Naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup and loaded with protein and healthy fats, these balanced Double Chocolate Protein Balls are the perfect snack for when you want a sweet treat but healthy. They have the perfect amount of sweetness and take about 20 minutes to make, keeping well in the fridge for about a week. Or add them to your freezer stash and they’ll last upwards of 3 months.
If you love this protein ball recipe and are looking for more healthy treats then you need to try my No Bake Choc Chip Oat Energy Balls, Wholesome Chocolate Bliss Balls or these Pecan Pie Stuffed Dates.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Here’s everything you need to make these delicious Double Chocolate Protein Balls, including any substitutions or ingredient notes. You can find the ingredient quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- almond butter – almond butter provides healthy fats and protein, which helps to lower the glycemic index of this recipe. You can swap for another nut butter like natural peanut butter or cashew butter or a seed butter like sunflower seed butter or tahini.
- pure maple syrup – I love using pure maple syrup to sweeten this healthy dessert because it is minimally processed. You can swap for another liquid sweetener like date syrup or honey, these will give a slightly different consistency though.
- vanilla extract – vanilla extract just adds a subtle hint of vanilla but it’s not absolutely necessary if you don’t have any on hand. You could even swap for a pinch of cinnamon powder or rose water for something a little different.
- cacao powder – cacao powder adds a nice hit of antioxidants to this recipe!
- sea salt – I love adding a pinch of flaky salt to deepen the flavour.
- almond flour – also known as blanched almond meal, however almond flour is usually ground more finely.
- whey protein powder – I use unflavoured protein powder for the protein boost in this recipe. You can choose whether you use whey, or make these chocolate protein balls dairy free by choosing a vegan protein powder.
- dark chocolate – the dark chocolate is melted to coat the protein balls. You can swap for dark chocolate chips.
Let’s Make Double Chocolate Protein Balls
One of the best things about this recipe is just how easy it is to make! You won’t need a food processor or anything fancy, just mix everything together in a bowl, roll into balls, dip them in chocolate and set!
Mix the Wet Ingredients
First, add the wet ingredients (so the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract) to a large bowl as well as the pinch of salt. Whisk until nice and smooth.
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Add the Dry Ingredients
To the bowl add the almond flour, cacao powder and protein powder and stir until you reach a dough like consistency. Take a spoonful of mixture (you could use a small cookie scoop if to keep them uniform in size) and roll into a ball a little smaller than a golf ball and place onto a baking paper lined baking sheet. I find using a baking paper lined tray the best because it’s easy to remove the chocolate dipped ball from the paper. Repeat this step until all of the mixture is rolled into balls.
Coat with Melted Chocolate
There’s a few different ways to melt the chocolate. You can either break the chocolate up in a bowl and microwave in 10 second increments, stirring in between until melted. Or you can add the chocolate to a heat proof bowl, place the bowl onto a saucepan half filled with water and bring to a medium heat, stirring the chocolate as it melts. This is how I do it.
Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the saucepan and place one of the protein balls onto a spoon. Use a second spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the protein ball so that it is completely coated in melted chocolate. Place the chocolate coated ball onto the tray and repeat with the remaining balls. Pop them into the refrigerator to set. Once they have set, take them out and drizzle the remaining dark chocolate over the balls in nice patterns. Return to the fridge to set. You could even sprinkle the top with a little flaky sea salt or hemp seeds!
Storage
Once set, transfer the double chocolate protein balls into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Take one out of the freezer and keep at room temperature to thaw for about 10 minutes before eating.
Double Chocolate Protein Balls
Equipment
- 2 Dessert spoon
- small baking tray
- Medium heat proof bowl
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- ¼ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch sea salt flakes
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup whey protein powder
- 100 grams dark chocolate
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
- Add the almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
- To the bowl add the cacao powder, almond flour and whey protein powder. Stir until well combined.
- Take a spoonful of mixture and roll into a ball a little smaller than a golf ball. Place onto the baking paper lined tray and repeat this step with the remaining mixture.
- Add a heat proof bowl to the top of a saucepan half filled with water. Break the chocolate up and place in the bowl. Bring the saucepan to a medium heat and stir the chocolate as it melts. Once completely melted, remove the bowl from the pan and turn off the heat.
- Place a protein ball onto a spoon and use a second spoon to drizzle chocolate over the ball until it is completely coated. Place back onto the tray and repeat this step with the remaining balls until they have all been coated in melted chocolate.
- Place the protein balls into the fridge to set. Once the chocolate is set, drizzle the remaining chocolate over the protein balls and then place back into the fridge to set. You may need to warm up the chocolate again to get it runny enough to drizzle. Once the chocolate has set they are ready to eat!
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