Monster Cookie Protein Balls
Published 1/2/2022
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Say hello to monster cookie protein balls! These yummy protein balls are made with classic monster cookie ingredients in addition to protein powder for an extra boost of nutrition.
Protein Balls + Monster Cookies
Protein balls and monster cookies are two of our favorite things and we’re not mad about it. When you combine them into one, you get one epic high-protein snack that everyone will adore.
These monster cookie protein balls are made with all-natural peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, m&ms, chia seeds, and your favorite vanilla protein powder.
You can easily modify this recipe to make them gluten-free and plant-based, depending on your dietary needs.
Why you’ll love them!
High-protein: per ball, you get 9g protein.
No-bake: there is no baking involved in this recipe!
Meal-prep: this recipe yields 16 balls and will get you snacks for days. Plus, it’s freezer-friendly.
Kid-friendly: the kids will be gobbling up this yummy snack.
What You Need
- Peanut Butter: this recipe calls for all-natural peanut butter to emulate what is in monster cookies, but any kind of nut butter will work.
- Protein Powder: make sure that you like the taste of your vanilla protein powder as it adds flavor and sweetness to your balls. Check out our favorite protein powders here.
- Rolled Oats: rolled oat are a classic monster cookie ingredient. They add whole grains and give these balls a nice bite.
- Chia Seeds: while chia seeds aren’t classically in monster cookies, we decided to up the nutrition with them.
- Honey: honey adds all natural sweetness to your balls. We don’t recommend swapping this for anything else as honey is naturally sticky and helps hold your balls together.
- Vanilla: a little vanilla extract brings out the peanut butter flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips and Mini M&Ms: whatever you do, do not skip either of these! They are classic monster cookie ingredients and oh-so necessary for this recipe.
Peanut Butter
Protein Balls
Peanut butter protein balls are the perfect high-protein snack to munch on post-workout or mid-day when you need something to tide you over!
Simple Instructions
- Add: add all of the ingredients into a large bowl.
- Mix: mix to combine, adding water by the teaspoon until you’ve reached a cookie dough-like consistency.
- Roll: use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop dough into your palm. Roll them into balls and repeat.
- Store: Store balls in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Best Protein Powders
Check out our top protein powder recommendations for baking, smoothies, and everything in between.
Garden of Life
Raw Organic Protein
Simply Tera's
Pure Whey Protein
Sun Warrior
Protein Powder
Garden of Life
Organic Whey Protein
Protein Ball Variations
Peanut Butter + Chocolate Chips: keep it classy with just peanut butter and chocolate chips for our famous peanut butter protein balls.
Chocolate Sea Salt: swap the vanilla protein powder for chocolate and add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder. Then, top them with sea salt.
Cake Batter: make cake batter protein balls with cashew butter and rainbow sprinkles.
Make Bars: turn these balls into bars! Follow similar instructions to our homemade protein bars recipe.
Storage
You can either store these balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.
Freezer Instructions
- Place protein balls into a parchment-line baking sheet, making sure they aren’t touching.
- Freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour. You do this so that they don’t stick.
- Then, tranfer them into a gallon-size plastic bag.
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Monster Cookie Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup drippy all-natural peanut butter, we use Trader Joe’s Brand or Good and Gather
- 1/3 cup vanilla protein powder, we used Garden of Life*
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup mini m&ms
- Optional: 1–4 teaspoons water*
Instructions
- Place peanut butter, protein powder, rolled oats, chia seeds, honey, vanilla extract, salt, mini chocolate chips and m&ms into a medium bowl.
- Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix the dough together. At this point, you’ll begin to add water by the teaspoon.
- Depending on how drippy your peanut butter is, you’ll need to add more or less water. The water not only helps moisten things so your balls hold shape, but they actually help your balls become less chalky.
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop dough into your palms. Roll into balls until all dough is gone. You should get somewhere between 14-16 balls.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tips & Notes
- Be sure you use drippy peanut butter or the consistency will be off.
- We used our favorite monster cookie ingredients but feel free to add raisins or coconut flakes as well.
- If your balls aren’t holding together or are too chalking add more water but only a little bit at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Storage: Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- The nutrition for this recipe depends on the protein powder you used.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Forgot to take a pic before my kids gobbled them up! They were even more of a hit with the googly eyes!
Love protein balls and this recipe! And now obsessed with these candy eyeballs 👀 😆
These were fun little treats to make with my pre-k kids! The eyeball was a cute little addition for seasonal excitement. These were very tasty too! I chopped up seasonal regular sized m and Ms bc I couldn’t find seasonal minis. Mine were a touch crumbly, so I’d probably just make sure to add a bit more PB or water next time. I tend to “eyeball” things like pb and honey, so that’s on me. Would def make again! Kids asked for more 🙂
I made these for a healthy snack at the quilt
retreat I’m going to this weekend. I
doubled the recipe and think they taste great! I might add a little more water next time as I only added about 1 TBSP.
My daughter loved making these! A fun activity on a day off from school! I love teaching my kids that healthy eating can be delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipe and fun contest!
These took only a few minutes to mix up and hide in the fridge. I am only hiding them from myself! I subbed sunflower butter and mini white chips as I can’t have m&ms, but they are amazing. Now that I have a base recipe I will get creative. 🙂
So delicious and fun for my 3 year old to help make! Big hit with the whole family. The kids are already begging to make them again!
Aww my 3 year old loves making these in our house, too! <3
Easy to make and so yummy! My toddler loved helping make them (especially with the googly eyes). They’re his new favorite snack. We’re making another batch this weekend!
The googly eyes are so fun!
These were a fun addition to our lunches in October. My 5 year old daughter helped measure, stir, and place the eyeballs- her favorite part! (I only had regular size m&ms). I will try adding coconut next time we make these!
So fun! Love that your daughter enjoyed the eyeballs so much too 😀
I like the addition of protein powder to this easy snack. I had no issues getting the dough to roll into balls, which is unique for an energy balls recipe. Thanks for the recipe, Fit Foodie Finds Team!