Peanut Butter & Jelly Protein Bites

4.59

169

Save to FavoritesPrintJump to Recipe

This post may include affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

Easy no bake peanut butter and jelly protein bites made with peanut butter, dried strawberries, oats and chocolate chips. 80 calories and 4 grams of protein each!

Protein powder can give some recipes an off flavor, but not in this one! These peanut butter and jelly protein balls are so delicious! I made four batches in the past week to make sure the recipe is spot on and no one’s mad about it!

Bowl of peanut butter and jelly protein bites made with oats, dried strawberries, and chocolate chips.

These little bites contain a good amount of protein, taste delicious and work great for breakfast, an afternoon treat or as a pre or post-workout snack. I’ve been eating them for all of the above. They also take almost no time to make – I like to make a batch while doing my food prep on Sunday so I have a portable snack for the rest of the week.

Bowl of peanut butter and jelly protein balls made with chocolate chips.

Ingredients in Peanut Butter Protein Balls

  • old fashioned oats
  • vanilla protein powder
  • creamy peanut butter – You can definitely swap in a different seed or nut butter here.
  • unsweetened apple sauce
  • organic freeze-dried strawberries – I hadn’t done much baking or cooking with freeze-dried fruit before but I loved the berry flavor and crunchy texture of these freeze-dried strawberries! Bonus points for having less sugar than most regular dried fruit.
  • honey or maple syrup
  • mini chocolate chips – I love the EnjoyLife dark chocolate chips which are dairy-free.

Hand holding a peanut butter and jelly protein ball.

Making and Storing Protein Balls

No kitchen equipment is needed for these balls! Just a couple bowls and some arm strength. 😉 Mix the oats, protein powder, strawberries and chocolate chips together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the peanut butter, applesauce and honey/maple syrup. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir well. This mix may be a little crumbly at first but don’t give up! I like to use my hands to knead and mix the dough. If it’s too crumbly, you can add an extra tablespoon of applesauce. Once all of the ingredients are well combined, form the dough into one inch balls.

To store, place in an airtight container and keep in the fridge or freezer. If you don’t plan on eating them over the week, I recommend storing in the freezer! I actually love storing my energy bites in the freezer… something about the texture is so yummy!

Glass mixing bowl with ingredients for peanut butter and jelly protein bites including apple sauce, oats, protein powder, peanut butter, and honey.

More No Bake Energy Ball Recipes to Try:

Bowl full of peanut butter and jelly protein bites with chocolate chips.

If you make these peanut butter and jelly protein bites, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how they turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers.

Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and we’ll send the recipe to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes every week!
4.59 from 12 votes

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Balls

Easy no bake peanut butter and jelly protein bites made with peanut butter, dried strawberries, oats and chocolate chips. 80 calories and 4 grams of protein each!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 18

Ingredients  

  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 2 scoops of organic vanilla protein powder
  • heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce + 1-2 Tablespoons more, if needed
  • 1/2 cup organic freeze-dried strawberries
  • 2 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Place oats, protein powder, freeze-dried strawberries and chocolate chips into a small bowl and stir to combine.
  • In a separate bowl mix together the peanut butter, applesauce and honey/maple syrup. Pour the wet peanut butter mixture over the dry mixture and stir well. Combining this mixture will take a little stirring power and it may seem a little crumbly at first. I used my hands to knead the dough near the end and that seems to help. If it's too crumbly, you can add an extra tablespoon of applesauce to moisten it.
  • Once combined, start forming the dough into one inch balls.
  • Store in a covered container in the fridge or freezer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bite | Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: peanut butter and jelly protein bites
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

More about Brittany
Chicken fajita filling on a sheet pan with a wooden spoon. Tortillas are resting on the bottom of the sheet pan.
Get Your FREE High-Protein Meal Plan
Struggling to eat enough protein? Subscribe to my email list and I’ll send you a 3-Day High-Protein Meal Plan with a Shopping List!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




169 Comments

  1. Wow these look awesome! My favorite go to protein packed snack is plain greek yogurt topped with fresh fruit and homemade granola!

  2. Big fan of Greek yogurt with granola and/or hardboiled eggs.. Would love to try some of that organic food, and my baby will too

  3. I loooove organic peanut butter, for one makes me feel better when I eat over the required amount by accident. lol Also I eat at least one protein shake a day to make it through!

