These chocolate peanut butter energy balls are full of protein and fiber to keep you full between meals and give you a pre or post-workout boost.
Skinny jean season is right around the corner so in lieu of eating chocolate peanut butter ice cream every day, I have created rich, chewy and delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls.
Full of protein, fiber and nutrients, they are the perfect pre or post-workout snack. Even better? I promise they will nip your chocolate peanut butter craving right in the bud.
Bananas are one of my son’s favorite snacks and as a result, we always seem to have them in the house. Perhaps it’s the inner-hoarder in me but I am always buying a few more than we need which results in perfectly ripe leftover bananas each week.
Secretly, I am thrilled, because ripe bananas are one of my favorite ways to naturally sweeten oatmeal, smoothies, muffins and more.
Here are a few of my favorite recipes using leftover bananas:
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Muffins
Pumpkin Banana Oatmeal
Blueberry Oat Protein Pancakes
Carrot Apple Ginger Green Smoothie
Your ripe bananas are waiting.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana mashed
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons flax seed meal
- 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder
- pinch sea salt
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
Instructions
- Mash banana in a medium bowl and add in cocoa powder, peanut butter, flax, protein powder and a pinch of sea salt.
- Continue to mash with fork until all ingredients are fully combined. (May seem dry at first but keep mashing!)
- Stir in oats using a rubber spatula to combine edges of the bowl.
- Using a small ice cream scooper or two teaspoons, form into 12 balls and place on a plate lined with wax paper.
- Refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 3 days covered with plastic wrap.
Video
Photography by Alejandro Photography // Recipe by The Lemon Bowl
There are more healthy snack options on my Pinterest board!
Lynn
September 18, 2018 at 6:49 amHi, I’d like to make these without protein powder, since I don’t have any (but I can’t add more nut butter / oil or seeds -can’t do more fat-). Should I add 2 tbsp of something dry like oat flour / more cocoa powder to compensate?
Thanks a lot! :) I love that your recipe doesn’t have any dry fruit or sticky sweetener!!
Liz DellaCroce
September 19, 2018 at 8:48 amThat would work! Or even flax meal! Enjoy!
Sam
August 13, 2017 at 10:33 amDunno why but I made these and they are a gooey, sticky mess, and do not hold their shape. I put them in the freezer instead cause I didn’t figure the fridge would accomplish anything. Half an hour after being out of the freezer they were smooshed and lost any shape they had. Tasty but definitely not as pictured. Very messy to eat.
Liz DellaCroce
August 14, 2017 at 3:41 pmHi Sam – I make these all the time (made them again just last week) and have never had any issues at all. I’d love to help brainstorm what you did to see if I can help you make this a win! Did you make any substitutes at all from my recipe?
Sam
August 14, 2017 at 5:12 pmNone. It could have just been that my banana was VERY ripe. And then frozen and defrosted before use so it was one of those slimy floppy bananas. :S
Liz DellaCroce
August 16, 2017 at 4:43 pmYou know what if the banana was too watering from being frozen it won’t work great!
Karen
April 21, 2017 at 3:49 pmI need to make football treats for a high school team and am going to try these but there is a peanut allergy. Do you have any other protein recipes you can send me? Thanks.
Liz DellaCroce
April 23, 2017 at 4:45 pmHi Karen – Most of my shelf stable snacks with high protein (i.e. energy balls and granola bars) have nuts I’m afraid. I do have other high protein recipes but they aren’t shelf stable (i.e. protein smoothies, yogurt dips, etc.) We also eat a lot of hummus but I’m guessing tahini is not great for the nut allergy. So sorry I’m not a great help – we love nuts!
Eva
December 12, 2016 at 1:40 pmHi , I don’t have any flaxseed but I have ground almond-and coconut flour-would this work ?Thanks
Liz DellaCroce
December 13, 2016 at 3:09 pmYes for sure!! The only thing with almond flour is that is absorbs a lot of liquid so you may need to add moisture back in.
Naomi
May 22, 2016 at 9:52 pmThese were SO good thanks for the recipe I added a tbsp of pumpkin seeds and pecans to
Liz DellaCroce
May 23, 2016 at 6:57 amI’m so glad you loved them Naomi! Let me know if you try any of my other recipes!
Kristen
May 18, 2015 at 1:24 pmI made these last night and I’m not sure what I did wrong but they were such a pain to roll! I would roll one fine but then the next would just disintegrate in the midst of rolling. I tried chilling the dough and that helped a little but they still gave me some trouble rolling. Any suggestions? I’m not a very good cook, so it was probably me :(
On a plus side, they taste amazing. I will be trying again!
Liz DellaCroce
May 19, 2015 at 4:32 pmOh no!! Sometimes I find it’s helpful to add a little water to my hands. Othertimes I find that the mixture needs to be a little warmed in the hands. So sorry it was a struggle!
Renae
February 2, 2015 at 4:43 pmCan you freeze these?
Liz DellaCroce
February 2, 2015 at 4:53 pmYes you can!
Franzi
November 16, 2014 at 2:53 pmI made them today and I love the creamy texture. I used a 4-nut-mush (peanut, almond, hazelnut, cashew) and it turned out great.
Great Thanks from Germany :)
Liz DellaCroce
November 17, 2014 at 8:45 pmThat sounds so good!! So glad you like them!
Cynthia
July 27, 2014 at 8:52 pmI’ve been making this recipe (without the protein powder) regularly for my two kids, ages 2.5 and 4, since I discovered it about a year ago. I love that they like these as much as any dessert, yet it’s good for them. A nice variation which I recently tried was adding a dash of nutmeg – yummy!
Liz DellaCroce
July 29, 2014 at 2:48 pmOh I’m so thrilled to hear it!! Thanks for letting me know Cynthia!
Holly
January 31, 2013 at 4:09 pmDo you think they would be fine without the protein powder?
Liz DellaCroce
January 31, 2013 at 4:20 pmMost definitely!! You could always add a little more peanut butter for added protein. :-)
Stephanie
January 19, 2013 at 10:44 pmSilly question… do you cook the oats?
Liz DellaCroce
January 20, 2013 at 8:26 amNot silly at all but nope, raw oats! :-)
Aggie
September 26, 2012 at 9:21 amI have got to make these Liz. I’m dying for something sweet at night, and if I give in it opens up the door to some (bad) late night snacking. The key for me is portion control…these would be perfect for that!
The Lemon Bowl
September 26, 2012 at 9:07 pmThese were a huge hit and my husband loved them as well! We like them chilled in the fridge. :-)
Sunithi
September 19, 2012 at 12:41 pmLovely ! Gonna try these too ! Need some time in the day to try all your recipes :) Seriously !!!
The Lemon Bowl
September 19, 2012 at 1:04 pmThank you so much- these are so tasty and easy! Let me know what you think!
Geraldine
August 8, 2016 at 4:22 amHi there, these sound and look great, but I am just wondering why the need for protein powder? Is there a natural way to increase the protein instead of the powder?
Thank you for all you valuable tips and delicious food
Geraldine
Liz DellaCroce
August 8, 2016 at 1:34 pmThere isn’t anything that would add as much protein but you’re welcome to eliminate!
Franco
August 19, 2016 at 2:38 pmHi there, I really loved this recipe, I´m definetly going to try it. I´m wondering, how long would they last before spoiling?
Liz DellaCroce
August 20, 2016 at 7:29 amThese would last up to 7 days!!