Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Balls
These 5-ingredient cookie dough protein balls are as easy to make as they are delicious and nutritious. Gluten-free and vegan, they’re a perfect healthy snack for everyone!
The warmer the weather gets, the more we’re outside, and the more I’m looking for easy, nutritious, on-the-go snacks for my kids.
Some of my favourite snacks to give (and eat) are energy/protein balls. They’re so easy make, don’t require baking, they’re virtually mess free, and you can pack SO much nutrition into them. What more could a mom want?
I managed to pack a lot into these little protein bites – lentils, coconut flour, and natural peanut butter provide protein and fibre (among many other essential nutrients), which help to keep tummies full and sustain energy levels.
And adding dark chocolate chips, vanilla and maple syrup give them the perfect “cookie dough” flavour.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural peanut butter or any other nut or seed butter
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup lentils I used canned brown lentils – drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except for chocolate chips into a food processor or good quality blender and blend until smooth (will be dense and thick).
- With a spatula or wooden spoon, mix in chocolate chips until dispersed evenly.
- Using a mini ice cream scoop or small spoon, spoon out small amounts and roll into 1-inch balls. Place on a non-stick baking sheet (or parchment-lined baking sheet), evenly spaced.
- Freeze for 10-15 minutes prior to serving. Place in a parchment-lined container to store either in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!
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Sarah Remmer, RD, is a registered dietitian and mom of three, specializing in family and pediatric nutrition. She’s the founder of Centred Nutrition Collective and has nearly 20 years of experience helping families feel confident about feeding their kids.
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These look fantastic! I’ve made something similar with chickpeas, but will have to try lentils!
What a healthy high protein treat! And the kids will love to make them!
Wow! You got lentils in there?! Awesome!! These look SO good and totally packable. Thank you for sharing this great recipe!!
These look amazing! I can’t believe there are lentils in the recipe; how cool!
I just made these and they are delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe, it was so quick and easy to make. I can’t wait to see what my 4 year old thinks… that’s the real test! I would suggest blending lentils, peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla before adding in the coconut flour since the mix is quite dense in the blender.
Did you try baking these at all? Just wondering if they would turn out as a cookie since my 15month old probably can’t do frozen chocolate chips. But I bet she would love them as a cookie!
I would just leave the chocolate chips out! I haven’t tried baking… let me know how they turn out if you do!
Hi! I don’t have coconut flour… can I use regular all-purpose or whole-wheat flour instead? Thanks!
Unfortunately, coconut flour is completely different from wheat flour, so it’s not a good substitute for this one. Also, wheat flour would need to be baked or cooked to at least 160 degreed F to avoid any potential bacterial contamination. 🙂
These are great! My 3 year old (who is super picky) and my 22 month old love them! I am always so excited when I find something that both of my kids will eat, especially something high in protein since they both rarely eat meat. Great recipe!
What would you use instead of coconut flour. I find it really expensive. Thanks
Regular would work too.
My family doesn’t like coconut. Do you have some substitution suggestions?
You could use regular or almond flour!
Hi Can I use oats instead of flour?
Sure thing!
Is there anything I can use instead of lentils?
Chickpeas could work well, but I haven’t tried them. Let me know how it goes!
Hi! I just made these and my kids really like them! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
However, I used sunbutter instead of peanut butter to make them safe for school and they turned out really oily. Do you have any suggestions on how to help prevent them from being so oily? Or would you suggest trying a different seed butter (so I can send them to school) to cut back on some of the oil?
Thanks again
Great question! I think you’re on the right track. You could cut down the amount of seed butter you use, or your could add a little bit more coconut flour to soak it up. Or a bit of oat flour for the same effect: https://sarahremmer.com/oat-flour-in-one-step/
Hi There. Where can I find the nutrition info for these protein balls? Thanks in advance,
Hi Cathryn! I usually don’t do nutritional analysis, but I’m happy to do that for you!
For each energy ball, here’s the approximate nutritional breakdown:
Calories: 120 kcal
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 7 g
Carbohydrates: 10 g
Fiber: 1.5 g
Sugar: 5 g