Protein Bite Recipes That'll Give You an Energy Boost

Four protein ball recipes, none of which needs an oven. Roll, chill, done.

Protein balls are the most forgiving thing you can make with a protein powder, because nothing gets heated and there is no structure to ruin.

Vegan protein balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate plant protein powder
• 1 cup almond meal
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp stevia

Method

Combine, roll into balls, and coat in desiccated coconut.

Cookie dough protein balls

Nutrition per serve: 130 calories, 9.9 g protein, 19 g carbohydrate, 2.25 g fat.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups nut butter (almond works well)
• 3 tbsp gut health powder
• 2 scoops Noway Protein
• 1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate bits

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Scoop out tablespoon lots, form into balls, and refrigerate until firm.

Choc adrenal balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 2 tbsp cacao nibs
• 4 medjool dates
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 4 scoops Adrenal Switch in Chocolate
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Almond meal or desiccated coconut, to coat

Method

1. Process the almonds, coconut, cacao nibs and dates until finely chopped.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and process until the mixture begins to clump together. If it is too dry, add a little almond milk or water.
3. Roll into balls and coat in almond meal or desiccated coconut.
4. Refrigerate.

Five-ingredient peanut butter protein balls

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate OxyWhey
• 1 cup raw peanuts
• 2 tsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp cocoa
• 20 to 30 ml water
• Desiccated coconut, to coat

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender.
2. If it goes too dry and crumbly, add a little extra water.
3. Roll into bite-sized balls.
4. Roll through desiccated coconut.
5. Place on a baking tray and freeze for 1 to 2 hours.

Why are my protein balls too dry?

Too much powder relative to the wet ingredients, and it is the most common problem across all four of these.

Protein powder absorbs a surprising amount of liquid, and scoop sizes vary enormously between brands, so the same recipe can come out differently depending on what you use. Every one of these recipes is fixable in one step:

• Add liquid a teaspoon at a time. Water, milk or melted coconut oil. Stop when it clumps in your hand.
• Or add more nut butter. Richer, and it binds better than water does.
• Weigh the powder rather than scooping. Around 25 to 30 g per scoop is typical.

Too wet is just as easy: add more powder, almond meal or desiccated coconut, then chill for 20 minutes before rolling.

How long do protein balls last in the fridge?

• Fridge. Up to a week in an airtight container. Recipes with dates or fresh nut butter are best in the first four or five days.
• Freezer. Up to three months. Freeze on a tray first so they do not fuse, then bag them.
• Bench. Not recommended. Anything with coconut oil softens at room temperature, and nut butter goes rancid faster in warmth.

They are fine to eat straight from the freezer. Most people prefer them a few minutes out.

Are protein balls actually good for you?

Better than most snacks in the same aisle, and not a health food. Worth separating the two.

What they genuinely have going for them: real ingredients you control, a decent hit of protein, and fibre from nuts, oats or dates. They are more filling than a biscuit and they satisfy a sweet craving.

What is easy to miss: they are energy dense. Nut butter, coconut oil and dates are all high in calories, and a batch made with 1 1/2 cups of nut butter carries real energy however healthy the ingredient list reads. Two balls is a snack. Six is a meal.

Commercial protein balls often beat homemade ones on protein per calorie, because they use less fat as a binder. Homemade wins on ingredient control and cost.

Can I eat protein balls every day?

Yes, if they fit your overall intake. There is nothing about them that requires moderation beyond the calories.

The practical caution is that they are very easy to eat several of without noticing. They are small, they are in the fridge, and they taste like dessert. If you make a batch of twenty and they are gone in two days, that is worth knowing about your own habits rather than the recipe.

Portioning them into bags of two when you make them solves it more reliably than willpower does.

How do I get 20 g of protein in a snack?

Protein balls generally will not do it on their own. Most work out around 5 to 10 g each, so you would need two or three, and by then you are eating a substantial amount of fat alongside.

The options that get you there efficiently:

• A protein shake. Around 25 g, and the cheapest per gram.
• Greek yoghurt, roughly 200 g of a high-protein variety.
• Cottage cheese, about a cup.
• A tin of tuna, around 25 g.
• Three boiled eggs, around 18 g.

Protein balls are better thought of as a treat that happens to contain protein than as a protein source. That is a fair thing for them to be.

What is the healthiest high-protein snack?

The unexciting answers are the good ones: Greek yoghurt, boiled eggs, cottage cheese, tinned fish, edamame. All are high in protein, minimally processed, and low in added sugar.

Where protein balls fit is the gap those do not fill: something sweet, portable, and shelf-stable enough to sit in a bag. That is a real gap, and it is why they exist.

Which protein powder should I use?

Almost anything, because nothing here is baked and protein powder only misbehaves under heat.

• Whey blends smoothly and is the most neutral.
• Plant protein absorbs more liquid, so expect to add a little extra.
• Collagen protein is the smoothest of all, though it is not a complete protein, so it does less for muscle than whey or a plant blend.

Chocolate and vanilla suit all four recipes. The protein range is worth comparing on price per serve rather than price per tub.

For more like this, browse the full recipe collection.