Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Ingredients you need

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• Peanut butter: Use a natural creamy peanut butter. If it’s the kind that separates and has a lot of oil at the top, mix it in well. Other nut butters, like almond butter, will also work.
• Protein powder: I recommend a protein isolate like this Grassfed whey from Opportuniteas, as it will give you a higher protein count. See expert tips for more protein options.
• Sweetener: Powdered sweeteners like Swerve Confectioners work best, so they don’t get gritty. Check out the expert tips for more sweetener options.
• Almond flour: You do need some flour to add bulk and create a dough. But it doesn’t have to be almond flour. You can use a few tablespoons of peanut flour or coconut flour too.
• Hemp seeds: Hemp seeds have a surprising amount of protein and add a nutty crunch to the protein balls. But this ingredient is entirely optional.
• Chocolate chips: Mini chocolate chips, like the ones from The People’s Keto, work best in these balls. But ChocZero chips are on the small side as well.
• Pantry staples: Butter or oil, vanilla extract, salt.

Step by Step Directions

Peanut Butter Protein Balls couldn’t be easier to make! Check it out:

1. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter with the butter until it can be stirred together.
2. Add the protein powder, sweetener, almond flour, hemp seeds, and vanilla extract. Mix until a cohesive dough forms and you can roll into firm balls
3. Stir in the chocolate chips until well distributed.
4. Roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter. You should get 20 balls. Refrigerate until firm.

Expert Tips

You have a lot of choices for these keto protein balls, so you can customize and adjust as you see fit. You can use other nut or seed butters and different kinds of protein. And you can sweeten them more or less, according to your tastes.

If your dough is too stiff and won’t hold together, add a bit more oil. If the dough is too goopy and you can’t roll it into balls, work in a bit more flour.

Protein Options

• Whey protein: I like a whey protein isolate as it has a higher protein content and a lower carb count. You can use vanilla or unflavored. If using vanilla, you may want to reduce the sweetener and the added vanilla extract.
• Egg white protein powder: I find that plain egg white protein gives these protein balls a funny flavor. So if you want to use it, go for the vanilla variety and reduce sweetener and vanilla accordingly.
• Plant protein: Pea protein, hemp protein, and other plant based protein powders should also work well here. Make sure they don’t have a greenish tinge as some do.
• Collagen protein: You can also use collagen protein (aka collagen peptides) but it has a different consistency in recipes like this. So you will likely have to add additional flour to firm up the dough.

Sweetener Options

You can use your preferred sweetener for these Peanut Butter Protein Balls, but you may need to make some adjustments to get the correct consistency.

Confectioner’s style powdered sweeteners add bulk without grittiness, so they are my preference. But it can be erythritol, allulose, or BochaSweet. I don’t recommend granular sweeteners as they just won’t mix in well enough.

Concentrated extracts like stevia and monk fruit also work, but they don’t add any bulk and you may need to add some additional flour. Liquid allulose will throw off the liquid/dry balance, so you would need to add more flour there as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

More high protein recipes

• Vanilla Protein Donuts
• Easy Coffee Protein Shake
• Chicken Fritters
• Keto Egg Muffins
• Chocolate Protein Pancakes
• Keto Pepper Steak