CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BALLS
Here’s an easy snack recipe that’s perfect for meal prep… and might even replace those expensive protein bars you’ve been buying! These Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls taste like a no-bake cookie, but are high in protein and low in sugar to keep you feeling full for hours. I usually eat four as a well-rounded snack, but enjoy as many as you like! They keep well in the fridge or even the freezer. These balls are also gluten-free and vegan!
Did you know? To optimize muscle repair and growth, you should aim to consume 20-30 grams of protein post-workout, including 2-3 grams of leucine, which is the rate-limiting amino acid for muscle protein synthesis. (source)
Protein recommendation
For my protein source, I used LIV Body Lean Vegan Protein in Peanut Butter Chocolate flavor. You can use my code NOEXCUSES for 20% off all LIV Body products: https://livbody.com/collections/all. I love that this vegan protein is high in leucine for muscle growth! All the flavors are delicious too (faves include Frosted Oatmeal Cookie, Snickerdoodle, and Fruity Loops). And last but not least, LIV Body uses no artificial ingredients!
You could also use whey protein, but you may need to add more oats or use less water in order to get that no-bake texture without being too sticky.
Other dry ingredients
These balls also contain gluten-free rolled oats, unsweetened cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. I used this organic stevia blend that’s twice as sweet as sugar. You can use any sweetener you like or even leave it out if you think the protein powder is sweet enough.
You can also swap the rolled oats out for crisp brown rice cereal (just use twice as much). It does not matter if you use regular unsweetened cocoa or Dutch-process, either. The salt is optional!
Wet ingredients
The wet ingredients are just water, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Of course, if you’re allergic to peanuts you can use another nut or seed butter you like.
The maple syrup can be swapped for honey (not vegan) or sugar-free pancake syrup. Be careful to add the water a tablespoon at a time if using a different protein powder. I also added a little vanilla extract but that’s optional.
Here’s the recipe for these Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls! Please leave a comment below if you try them 😉
This post contains affiliate links and is sponsored by LIV Body.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 50 g chocolate protein powder* I used LIV Body Lean Vegan Protein in Peanut Butter Chocolate
- 1/4 cup rolled oats*
- 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp. calorie-free sweetener* optional
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. creamy peanut butter* or nut or seed butter of choice
- 1 tbsp. pure maple syrup* or sugar free syrup, or honey
- 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp. water
*See blog post above for substitutions.
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients (through salt) in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add wet ingredients (through vanilla extract) and mix until incorporated.
- Add water one tablespoon at a time until dough is no longer crumbly and sticks to itself.
- Take dough by heaping tablespoons and roll into eight equal-sized balls.
- Store in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to a week. Enjoy!
Notes
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