Chocolate Brownie Protein Balls Recipe

I’ve been looking for a simple snack that has both dates and protein (and chocolate!), so I found these chocolate brownie protein balls on Pintrest and decided to try them out in the SnackLazy Test Kitchen.

Jump to the recipe 😋

Yay or Nay?

Yay! I made these chocolate brownie protein balls three times in one week. My wife even likes them (shocking!). I think the “brownie” in the title can be a bit misleading—it always is, right?—but these are definitely chocolate protein balls.

Like I said though, I started with this recipe when I came across it on Pintrest a year ago (I’d add a link but the site is no longer running). I messed around with the recipe for a bit to try until it tasted like a healthy alternative to brownie bites.

The Recipe

I tweaked the original recipe a bit for two reasons: 1) the website with recipe was down when I tried to make it the second time, and 2) I don’t like walnuts and didn’t understand why salt needed to be added (if you disagree, please feel free to mention it in the comments section).

List of ingredients

• 8 pitted dates
• 1/2 cup of nuts (I usually use raw almond nuts)
• 1 generous scoop of chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 cup of almond butter (I usually just eyeball it)
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 2 Tbs of cocoa powder

Instructions

• Just throw it all together in a food processor and hit chop/blend. I’m sure the order you mix it in matters to some people, but I’m not a doctor, so I just throw it in and watch it all come together.
• Oh, I did use this awesome rubber measuring spoon to make the balls. And no, it’s not just a shameless product plug. I really do have it.
• Put whatever you don’t eat into the fridge. Considering there’s no dairy in these chocolate brownie protein balls, I wouldn’t sweat them expiring any time soon. Besides, I’d be surprised if they lasted long. My wife or kids usually finishes them off before I do.

What else?

I say go crazy and add anything you want to add to this recipe. I’ve tried switching out almonds with other nuts when I forgot to pick them up from the store, or just when I felt bored with almonds and wanted to try something new. (Walnuts aren’t bad in this.)

If I want to make it more of a treat, I’ve also added dark chocolate chips. I mean… dark chocolate chips go pretty much with anything, so it doesn’t take much convincing for me to add them to a recipe.

If you have ideas I’d love to hear them in the comments below.