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Protein Balls: Easy Recipes and How Many to Eat

Lisa Anderson | Certified Supplement & Wellness Specialist Lisa Anderson
📅 October 2, 2022 ⏱️ 12 min read
Home → Recipes → Protein Balls: Easy Recipes and How Many to Eat

Protein balls are no-bake snacks made from a binder such as dates or nut butter, a dry base such as oats or almond meal, and usually a scoop of protein powder.

They take about ten minutes, they keep in the fridge for a week, and they are a lot easier to get down than another shaker. Below are the simplest versions, the answers to the questions people actually ask, and three reader recipes worth making.

Key points

  • What they are. No-bake snacks built from a binder, a dry base and usually protein powder.
  • Three or four ingredients is enough. You do not need a long shopping list.
  • No protein powder needed. Nut butter, dates and milk powder can carry the protein instead.
  • They are as healthy as what goes in them. Dates, nut butter and chocolate all add energy.
  • They keep well. A week in the fridge, or freeze them for longer.

What are protein balls?

Protein balls, sometimes called bliss balls or energy bites, are no-bake snacks rolled into bite-size portions. Nearly every recipe follows the same three-part structure.

  • Something sticky to bind. Medjool dates, nut butter or honey.
  • Something dry for body. Rolled oats, almond meal or desiccated coconut.
  • Something for protein. A scoop of protein powder, or extra nut butter and seeds.

Because there is no baking involved, the method is almost always the same: blend or mix, roll, chill.

How to make 3 ingredient protein balls

The simplest version needs a binder, a dry base and a flavour.

  • 1 cup medjool dates, pitted
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats

Blitz the dates in a food processor until they form a paste. Add the peanut butter and oats and pulse until the mixture clumps together. Roll into twelve balls and chill for thirty minutes.

If the mixture will not hold, add a teaspoon of water at a time. If it is too wet, add oats.

How to make 4 ingredient protein balls

Adding a scoop of protein powder lifts the protein content and firms up the texture.

  • 1 cup medjool dates, pitted
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 scoop protein powder, vanilla or chocolate

Same method. The protein powder will dry the mixture out slightly, so expect to add a tablespoon of milk or water to bring it back together.

Which protein powder to use

Either of the house-brand proteins works here.

  • 100% Whey Protein is the straightforward pick. It blends in easily and the vanilla and chocolate both suit this recipe.
  • Iso Zero Protein is a whey protein isolate, so it is leaner and lower in carbs and lactose. Isolate absorbs more moisture, so you may need an extra splash of milk.

Can you make protein balls without protein powder?

Yes. Protein powder is the convenient option, not the only one. Nut butters, seeds, milk powder and Greek yoghurt all add protein, and dates plus nut butter alone will hold a ball together perfectly well.

The trade-off is that you will usually get less protein per ball, so treat those versions as a snack rather than a post-training feed.

Are protein balls actually healthy?

They are as healthy as what you put in them. A protein ball built on dates, oats and nut butter is a whole-food snack with fibre and unsaturated fat. The same ball with added chocolate, syrup and a coconut coating is closer to a dessert.

The thing that catches most people out is energy density. Dates and nut butter are both energy-dense, so a small ball can carry more kilojoules than it looks like it should. That is not a problem in itself, it just means portion size matters more here than it does with a piece of fruit.

What is the healthiest protein ball?

The version with the shortest ingredient list and the least added sugar. In practice that means:

  • Dates or banana as the binder, rather than syrup or honey
  • Natural nut butter with no added oil or sugar
  • Rolled oats rather than a processed base
  • Cacao rather than a chocolate coating
  • Protein powder if you want the protein, but it is optional

How many protein balls should you eat per day?

There is no set number, because it depends on the recipe and on the rest of your day. A more useful way to think about it is against your total protein target rather than as a food in isolation.

In Australia, the Recommended Dietary Intake for protein is 64 g a day for men aged 19 to 70, and 46 g a day for women aged 19 to 70, according to the Nutrient Reference Values published by the National Health and Medical Research Council. That works out to about 0.84 g per kilogram of body weight for men and 0.75 g per kilogram for women.

That figure is a minimum for general health rather than a target for athletes, and people training hard often aim higher. Most protein balls land somewhere between 5 g and 10 g of protein each, so one or two makes a reasonable snack.

Important. If you are counting energy intake, log the recipe you actually make. The binder and any coating change the numbers considerably, so a generic figure will not match what is in your kitchen.

Will protein balls help you lose weight?

Not on their own. No single food does that. What a protein ball can do is make a snack more satisfying than a biscuit of similar size, because protein and fibre take longer to work through than refined carbohydrate.

The catch is the one above. They are energy-dense, so if you are eating them on top of your usual intake rather than in place of something else, they will add energy rather than replace it. Used as a swap they are a sensible snack. Used as an extra they are a treat.

If weight management is your goal, that is worth discussing with your GP or an accredited practising dietitian, who can look at your whole diet rather than one snack.

How to store protein balls

  • Fridge. Up to one week in an airtight container.
  • Freezer. Up to three months. Freeze them on a tray first so they do not stick together, then transfer to a container.
  • Rolling. Coating them in desiccated coconut or cacao stops them sticking to each other.

Why are my protein balls too dry or crumbly?

Almost always too much dry ingredient, and usually the protein powder. Protein powder absorbs a lot of moisture, and different powders absorb different amounts, so the same recipe can behave differently with a different tub.

  • Too dry. Add liquid a teaspoon at a time. Milk, water or a little extra nut butter.
  • Too wet. Add oats or almond meal a tablespoon at a time.
  • Will not hold at all. Chill the mixture for twenty minutes before rolling. Cold nut butter and cold dates bind far better than warm ones.

Three reader protein ball recipes

These came from the Elite community, and they are worth the extra ten minutes.

Biscoff protein balls

Love some cookie butter? Try these delectable Biscoff flavoured protein balls!


Ingredients

Recipe

  1. Melt biscoff spread in the microwave
  2. Add melted biscoff to a large bowl followed by coconut milk and honey
  3. Mix to combine
  4. Add oats, protein powder and almond flour to the bowl and mix again
  5. Roll into 12 evenly sized balls
  6. Roll each ball into coconut
  7. Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Truffles

Liv whipped up these bite size cookies and cream protein truffles and they are a MUST try Just look at that white choc drizzle!

Ingredients (for the truffles)

  • 1 cup pitted medjool dates
  • 1/2 cup raw almond
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 3 heaped tbsp cookies and cream plant protein powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup oat milk

Topping ingredients

  • 1/2 cup white chocolate
  • 2 oreos, crushed

Recipe:

  1. Throw all truffle ingredients into a food processor or high speed blender & blitz until a sticky mixture is formed. If not sticky enough, add in a dash more of milk or oil.
  2. Roll into balls
  3. Melt white choc and dollop over top of each truffle.
  4. Top with crushed Oreos and set in the fridge for 10 minutes.
  5. Keeps in the fridge for up to a week!

Salted Caramel Protein Balls

Scarlett has done it again with these salted caramel balls - we KNOW these won't last long in your house

Ingredients

Recipe

  1. Blend your soaked dates until you get a smooth texture. You can use a food processor but a hand mixer is preferred
  2. Add all the other ingredients and blend until they're coarsely combined.
  3. Wet your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking and roll into balls.
  4. Then coat in the 29g of coconut. Repeat until all the mixture is gone.
  5. Enjoy! Store in fridge for up to a week

Want more? Browse the full recipe collection, or the protein range if you are still choosing a powder.