These cookie dough protein balls are the PERFECT little afternoon pre-workout snack. They’re vegan, gluten-free, and made with just 8 good-for-you ingredients. And best of all, each ball contains 5 grams of protein!
I love preparing a batch on the weekend and storing them in the fridge to enjoy throughout the week. They’re also super customisable – make sure to check out my suggestions for ingredient swaps below!
How to make protein balls
Mix together the dry ingredients: oats flour, hemp seeds and protein powder. Then add the wet ingredients: almond butter, honey and vanilla.
Gradually add oat milk to form a dough consistency, then stir in the cacao nibs and roll into balls!
Variations on this recipe
These protein balls are delicious alone, but why not try one of these variations?
- Substitute 1 tbsp of oat flour for 1 tbsp cocoa powder and swap the almond butter for peanut butter to make double chocolate protein balls
- Substitute 1 tsp oat flour for 1 tsp matcha powder to make matcha protein balls – if you like matcha, I know you’ll love my matcha smoothie bowl recipe!
- If you’re feeling extra decadent, coat the balls in a layer of melted chocolate. Mmmmm.
FAQ
You can use any protein powder of your choosing. I love the unflavoured soy isolate from bulk powders, but I’ve made these using flavoured protein powders too and the result is just as tasty!
Make sure to slightly reduce the amount of honey when using a flavoured protein powder to avoid the protein balls becoming too sweet.
Feel free to swap for your favourite nut butter or tahini/sunbutter to keep things nut-free. Try to buy a nut butter which is 100% nuts to avoid extra added sugars and oils. You could even make your own!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, please leave a rating + review below and share your photos on Instagram tagging #shivanilovesfood!
Cookie Dough Protein Bites
Leave a Review Print RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup/ 50 grams Oats
- â…› cup/ 20 grams Hemp Seeds
- 2 scoops/ 50 grams Protein Powder of choice – if using flavoured then reduce the amount of honey to 1/8 cup and add more oat milk as needed
- ¼ cup/ 65 grams Almond Butter sub your favourite nut butter or tahini/sunbutter to make it nut free
- ¼ cup/ 85 grams Honey or maple syrup/agave
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup/ 65 ml Oat Milk or any plant-based milk
- â…› cup/ 15 grams Cacao Nibs or mini dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the oats to a blender and blend into a fine powder (this is oat flour!). You can also use a food processor for this.
- Add the oat flour to a bowl along with the hemp seeds and protein powder. Mix the dry ingredients to combine.
- Add in the wet ingredients: almond butter, honey and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Gradually add the oat milk and keep mixing until you have a cookie-dough consistency. The amount of milk you need will depend on what protein powder you use – some are more absorbent than others – so ensure to add it little-by-little! If you accidentally add too much milk, you can add more oat flour or protein powder to form a dough texture.
- Stir in the cacao nibs or chocolate chips until they’re well incorporated in the dough.
- Roll the mixture into balls – take a generous tablespoon of mixture in your hands and squeeze it together before rolling into a ball between your palms. If you’re finding you can’t roll the balls easily at this stage, adjust the consistency of the dough as needed by adding extra milk or oat flour.
- Store the balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Enjoy!
Notes
- Coat the protein balls in melted dark chocolate for a tasty treat!
- To make chocolate protein balls, sub 1 tbsp of the oats with 1 tbsp of cocoa powder.
- These protein balls last in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Â
These were delicious and I love that they are gluten free! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Michele!
These are perfect for me. I need the extra protein boost these give and I Love the cookie dough flavor.
Isn’t it divine? Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Totally love these as a quick and easy post workout snack! It’s really nice that it’s only 150 calories for 2 bites.
Glad to hear that Stacey!
I love these protein balls! It’s so easy to whip up a batch and always have a healthy post workout snack. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Fabulous snack idea! I love how easy it is to make these bites, too!