No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Sharing a recipe for easy chocolate peanut butter protein balls that your whole family will love.

Energy balls are one of our favorite healthy snack recipes. They store so well in the fridge or freezer, making them the perfect snack to grab quickly.

They only require simple ingredients that I usually have on hand, they are so easy to customize to your own tastes, and it takes just a few minutes to make up a big batch. 

What is a protein ball?

There are so many energy ball recipes out there and they all have the same basic ingredients: oats; creamy peanut butter or other nut butter, such as almond butter or sunflower butter; and honey or some other sweetener; and various optional ingredients. 

Things like mini chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, flax seeds, chia seeds and dried fruit also make perfect additions to these little protein balls. 

I have been making these no bake peanut butter balls for many years and decided one day that I needed a chocolate version.

Enter these chocolate peanut butter balls. With all the rich chocolate peanut butter flavor they are just like chocolate no bake cookies, but with an extra punch of protein. 

Chocolate peanut butter energy balls

Chocolate peanut butter protein balls are delicious and I love to keep a batch of these protein balls and stash them in the refrigerator or freezer for the perfect afternoon snack. 

These peanut butter chocolate protein balls are also a wonderful healthy treat for that sweet tooth. It’s perfect when I’m craving something a little sweet, but want a healthier option. 

They are also fantastic to pack on a road trip or when you need a quick snack on the go. 

If you’re like me, you are always looking for ideas to get more protein in your diet every day. Protein is essential for energy, balancing blood sugar, hormone regulation, keeping your belly full, and so many more things. 

You can check out this blog post where I share why protein is so important for women as well as some of my favorite go-to protein meals and snack ideas.

Simple ingredients

Peanut butter – A different nut butter will work, but I especially love the flavors of chocolate and peanut butter together. Be sure and use a natural peanut butter that does not have added sugar or oils. 

Old fashioned oats – I prefer to use old fashioned oats and blend them into a coarse oat flour, but you can use any type, just be mindful that you may have to adjust your ratios accordingly.

Cocoa powder – Adds rich, chocolatey flavor to the chocolate peanut butter energy bites.

Chocolate protein powder – Optional, but the protein powder adds an extra boost of protein to these healthy energy balls. You could add vanilla protein powder as well. This is my favorite brand of protein powder for its clean ingredients, but any type of protein powder will work. 

Honey – The honey is the sweetener and “glue” that holds everything together. Pure maple syrup would work also, although you may need to use less to avoid being overly sweet. 

Vanilla extract – Adds just a little flavor, but you can totally omit with no problem.

Sea salt – This adds just a hint of saltiness and compliments the sweetness of the chocolate nicely. Redmond Real Salt is my favorite brand of salt. 

Simple instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the honey and nut butter. Add in cocoa powder and protein powder and mix until smooth. Sir in vanilla and salt, if desired. 

At this point you can add any flax or chia seeds that you are using.  You want to be sure to fold in the oats last so that the finer textured ingredients get well incorporated.

Now, if you are working with quick cook oats you will be good to go here. If you have the old fashioned kind, you may want to put them in a food processor and blend into a coarse flour. 

There is nothing wrong with using the old fashioned oats, but in my experience, they tend to make a chewier protein ball and the ground oats make a nice texture for the protein balls. 

Slowly incorporate the oats into the mixture, being careful not to overmeasure as it will cause the balls to dry out. 

Lastly, stir in any chocolate chips or dried fruit that you may want. Be sure and use a heavy wooden spoon to stir as it will be a thick batter and can be a challenge to mix. 

Once you have everything well combined, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. 

Using a small cookie scoop, press the peanut butter and oat mixture into the scoop and press out onto parchment paper like you would cookie dough.

Storing the chocolate peanut butter protein balls

After you have pressed out all of the peanut butter and chocolate energy balls, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator or the freezer.

 If you choose to freeze the no bake chocolate peanut butter balls, I would recommend flash freezing them before adding to a large zip loc bag or other freezer safe container to store in the freezer.

With simple, healthy ingredients these chocolate protein balls will become one of your favorite recipes for quick snacking. I hope you’ll give them a try the next time you need a quick snack.