Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Balls

These Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Balls are made with just 6 ingredients, are an explosion of peanut butter flavor, and contain all sorts of hidden micronutrients. These delicious protein bites come together in minutes using your food processor!

I love how easy these peanut butter energy balls come together! 

From start to finish, they take me no longer than 15 minutes to make. Not too shabby for a healthy snack.

The way I see it, these peanut butter protein bites are ideal for anyone who loves a nice sweet snack to tide them over between meals, all things cookie dough, or those who enjoy small desserts.

Kids love these for school lunches or after school snacks as well!

Are they the most incredible source of protein? Nay. Clearly there are better options.

However, I like that for all those times you’re itching to eat peanut butter by the spoonful directly from the jar, these peanut butter bites offer the added benefit of some additional nutrients.

For instance, we’re getting complex carbs from oats, unprocessed sweetness from pure maple syrup or honey, protein from your favorite protein powder, and omega-3 fats from hemp seeds.

For those who have a difficult time getting enough fat into their diet, these fat bombs are a great option. 

You can easily change up the nut butter using anything you enjoy to achieve the macronutrient profile you’re looking for.

For a low-carb version, make my Low-Carb Peanut Butter Protein Balls 

Let’s go over the simple ingredients list and options for customizing the balls.

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Balls:

Rolled Oats: Old-fashioned oats give that oatmeal cookie flavor to these protein balls and also add complex carbohydrates and a touch of plant-based protein. Quick oats or instant oats will work too. Use certified gluten-free oats if you follow a gluten-free diet. I use sprouted gluten-free oats.

Protein Powder: Pick your favorite protein powder to make protein bites. Do note that you will be able to taste the protein powder, so select one you enjoy. Vanilla protein powder or chocolate protein powder is always delicious.

I use unflavored, unsweetened goat whey protein powder, which gives the balls a deep milky flavor, which I absolutely love. I find it pairs nicely with the peanut butter so that the end result is a crazy rich bite of deliciousness.

Hemp Seeds: hulled hemp seeds add plant-based protein and healthy fats (hurray for omega 3 fatty acids!) to these protein balls.

If you’re a woman who practices seed cycling, you can swap out the hemp seeds with flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, or sunflower seeds depending on what part of your cycle you’re in. 

Peanut Butter: Unsweetened creamy peanut butter brings an incredible punch of peanut butter flavor to these yummy no bake energy bites. Any nut butter or seed butter works here, as long as it is thick and well-stirred.

Almond butter, cashew butter, walnut butter, and sunflower seed butter are all great options. Just to be sure you use something you love because the flavor is very prominent. 

Nut butters are easiest to mix when they’re at room temperature, so if your peanut butter lives in the refrigerator be sure to take it out 15 minutes before making the recipe at least.

Pure Maple Syrup: Used to sweeten the balls, pure maple syrup makes these healthier snacks taste so delicious. You can replace it with honey or brown rice syrup if you prefer.

Sea Salt and Cinnamon: A pinch of salt levels up all of the flavors, and ground cinnamon brings a nice warm flavor, reminiscent of oatmeal cookies.

Water: The balls won’t want to come together easily without a little bit of water, so add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time until the ball mixture presses together easily.

For me, this requires 4 tablespoons, but you may need to adjust based on the specific ingredients you use.

Chocolate Chips: Little bursts of chocolate chips bring added sweetness to these balls and make them taste like an absolute treat. The chocolate chips are optional, so skip them to lower the sugar and calorie count.

I like using dark chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips are easiest to mix into these homemade protein balls. You can also use sugar-free chocolate chips if you’d like.

Optional Additions:

• Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of any seeds you like, such as ground flax seeds, chia seeds, or sunflower seeds.
• Love nuts? Feel free to substitute ⅔ cup of walnuts or pecans for the oats.
• If you can’t do oats, you can replace them with nuts, cassava flour, or almond flour.
• Substitute raisins or other dried fruit for the chocolate chips.
• Change up the nut butter according to what you love – sunflower butter or even tahini work great.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract if you have it on hand.
• For chocolate energy bites, add 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, a little more peanut butter, and a little water.

Now that we’ve covered all of the key ingredients for this simple recipe, let’s make some snacks!

I love that all we do to make this recipe is add the wet ingredients and dry ingredients to a food processor at the same time and blend it up.

How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Balls:

Add all of the ingredients (except for the water) to a food processor. Note: if you don’t own a food processor, you can use a large mixing bowl and mix everything together by hand.

Process until everything is well-combined. If need be, add 1 to 4 tablespoons of water (or any type of milk), and process well, until the peanut butter ball mixture presses together easily.

Stir in the chocolate chips until they are well incorporated into the cookie dough. Note: you can also add the chocolate chips at the beginning and blend them into the mixture.

Form 16 to 20 balls out of the peanut butter mixture. If you have a cookie scoop, now is a great time to use it!

Store protein balls in an airtight container or a zip lock bag in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

The best part about these oatmeal balls in addition to the powerful peanut butter flavor they exude, is just how low-fuss they are.

You can whip them up at a moment’s notice, and I’m willing to bet you already have most (if not all) of the ingredients on hand at all times. They’re a delicious snack for my fellow friends with a sweet tooth.

I will forewarn you, I find these sultry lumps of yum to be entirely addictive, so keep them out of eyesight unless you’re okay with indulging!

Nutrition Information:

The macronutrient breakdown will vary depending on the type of protein powder you use, whether or not you add chocolate chips and hemp seeds, and whether your peanut butter is sweetened or unsweetened.

I calculated the nutrition facts based on using unsweetened natural peanut butter, an unsweetened goat whey protein powder, and included both hemp seeds and chocolate chips.

When forming 20 balls out of the mixture, each ball contains 131 calories, 8 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein. 

I personally think this is a decent macronutrient breakdown because the fat, carbs, and protein are fairly balanced.

To increase the protein per ball, you can increase the amount of protein powder relative to the amount of oats you use. 

And that’s it! A fun little snack to bring variety and joy to life.

If you love balls and bites like this, try out some of my other recipes.

More Energy Ball Recipes:

• Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Snowballs  
• 5-Ingredient Chocolate Date Energy Bites
• Pumpkin Spice Protein Balls 
• Cranberry Orange Protein Balls
• Fig and Date Energy Balls 
• Trail Mix Energy Bites 

Snack attack, let’s go!

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