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zoomed in shot of cookie dough protein balls stacked on top of each other on grey ceramic plates on top of a wooden board
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Cookie Dough Protein Balls

Delicious, filling and perfectly portable for those busy days when you need an extra boost in energy!
Course Snack
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 20 balls
Author Ashlen Leonard

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup almonds
  • ½ cup Medjool dates pitted
  • ½ cup vanilla protein powder
  • ⅓ cup almond butter
  • ¼ cup water added in increments
  • ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • In a food processor or high-speed blender, pulse the dates, oats, protein powder, almonds and almond butter together until well combined. The consistency will be quite crumbly and dry, this is to be expected.
  • Add 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. (If your almond butter is quite runny, start by adding less water so that the mixture isn’t too liquidy).
  • Add the mini chocolate chips and either fold them in or pulse until combined.
  • 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.

Notes

Substitutions and add-ins

  • Oat flour
    • If you don’t have quick or old-fashioned rolled oats, you can use oat flour instead.
  • 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.
 

Dietary considerations

  • This recipe is naturally vegetarian.
  • 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.