No Bake Protein Balls
Updated Feb 14, 2025
This is the ultimate easy No Bake Energy Balls recipe. Made with just 6 ingredients, these make a great healthy breakfast or snack!
The perfect energy balls
The ultimate protein balls recipe made with just 6 easy ingredients. Made and loved by thousands of readers. These easy energy bites taste like cookie dough, have 5g of protein each, and are so simple to make!
I have made these countless times over the years and as soon as my freezer stash disappears I have to make more. I make these and my homemade protein bars on repeat.
These delicious little bites are perfect as a healthy snack, breakfast, or even dessert to knock out that night time sweet tooth.
Great for having on hand when you need something fast! These became such a hit that I was inspired to make these almond butter energy balls too.
Basic Energy Ball Ingredients
- Protein Powder – for the basic energy ball recipe, I use vanilla protein powder. But any flavor will work.
- Honey – the sticky sweetener needed to help it all stick together. You can substitute maple syrup to make these vegan
- Peanut Butter – I use creamy no stir peanut butter which has just a tiny bit of added sugar in it.
- Salt – just enough to make the salty sweet flavors pop!
- Rolled Oats – Rolled oats are inexpensive and delicious and help these energy balls taste like cookie dough!
- Chocolate Chips – I prefer to use mini chocolate chips so that there is chocolate and crunch in every bite!
How to make Energy Balls
It is so easy to make this recipe. All you need is a rubber spatula and a mixing bowl! These protein balls are made without a food processor.
Step 1: Add the peanut butter, rolled oats, honey, salt, chocolate chips and protein powder to a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Stir with a rubber spatula to combine. I do not recommend using a spoon because the batter is very thick and sticky. It will take a few minutes to mix it all together.
Step 3: Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.
Step 4: Use a mini cookie scoop to drop balls of energy bite batter onto the paper. If you do not have a mini cookie scoop, just use spoons. You want balls around 1 inch in size. Roll the energy balls with your hands to form the shape.
Joy’s Tip
I like using a 1.5 tablespoon sized mini cookie scoop to portion out batter. I find it to be the perfect size and makes the process quicker too!
Step 5: Once you have put all of the batter on the baking sheet, place it in the fridge for one hour, or until the energy balls are firm to the touch.
Once set, serve immediately, or store for later! From here you can now remove them from the wax paper and place into a ziploc bag in the freezer. I always have a bag of these on hand for easy snacking.
I love these energy balls because they are easy to make and made with pantry ingredients that I almost always have on hand. No need to run to the store!
Most importantly, they are irresistibly delicious! Honestly, it feels like I’m eating a treat.
Be sure to read the comments below from other readers!
Ways to customize these protein balls
- chia seeds
- ground flax seed
- chopped nuts
- chopped dried fruit
- shredded coconut
- different kind of chocolate chips
- use almond butter or sun butter instead of peanut butter
- substitute chocolate protein powder
Do I have to use protein powder?
No, you do not, but you will need to replace it with something else so that the batter is not too sticky. I suggest using either more rolled oats or oat flour.
How long can you keep energy balls?
When stored in the freezer, these will be good up to 3 months, but I doubt they will last that long in your house! We usually go through a batch every week or two.
No Bake Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups no stir creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats, rolled oats
- 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the no stir creamy peanut butter, honey, rolled oats, vanilla protein powder, salt, and mini dark chocolate chips to a mixing bowl and use a rubber spatula to mix until the batter is combined.
- Use a mini cookie scoop or a spoon to drop energy balls with a spoon onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet. They should be around 1 inch in size.
- Roll the energy balls with your hands to form the shape.
- Place the cookie sheet with the energy bites on it in the fridge for 1 hour, or until the balls are hardened.
- Transfer energy balls to a ziploc bag and store in the fridge for around a week, or the freezer for 2-3 months
- Be sure to check out my Energy Bites Cookbook based off of this recipe plus more than 20 other flavors you'll love!
Video
Notes
What kind of protein powder should I use?
Just use your favorite protein powder! I used vanilla protein powder in this recipe, but I love chocolate in it too. My personal favorite way to mix things up is to use half vanilla and half chocolate protein powder.How many energy balls does this make?
This makes around 26 energy bites.Are rolled oats the same thing as old fashioned oats?
Yes they are! This is the kind of oats that you want for this recipe.Nutrition
Can you use Almond flour in place of the oatmeal?
If so, how much?
Almond flour is not a direct sub for oats, so I am not sure on what the quantity needed would be. If you try it let me know!
These are amazing! I used the Nuttzo 7 nut and seed butter which is actually a stir butter but they turned out perfect, not sticky at all. They are sweet enough to kill my cravings but not overbearing. Thank you for this recipe!
I only had crunchy peanut butter on hand but they turned out great. Easy to make and even my kids loved them!
I’m going to use raw cacao powder instead of the choc. chips. And stir in some chia seeds and almonds for even more nutrition.
I used just a little bit of honey and rolled oat flour (made my own). The energy balls were a little sticky even after being in the refrigerator for several hours. Is this normal? I am wondering if more oat flour is needed than protein powder? Your thoughts?
BTW, they are delicious!
I made these without the honey and they came out so good. Brought the carbs down to 6 net grams and brought the sugar down to 3g per ball.
@Kristen, thank you for posting. As soon as I saw the honey I almost passed it by. Glad I read your comment!
Robyn
What can I use if I don’t have protein powder?
What could I use instead of peanut butter? Or any nut butter as I have an allergy ☺︎
@Rhi, Try soy nut butter.
As peanuts are a legume and not a (tree) nut, are you also allergic to soy beans which are a legume as well. Typically there is not a correlation and allergies to peanuts do not carry over to soy beans as well. But you be the judge.
Soy nut (roasted soy beans) butter is a close substitute for peanut butter in texture and a milder (if not bland) sweet taste. I may try that as well to see what it tastes like. I’d guess it might not be bad, but on the honey flavour side as the soy butter flavour wouldn’t be as strong. Maybe then add coconut to balance (unless you have allergies to that as well).
With soy nut butter, you get slightly less calories, 2/3 of the fats with half of sat fats than PB, but still neck and neck on protein.
@Rhi, what about sun butter?
Can you skip the protein powder? Will it turn out differently? Thanks!
@Vanessa, I’ve done it every time without protein powder. I do 1/2 cup oats instead and pulse them to a powder in the food processor before adding.
Windering what I can substitute protein powder with? And then should I add vanilla extract?
@Bri, Powdered milk? It’s basically what is in protein powder (sans nutrients and flavoring). I’d keep them fridged or frozen after that.