These soft & delicious peanut butter protein balls are a perfect, portable snack full of protein and healthy fats. Add some freeze-dried strawberries for a PB&J taste!
In our little corner of the world, summer break has begun. For us, it means lots of pool time, weekend excursions, and snacking all day long.
Seriously, why are kids hungry ALLLLLL day in the summer? I swear mine are constantly asking for food, and I remind them that they didn’t eat all day when they were in school.
And then I give them a snack. #enabler
I’m bulking up our snack offerings and plan to make these peanut butter protein balls on the regular.
I have a chocolate version, too! Paleo Protein Brownie Bites. I also have an assortment of homemade Larabar knock offs that I linked to at the bottom of this post.
Ingredients for Peanut Butter Protein Bites
All you need are handful of easy to find ingredients!
- Almond flour
- Protein powder (both vanilla and peanut butter — I like the PB Fit powder and get it in bulk at Costco.)
- Sea salt
- Peanut butter
- Coconut oil
- Honey
- Vanilla
- Freeze-dried strawberries (optional, but it creates a subtle peanut butter and jelly situation that’s lovely)
Do I need a food processor to make protein balls?
Nope, but it makes it a LOT easier and quicker to get a smooth consistency. I use my food processor ALL the time. It’s one of my most-used appliances.
I love this Cuisinart 12-cup model. Psst… they have a similar one at Costco for quite a bit less!
If you’re not using a food processor, just use a sturdy spoon or your hands to blend everything.
Tip: Make sure your coconut oil is somewhat soft, but not melted to make sure it gets incorporated well. This is especially important if you’re mixing by hand.
Protein Powder for Protein Balls
There isn’t a “best” protein powder to make protein balls. Use whatever protein powder that you prefer, but to get the best flavor in this this recipe use some vanilla protein powder and some peanut butter protein powder.
The vanilla protein powder should be sweetened since this recipe relies on that for flavor. If you use flavorless or unsweetened protein powder instead of vanilla, you might want to add some sweetener to compensate. You could use chocolate instead, though, which would put a PB cup spin on these. Yum.
The peanut butter protein powder gives these bites a lot of peanut butter flavor as well. I like the PB Fit powder so much I buy it in the big containers at Costco.
More Energy Bite Recipes
If you like this recipe, try another one of my protein/energy bite recipes!
Paleo Protein Brownie Bites also use protein powder and you can make them paleo-friendly by using my favorite paleo-friendly protein powder, Rootz. (That link will give you 10% off your order, too!)
Blueberry Muffin Larabar Copycat have bits of dried blueberry for a burst of fruity flavor.
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
Peanut Butter Protein Bites
These soft & delicious peanut butter protein balls are a perfect little snack full of protein and healthy fats. Add some freeze-dried strawberries for a PB&J taste!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
- 1/4 cup peanut butter protein powder
- 1/4 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (soft, but not melted)
- 2 Tablespoons honey or other liquid sweetener
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
- In the work bowl of a food processor, add the almond flour, protein powders, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the peanut butter, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla. Pulse for about a minute until the mixture is mostly combined.
- Add the strawberries and continue to pulse until the berries are crushed up the dough pinches together well with your fingers without crumbling. If it's too crumbly, add a tablespoon or two of water until you reach a consistency where you can form the dough into balls.
- Roll into roughly 19 balls. I used a tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop mine out.
- These are best stored chilled for up to a week, but they can be left at room temperature for a few days. If your kitchen is too warm, they may get too soft and squishy.
Notes
- I use PB Fit peanut butter protein powder. Costco usually has it for a great price. If you can't find it, just replace it with more vanilla protein powder. The peanut butter in the recipe should give it enough PB flavor.
- If you substitute the vanilla protein for unflavored, unsweetened protein powder, you'll have to add more sweetener to compensate. The resulting flavor will also be very different.
- You can use any kind of freeze-dried berries here or leave them out completely.
- If you don't have a food processor, you could still make these by hand in a bowl with a sturdy spoon or by blending the mixture with your hands. Make sure the coconut oil is softened (but not melted) to make it easier to combine thoroughly.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Powder, Helps Support Healthy Hair, Skin, Nails, Bones and Joints - Vanilla 11.5 oz -
PBfit All-Natural Peanut Butter Powder Spread From Real Roasted Pressed Peanuts, 8g of Protein, 30 Oz -
Cuisinart FP-12DCN Elite Collection 12-Cup Food Processor (Die Cast) with Bamboo Spoon and Chef Knife Bundle (3 Items)
Nutrition Information
Yield 19 Serving Size 1 ballAmount Per Serving Calories 127Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 65mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 2gSugar 3gProtein 5g
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post may contain affiliate links. Any purchases made by using these links won’t cost you any extra and helps keep my content free. These links may be Amazon links as I am part of the Amazon Associate Program.