Vegan Protein Balls (5 Ingredients!)

• Quick Oats - Quick oats are essential for making vegan protein balls. Rolled oats and steel cut oats won't work! Quick oats are a more broken down version of rolled oats and they allow the protein balls to hold together well. If you don't have quick oats on hand, you can always pulse some rolled oats in a food processor until they've broken down into smaller pieces. If you want these vegan protein balls to be gluten-free, then make sure to buy certified gluten free quick oats!
• Ground Flaxseeds - I always add ground flaxseeds to my protein balls. They help hold everything together and add a lot of fiber and extra nutrition. If you don't have ground flaxseed on hand, you can always grind whole flaxseeds until they reach a fine flour consistency. Be sure to store your flaxseed in the freezer so it doesn't go rancid!
• Vegan Protein Powder - Obviously to make these protein balls vegan, you'll need to use a vegan protein powder. I love to use vanilla or chocolate protein powder, but any flavor you enjoy with peanut butter should work! My favorite brands of vegan protein powder are Women's Best Chocolate Protein Powder and Orgain Protein Powder.
• Peanut Butter - I almost always use peanut butter when I make these vegan protein balls. Peanut butter is inexpensive and I can easily make it at home (learn how to make homemade peanut butter!) It also adds more protein than other nut butters!
• Sticky Liquid Sweetener - I personally love to use honey, but if you're vegan agave, brown rice syrup and even maple syrup would work great.

🔀 Variations & Substitutions

🔀 Peanut Butter - Also, if you are allergic to peanut butter or don't care for the taste, you can always use another nut or seed butter. I love to use natural, runny butters for this recipe. If your nut butter is really thick or dense or has hydrogenated vegetable oils in it, you may need to add more nut butter or sweetener to get the dough to form. For a nut free option, try tahini or sun butter!

🔀 Liquid Sweetener - Honey, agave, brown rice syrup and maple syrup should all work in this recipe.

🔀 Protein Powder - Like I mentioned above, most protein powders would work in this recipe. I usually use flavored and sweetened vegan protein powders, so I'm not sure how a plain soy or pea protein would taste.

🔀 Mix-ins - If you want to add some extra texture, you can also include some mix-ins such as dried fruit, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, etc.

Fridge: To store these protein balls in the fridge, place them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. They may even last longer than that, but they'll firm up the longer they sit in the fridge.

Freezer: If you want to prepare a lot of these protein balls at once, you can always store some in the freezer and thaw them as needed. To freeze them, place the protein balls on a cookie sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours. Then transfer the partially frozen balls to a freezer zip-lock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To thaw the frozen protein balls, remove them from the freezer the night before you need them and allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight. Or you can leave them at room temperature until soft enough to eat.

Expert Tips

👉 Be sure to use quick oats instead of rolled oats or steel cut oats. The quick oats are broken down into smaller pieces so they help the protein balls to hold their shape better instead of crumble apart.

👉 If your dough seems dry after stirring all of the ingredients together for a while, you can try adding a small splash of water or more nut butter and liquid sweetener. I'll just dollop a little bit of extra peanut butter into my dry dough until I get a sticky dough that holds together when you pinch it between your fingers.

👉 I keep a small bowl with water beside me when I start rolling the dough into balls. Whenever the dough starts sticking to my hands, I'll just dip my hands in the water to re-wet them. Works like a charm to keep the dough from sticking!