I love meal prepping a sweet treat each week to keep in the fridge or freezer to snack on throughout the week, post workout or just when the sweet cravings hit! These cookie dough protein balls are a new favourite but I also make these Double Chocolate Protein Balls and Hazelnut Chocolate Protein Balls on repeat. Both taste amazing and freeze really well.
Everything You Need to Make Cookie Dough Protein Balls
These cookie dough protein balls are made using 7 simple ingredients. All of which I was able to find at my local grocery store. I’ve listed everything you will need below including any notes and possible ingredient swaps. You can find the ingredient quantities at the bottom of this post.
- cashew butter – or swap for another nut butter like peanut butter or almond butter.
- pure maple syrup – always choose pure maple syrup and not maple flavoured syrup. Pure maple syrup is much less processed and completely natural. I haven’t tested these with honey but it could work well!
- vanilla extract – vanilla extract is optional but really helps to give that cookie dough flavour.
- coconut flour – coconut flour adds a really lovely flavour these protein balls. Coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid so creates the perfect cookie-dough-like-texture.
- almond flour – also known as blanched almond meal. Almond flour provides healthy fats, protein and fibre and vitamin E.
- whey protein powder – make sure you buy a quality brand of whey protein powder that has been tested for heavy metals and contaminants. Unflavoured whey protein powder works best in this recipe. If you would like to make these dairy-free then choose your favourite unflavoured vegan protein powder.
- dark chocolate chips – you can use regular sized choc chips or mini chocolate chips. I also like using roughly chopped sea salt dark chocolate.
Tips for Making the Best Cookie Dough Protein Balls
These protein balls have become a new staple in our house. Because they taste amazing but also because of just how quick and easy they are to make. All of the ingredients go into a bowl and get mixed together to create a dough like consistency. The mixture then gets rolled into ball and stored in the fridge. Here are a few tips to make sure you get the best results every time.
Would you like to save this?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
- mix wet ingredients first – whisk together the cashew butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract first so that the ingredients are all evenly distributed. The cashew butter will mix more easily if it is room temp.
- ditch the whisk – once you add the dry ingredients, switch from the whisk to a spoon or the ingredients won’t mix together very well. The mixture will appear quite dry at first but keep mixing and using the back of the spoon to mash everything together and you will end up with a cookie dough texture. Trust the process!
- add the chocolate last – once you have that cookie dough texture, then add the chocolate chips, stir through and then roll into balls.
- store in the fridge – the protein balls will be quite soft at first but store them in the fridge for around an hour and they will firm up.
Storage
I recommend storing the protein balls in a glass airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days and then in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cookie Dough Protein Balls
Equipment
- Medium Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Dessert spoon
Ingredients
- ½ cup cashew butter
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the cashew butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- To the bowl, add the coconut flour, almond flour and whey protein powder and stir to combine.
- When the mixture has a cookie dough like texture, add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Take a dessert spoonful of mixture and roll into a ball a little smaller than a golf ball. Place into an airtight container. Repeat this step with the remaining mixture until it has all been rolled into balls. Place the lid on and refrigerate for an hour or so to set.
Like this recipe? Leave a comment!