the peanut butter, sweetener, oil, vanilla, and salt to a medium bowl, and stir well to combine. Add the oats, coconut, protein powder, and golden flaxseed meal, and stir well. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. (TIP: At this point, the mixture will have the texture of cookie dough. You can eat it now if you like edible protein cookie dough.)
- Scoop. Use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure out the mixture and roll each into a ball. Arrange the balls in an airtight container layered between pieces of wax paper.
- Set. Chill at least 15 minutes before eating so they can firm up. (TIP: Their texture hardens the longer these are in the fridge.)
Notes
- Salt: If your peanut butter is salted but not sweetened, hold off on adding extra salt until the mixture is made, then taste it and add salt if desired.
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes 9 (1.5-tablespoon) balls and each serving is 1 ball.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- The Brands I Used (If You Want to Get the Same Macros): Here are the brands I used if you want to get the same macros I did: Once Again Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, Impact Monk Fruit & Allulose Zero Calorie Sweetener, Nutive Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Bob’s Red Mill Organic Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats, Equip Prime Protein Vanilla, Bob’s Red Mill Organic Golden Flaxseed Meal, and Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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