Cookie Dough Protein Balls

These energizing Cookie Dough Protein Balls are delicious, filling and perfectly portable for those busy days when you need an extra boost! Whip up a batch and have snacks covered for the week!

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Why you should make these Cookie Dough Protein Balls

These Cookie Dough Protein Balls deliver the sweet nostalgia of the classic cookie dough flavour with a satisfyingly chewy texture that makes each bite feel like dessert. Made with simple staple ingredients, they strike the perfect balance between delicious and nutritious. They’re ideal for satisfying your sweet tooth while supporting your energy levels and appetite.

With a dose of protein in every serving, these cookie dough bites are portable snacks that are great for powering through busy days or recovering after a workout. 

Quick to prepare and easy to pack, these snack bites are built for convenience. Whether you’re tackling a full schedule, heading to the gym, or need a grab-and-go bite, they’re the kind of snack you’ll always want within reach!

Ingredients needed

Here’s what you need to make these chocolate chip cookie dough protein bites:

• Medjool dates
• Quick oats
• Vanilla protein powder
• Raw almonds
• Almond butter
• Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Substitutions and add-ins

In case you don’t have some of the recommended ingredients or you would like to mix it up and customize the recipe, here are some suggestions:

• Oat flour
  • If you don’t have quick or old-fashioned rolled oats, you can use oat flour instead. The final texture will be the same since the blender or food processor is meant to break down the whole oats anyway.
• Walnuts
  • Feel free to switch to walnuts instead of almonds for your nut of choice.
• Peanut butter
  • Instead of almond butter, use the same amount of peanut butter to make a peanut butter protein ball version.
• Other nut butters
  • If you prefer another nut or seed butter other than almond butter or peanut butter, feel free to use it in this recipe.
• Regular chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (white, milk, semi-sweet or dark)
  • Feel free to play around with the size and shape of the added chocolate.
• Maple syrup or honey
  • Add 1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup or honey for an added sweetness.
• Shredded coconut
  • For a rich depth of flavour, add ¼ cup of shredded coconut at the same time as the chocolate chips and pulse the mixture until it’s just combined.

Protein powders

Protein powders offer a super convenient way to increase your protein intake with a small amount of product. In this recipe, you can use either whey or a plant-based protein powder, depending on your personal preference.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that supplements aren’t regulated the same way that food products are. This means that what is labeled on the packaging may not actually be what’s found in the product.

For this reason, I highly recommend finding a protein powder that is third-party tested. This testing ensures there is transparency about the quality and safety of supplements and confirms what is listed on the packaging is true. 

Some examples of these reliable organizations include NSF and Informed Choice. Take a look next time you are shopping for a protein powder and see if one of these logos is on the package.

If you’re looking for more information on protein powders, I explain how to find the best product for you here and here!

Tip: If you’re not a huge fan of the taste of protein powder and want the flavour to be subtle in this recipe, use ¼ cup of protein powder instead of ½ cup. Then add an extra ¼ cup of oats to make up for the dry ingredients.

How to make Cookie Dough Protein Balls

Here’s how to make this satisfying and sweet snack!

1. In a food processor or high-speed blender, pulse the dates, oats, protein powder, almonds and almond butter together until well combined. At this point, the consistency will be quite crumbly and dry, this is to be expected.
2. Add about ¼ cup of water and continue to blend until the mixture starts to clump together. You can continue adding water 1-2 tbsp at a time until you achieve the desired consistency.
   1. TIP: If your almond butter is quite runny, start by adding less water so that the mixture isn’t too liquidy.
3. Add the mini chocolate chips and either fold them in or pulse until combined.
   1. TIP: if your food processor or blender is working hard and making the dough warm to the touch, hold off on adding the chocolate chips until the mixture cools down. A warm or hot mixture can cause the chocolate chips to completely melt.
4. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop out about 1-2 tbsp of the dough, squeeze it to combine and stick together and then roll it into balls using your hands. Enjoy immediately or place it in an airtight container and store in the fridge.

Storing and freezing

Once you make these cookie dough energy bites, it’s important to store them properly to keep them as fresh as possible. I recommend placing them in an airtight container and:

• Store in the fridge for up to 5-7 days.
• Alternatively, you can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, just allow them to thaw for about 5 minutes before taking a bite!

Nutrition

My goal is to encourage a more joyful, intuitive relationship with food, focusing on flavor and satisfaction rather than numbers. Because of this, I don’t normally calculate the calories of my recipes. Caloric amounts can also be inaccurate due to variations in ingredients and portions. However, I do like to highlight the beneficial nutrients that my recipes provide.

This recipe makes about 20-24 protein balls, depending on their size. If making 20, two balls provide roughly*:

• 10 grams of protein
• 2 grams of fibre
• A significant source of vitamin E
• A variety of B vitamins and minerals such as iron, magnesium, zinc and more!

*This information will vary considerably depending on the type of protein powder used and the size of the protein balls.

Dietary considerations

This recipe is naturally vegetarian and can be adjusted for a variety of other dietary considerations.

• Gluten free: ensure your oats and protein powder are certified gluten-free.
• Dairy free: make sure to use dairy free chocolate chips and a plant-based or vegan protein powder.
• Vegan: use a vegan protein powder and do not use any honey as an added sweetener.

If you make these Cookie Dough Protein Balls, I would love to see your comment and rating below. It also makes my day seeing your creations of my recipes on Instagram- don’t forget to tag @allnutritionkitchen!