These yummy low-carb Peanut Butter Protein Balls are among my favorite healthy snacks! They are easy to make, no-bake, gluten-free, and will stay fresh in the fridge for days.
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Why you should make this recipe
These peanut butter protein balls are one of my favorite healthy snacks, and I am confident they will become yours too! They are so delicious, so satisfying, and so easy to make!
You just blend the ingredients, roll out the dough balls, and set them in the fridge. How great is that?
The peanut butter bites are absolutely perfect when you find yourself craving a little taste of something sweet. Plus, they have a nice 7.6 grams of protein per serving!
Ingredients
This simple recipe has only four ingredients, commonly found in a keto pantry, plus sweetener and peanuts for a delicious crunch.
- peanut butter: look for natural peanut butter with no added sugar, salt, or preservatives; use creamy peanut butter for the best flavor and texture, and ensure that the ingredients are only peanuts
- protein powder: my favorite is vanilla protein powder like Met-RX Vanilla Protein, but any good brand will do as long as you like the taste; the vanilla in the protein powder adds sweetness and flavor to the protein balls, so it’s an important part of the recipe.
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- stevia: use Stevia in the raw for the best texture
- peanuts: look for raw, unsalted peanuts; adds excellent crunch on top of the protein balls
Step-by-step instructions
Whipping up a batch of these no-bake energy bites is so easy. If you have a blender, it can be done in 10 minutes. If you don’t have a blender, it may take you 12 minutes total time.
You’re only 5 easy steps away from these super tasty peanut butter protein bites!
You can see how I do it in this short video, or follow the step-by-step instructions below:
Note: I have slightly reduced the amount of protein powder I use since I made this video. Please use the amount listed in the recipe description below.
Step 1: In a mixing bowl, mix the peanut butter, protein powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and stevia until smooth.
Step 2: Break off approximately 2 tablespoons of the dough and roll between your palms into 1 or 1½-inch balls. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should end up with approximately 15 balls.
Step 3: Next, place the raw peanuts in a blender (I use my NutriBullet) and pulse several times until it’s coarsely chopped. If you don’t have a blender, you can chop them instead on a cutting board with a sharp knife.
Step 4: Roll the balls in the peanut crumbles, then transfer them back to the sheet. Alternatively, you can just sprinkle some peanut crumbles on top of the peanut butter balls.
Step 5: Place in the refrigerator and let set for at least 20-30 minutes.
Expert tips
I have a few tips and tricks to make sure peanut butter energy balls are as easy as possible!
- Mix peanut butter well before using it. Natural peanut butter separates, so the jar will often have more oil on top and more solids at the bottom. This can make the protein balls either too runny or too dry if you don’t mix it all up! To avoid drippy peanut butter, mix it well first directly in the jar.
- Combine dry ingredients first. To make the mixing easier, it may be best to combine the dry ingredients first like protein powder, sweetener, and cinnamon.
- Pop the dough in the freezer. If the dough mixture is too sticky to handle, pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes. It will be much easier to roll! This is especially helpful in hot and humid climates.
- Don’t overdo the peanuts. When pulsing the raw peanuts in the blender or food processor, don’t overdo it! You want small crumbles, not peanut flour. Naturally, you have more control over this with the traditional cutting board and knife method.
Variations
The low-carb protein balls are great, as written in the recipe card with the ingredients mentioned above. But you can change things up to give different flavor profiles.
Check out these suggestions to add variety to your energy balls:
- Use a different nut butter like almond butter or cashew butter.
- Substitute vanilla protein powder with chocolate protein powder for chocolate peanut butter balls.
- Use sweetener of choice: other low-carb options like monk fruit will work, but if you want a traditional unprocessed sweetener, just a touch of maple syrup will be tasty.
- Top with chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips.
- Additional toppings to add to homemade protein balls include cacao nibs, coconut flakes, hemp hearts, and chia seeds.
Serving suggestions
A serving size of one peanut butter energy ball is packed with enough protein, fats, and fiber to hold you well until mealtime. Pull one directly from the refrigerator or freezer and pop it in your mouth for a guilt-free, truffle-like experience.
Storage instructions
You can store the peanut butter protein bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. For more extended storage, keep them in the freezer in a sealed container for up to 6 weeks.
They are so nice to have on hand when you want something tasty so feel free to double or triple the recipe!
Nutrition
These delicious morsels are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and make a fantastic satisfying snack. Even though they are not low in calories, they are still a stellar source of protein, healthy fats, and fiber from the peanut butter.
To keep this protein ball recipe healthy, ensure that your peanut butter and protein powder are of good quality. Make sure your peanut butter has no added salt or sugar. And if you use other protein powders, always read the ingredient list to check for unnecessary additives and sugar.
Furthermore, these are great snacks for people with diabetes as they are low in carbs and provide fuel for energy from peanut butter and protein powder.
You can read more about that in our guide Is Peanut Butter Good for People Living with Diabetes?