  4. Peanut butter is my go-to protein snack when I need something to hold me over. It tastes good on almost everything!

  5. My favorite protein snack is a couple of hard boiled eggs. However, they can’t be transported without getting gross and warm, so my second favorite is protein balls. I look forward to trying out your recipe!

  6. I loooove protein powder smoothies with kale, berries and almond milk. Mmmm… but my kids LOVE applesauce. I’ll have to try these!

  7. My favorite protein packed snack is greek yogurt with a half a scoop of protein powder on it. Delicious!

  8. These sound amazing! I make bites just like it with coconut in them. My go to protein snack is a power protein smoothie with almond butter, Greek yogurt, banana and coconut milk. My morning protein concoction is oats, chia seeds, milk, almond milk, cinnamon, and sprinkle nuts or seeds in top with a drizzle of honey! Yum addicted!! 🙂

  9. Plain Greek yogurt topped with 1/2 sliced banana, maple syrup, and sunflower kernels. I call it my “traveling snack” because I always eat it before road trips because it keeps me full the whole time.

  10. I love just a hunk of peanut butter on a spoon. It really gives me a boost and is just what I need to get going. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
    Erin
    fairyfractal at gmail dot com

  11. Wow! Talk about perfect timing… I was looking for no-bake bites that weren’t too high in calories. These look great! My fave protein packed snacks are hard-boiled eggs and tamari-flavored almonds. So good!

  12. I love me some PB balls! Now adding applesauce and strawberries!! Yummy!!! Would love to try Santa Cruz products!

  13. I have never used protein powder, what is the texture like? You mentioned your boy normally dislikes it. I wonder what it is like.

  14. No-bake recipes are my absolute favourite! Lately I have been all about snack plates with hummus, veggies and hard boiled eggs! 🙂

  15. My favorite protein snacks are either Greek yogurt with fruit and/or granola or a protein shake.

  16. My mouth started watering the second I looked at this post! I love peanut butter protein balls of any sort 🙂

  17. 5 stars
    These look great! I like to have no-bake protein bars and such on hand for snacks. It isn’t that much harder than buying protein bars, and there aren’t any of those weird chemicals in them 🙂

  18. 5 stars
    I like to make no-cook cashew butter bars! I use almond flour, cashew butter, chopped cashews and dates, honey, and sometimes other add-ins like black sesame seeds. I cut them into squares and wrap them individually.

  19. I love that you used freeze-dried strawberries! So creative. Do you ever find that eating raw oats is difficult on your digestive system?

  20. 4 stars
    I love grek yogurt for a quick snack that fills me up. I want to try this new recipe though because pb is also a fav!

  21. Straight-up raw almonds (soaked for a few hours) are my favorite protein-packed snack. They are delicious and portable!

  22. Yum! I love Santa Cruz products. My favorite protein filled snack would be apples with peanut butter, or plain yogurt with a dollop of peanut butter and fruit!

  23. We like to make peanut butter “cake” using peanut butter, honey, baking soda, and eggs. It bakes into a nice treat. Sometimes we add enjoy life chocolate chips too.

  24. My favorite protein packed snack is something fairly similar to these – the TIU/Tenley Peanut Butter Bites. Super easy, yummy, and packed with protein!!

  25. I make these awesome protein brownies with, basically, just cocoa powder and protein powder, using stevia as my sweetener, and they TOTALLY hit the spot.

  26. My favorite protein packed snack is cottage cheese with peaches, cinnamon, goji berries, and muesli all piled up!

  27. My favorite protein snack is definitely protein smoothies! So many different combos to be made. I am usually a fan of anything with some greens, banana, and a nut butter!

  28. Wow!!! I love these no bake bites and I love that applesauce became a part of the bite. It made them creamy and lowered my PP (I’m a WW leader and often these bites are too high for me to justify the point values all of the time for such a tiny bite). LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!! I will definitely be making these very, very soon!

  29. 5 stars
    Adding applesauce to these protein balls is what I think took them to the next level!! Tastes JUST like a Pb&J. Loved the creativity, thanks Brittany!

    1. Woo!! Love hearing this, Taylor! So glad these protein bites were a hit. Thanks so much for the review!

    1. Yay! So glad you liked this recipe, Elisa! Thanks for coming back to leave a review and star rating, I really appreciate it!