Meal Prep Protein Balls 5 Ways (No Bake)

These are the easiest ever protein balls, made 5 ways! They're great meal prep snacks, and you can freeze them – try cookie dough, peanut butter, macaroon, brownie or oatmeal raisin.  

Ingredients in protein balls

The basic ingredients for protein balls is the same regardless of which flavor you make.

• Rolled oats– This grain is a great source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Rolled oats are great for baking and adding to recipes such as this one. They have a soft creamy texture, even in these no bake protein balls.
• Protein powder– Whey protein powder is a milk derivative. This protein powder will help you lose weight, gain muscle and provides essential amino acids.
• Coconut oil– Coconut oil is high in healthy saturated fats, which is required for heart and brain health. Coconut oil is a liquid at room temperature and a solid when cold. This will help your protein balls keep their shape.

Alternative sweeteners

In these protein balls, I always use honey to give them a bit of natural sweetness. Honey does however have a very high fructose content. This is great for many baked goods because you can use less and still create a sweet treat.

However, honey is high in calories and can spike your blood sugar moderately. This being the case, it is not a good choice if you are following a keto or low carb diet. If you are avoiding honey, you can use other sweeteners.

• Stevia– Stevia is an extract from the leaves of a plant native to Brazil. It has no calories or carbs and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. A little bit goes a long way!
• Maple syrup– Maple syrup has a lower glycemic index than honey and also has more calcium, iron, zinc and copper. Just be sure to use real maple syrup and not an artificial product.
• Agave syrup– Agave has calories but its glycemic index is lower than other sweeteners. Replace honey with the same amount of agave.

How to make protein balls (step by step)

These no bake protein balls take only a few minutes to put together and will provide you with a high energy snack any time. They are incredibly easy to make!

1. Microwave honey (or other sweetener), nut butter and coconut oil.
2. Add oats and protein powder.
3. Add the mix ins of your choice or create your own special recipe based on these nutrition principles.
4. Roll into balls.
5. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

How to roll the balls

To make the protein balls uniform in size and shape, try these tips:

• Use a cookie scoop to keep the size consistent
• To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, dampen them with water
• If they are mushy, try adding a bit more oats
• If they are crumbling, add wet ingredients (like honey)

Five different varieties of protein balls

In this protein ball recipe, you start with the same basic ingredients each time. What you add to that base depends on what variety you want to make. This recipe will make any of these flavors:

• Macaroon– add almond flour and coconut
• Cookie dough– add nut butter and chocolate chips
• Peanut butter– add peanut butter, of course!
• Brownie– add almond butter and cocoa powder
• Oatmeal raisin– add almond butter and raisins

BROWNIE PROTEIN BALLS

PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BALLS

MACAROON PROTEIN BALLS

OATMEAL RAISIN PROTEIN BALLS

COOKIE DOUGH PROTEIN BALLS

How to make protein balls nut-free

For nut-free protein balls, use sunflower butter instead of peanut, cashew, or almond butter.

To make no bake protein balls nut free and vegan, use sunflower butter, and use maple syrup rather than honey.

What type of protein powder to use

Whey protein is a great source of high quality protein from milk. When choosing a supplement, look for one with the fewest ingredients and with protein as the first ingredient. Another sign of a quality product is labeled as a protein isolate instead of a concentrate.

For these recipes, chose a vanilla or unflavored variety of whey protein. It is the most versatile and can be used in any recipe. Here is the protein powder I use if you're looking for a clean one.

Storing and freezing

These protein balls are made with shelf stable ingredients so they can stay at room temperature for awhile. However, they will last longer in the refrigerator.

They can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks and the freezer for three months.

Other healthy snack ideas

One of the best ways to make good food choices is to have healthy snacks and meals easily available. Try a few of these other easy healthy snack ideas:

• The best protein shakes 5 ways
• Healthy homemade beef jerky
• 18 meal prep snack ideas for work

Meal prep tools for this recipe

• Grab some glass meal prep bowls to store these protein balls
• They can also be stored in Ziploc bags up to 3 months in the freezer
• Here is the protein powder I use if you're looking for a clean one.

Meal prep challenge

If you'd like some more help with meal planning, then you'll love my free 5-day meal prep challenge! It's basically a free course that will teach you how to meal prep and cook healthy meals at home with some PDF bonus materials. Sign up for free below:

*Nutrition info is for 1 protein ball*