4 Ingredient Protein Balls

4 Ingredient Protein Balls

Written by Erin Heide – Front Door Fitness Personal Fitness Trainer

I love protein balls for a boost, before or after a workout. or just an afternoon treat. And let’s be honest, at tea shops and vegan bakeries, they can be costly. Here is a quick recipe so you can whip them up yourself!

This ball of protein is delicious and super simple, which means, you can add to it. So, take the basic delicious recipe and feel free to put in nuts, chia seeds, chocolate, dried fruit, etc.

Benefits:

Protein balls are rich in nutrients, high in protein, healthy carbs, fats, and fiber, which helps build lean muscle mass, boost energy, and aid weight maintenance. The fat content found in nuts work collectively to help the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins which improves immunity, fights inflammation, boosts the health of your skin, and supports new cell growth. They are guilt-free, energy boosters, and the perfect snack!

What you need:

  • Parchment paper lined cookie sheet
  • 1 cup peanut butter (we used raw salted creamy natural peanut butter, but almond butter or sunflower butter would be great, too)
  • 1/3 cup honey (we used raw organic honey, but agave, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup will do as well, although you may want to do a bit less)
  • 54 grams of unflavored/unsweetened pea protein powder (we used 2 1/2 of the pea protein from Trader Joe’s, just make sure it’s unsweetened and just protein powder)
  • 1 cup oatmeal (we used gluten free quick oats), ground in a blender to course “flour”
  • 22 chocolate chips (optional)

What you do: 

  1. If you have a few minutes, on medium-low heat, combine peanut butter and honey and stir until smooth (be careful, it can burn!). You can skip this step; it will just take a tiny bit longer for all the ingredients to incorporate.
  2. Remove pan from burner and let cool for a minute stirring continuously.
  3. Mix in protein powder and oatmeal (you get a bit of an arm workout since it gets pretty thick)
  4. Make into tablespoon sized balls (or use a cookie dough scoop if you’re lazy…or resourceful… like me).
  5. Top with a chocolate chip (totally optional)
  6. Refrigerate for around an hour and eat ’em! (they freeze really well too)

Enjoy!