Frequently asked questions
Peanut butter protein balls are a healthy choice for a snack between meals. They are packed with protein, healthy fats, and fiber and are satisfying and filling. Even though they are not low in calories, they still boast great health benefits and can be part of a healthy diet.
This healthy peanut butter snack has 7 grams of protein per serving size of one 1-inch protein ball.
More healthy high-protein snacks
There are so many tasty and healthy high-protein snacks to choose from. Here are three of my favorites that I know you’ll love:
For more tasty treats to satisfy your sweet tooth, check out my roundup of the best easy diabetic desserts!
When you’ve tried these bites, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked them and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy unsalted peanut butter
- 1 ½ scoop vanilla protein powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Stevia in the raw
- ¼ cup raw, unsalted peanuts approximately 20 in-shell peanuts
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter, protein powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and stevia until smooth.1 cup creamy unsalted peanut butter, 1 ½ scoop vanilla protein powder, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons Stevia in the raw
- Break off approximately 2 tablespoons of the dough and roll between your palms into 1 or 1½ inch balls. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should end up with approximately 15 balls.
- Place the raw peanuts in a blender (I use my NutriBullet) and pulse several times until it’s coarsely chopped. If you don't have a blender, you can chop them instead on a cutting board with a sharp knife.¼ cup raw, unsalted peanuts
- Roll the balls in the peanut crumbles, then transfer them back to the sheet. Alternatively, you can sprinkle some peanut crumbles on top of the peanut butter balls.
- Place in the refrigerator and let set for at least 20-30 minutes.
Unfortunately, these didn’t work for me either. Mine never got firm enough to roll.
These will fulfill my desire for a Reese’s PB cup, far more protein. Easy to use with my small Pampered Chef melon ball scoop. I used chopped almonds instead of nuts.
Hi! These sound delicious! Just curious. We don’t have any stevia but we do have xylitol. Do you think it would work with that? What amount if so? Thanks!
I can’t digest Xylitol so I never work with that sweetener, but it should work
Please provide the standard measurement of 1 1/2 ‘scoop’.
For most whey protein powders one scoop is 30 g (~1 oz), so 1.5 scoop is 45 g / 1.6 oz
I am so glad I came across your site. I am 5.2, and 199 lbs. My blood sugar was 119 this morning so I’m really close to prediabetic. What should I start with? Worried and overweight!
Hi Andrea,
When it comes to pre-diabetes, you can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58% by dropping your body weight by 7% or adding 30-min exercise 5 times a week (per ADA).
So if you do have weight to lose I’d start by focusing on your diet and moving more. A good way to gauge if you’re overeating is to track your meals and calorie drink for a few days. That will give you your baseline and tell you where you can potentially cut back.
If you do not need to lose weight I would focus on a combination of resistance training and cardio 5 times weekly
We made these for the first time yesterday and have already made a second batch. We only had choc flavored protein powder and they turned out great.
I used Shmuckers Natural Peant Butter Creamy. First batch had much more oil than the second batch causing it to be runny. I poured it in some ice cubes and sprinkled the nuts, refrigerated it and then we literally ate them out the tray with a spoon!
The second batch I made today with the same peanut butter straight out of the fridge. It was much thicker without all the oil (actually added a drizzle of olive oil) and I was able to roll them into balls. Just dabbed them in the peanuts though.
I still have some from both batches- Either way is great. My husband is thrilled!
Highly upset. Mine would not roll into a ball is was just smearing all over my hands, so all of those ingredients have gone to a waste now.
Hi Jaimie,
That’s annoying. Sounds like your protein powder might not be as absorbent as the one I use. Like different brands of flour, you’ll sometime need to add a little less/additional to get the right consistency. I always hold a little of the dry ingredients back and if that doesn’t give the right consistency I’ll add until it does.
Did you actually mean 1 1/4 cup of protein powder? I only get a crumbly mess. Or did you means the scooper that it comes with? They are very very different
We just tested it with 2 different protein powders. With the powder we normally use, the recipe worked great, but with the other, it became too crumbly, just like you said. We have adjusted the recipe to slightly lower the amount of protein powder so now it should work with any brand of protein powder. Thank you so much for letting us know!
I was wondering the same thing, so tried it with the scoop that came with the powder. That seemed to be the perfect amount for forming the balls.
Tip: If the mixture sticks to your hands, put a little bit of the protein powder on a plate and dust your hands with it before rolling the balls. Like using flour to shape pizza dough. It works well!
Christel do you have a recipe for savory protein bars? B6 the way i cant wait to try these. Im allergic to peanutbutter so i will try almond butter or cashewbutter.
I unfortunately don’t have a good savory protein bar recipe. I tried creating one last year but it didn’t turn out great.
Thank you so much for a great recipe. I made these yesterday and they were super easy and tasty.
You are welcome. I am glad you liked them 🙂