Nourish Every Day

healthy recipes and natural nutrition

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls

by 28 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

No food processor paleo protein balls; yep that’s right, just one bowl to mix it all together, roll and you’re done! Combining nut butter, coconut, hemp seeds, a little honey and your favourite protein powder. The perfect healthy sweet snack! Gluten and grain free.

No food processor Paleo Protein Balls stacked in a bowl. Recipe made with crunchy nut butter, coconut, hemp seeds, honey and protein powder.

I went back to school last week (to pick up studying my Bachelor of Health Science, yay!) and my lunch box was crying out for some healthy home made snacks. Sure I had the obligatory raw nuts and carrot sticks, but there needed to be something a little more exciting in there. Let me tell you, after 8 hours of classes, you need some excitement! My lunch box needed no food processor paleo protein balls.

Since my first version of no food processor protein balls topped the list of the most popular blog recipes in 2017, I figured you guys might like the recipe for these too 🙂 It’s easy to see why recipes like this are so appealing. Just one bowl to mix it up, no fancy equipment. And they offer a solution to that most pesky, always-nagging-hungry time, the 3pm slump! One or two of these little bites with a nice cup of tea is just right.

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls! One bowl to make these quick mix energy balls. The perfect healthy snack made with nut butter, honey, hemp seeds and coconut. Yum! #proteinballs #energyballs #paleo #glutenfree

When I first started making quick-mix protein balls, I used a base of oats. However, lately oats haven’t been agreeing with me. I’m not certain if that’s because I can’t find certified gluten free oats in Australia, or because oats of any variety have started to cause irritation both of my digestion and my skin. Since giving up oats (which makes me very sad! they’re nutritious + awesome) I have noticed an improvement, so I’m going to stick with it for now.

This recipe uses crunchy nut butter, hemp seeds and coconut to create a yummy protein ball base with a nice texture. Yay for hemp now being a legal edible foodstuff in Australia! If you can’t track them down easily, almond meal/flour can be used instead. I’ve been buying all my protein ball ingredients from a bulk foods store (I love The Source Bulk Foods – this is not a sponsored post) which means I can buy just as much as I need. Economical and easy.

Make these no food processor paleo protein balls your new easy afternoon treat!

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls. A healthy easy snack made with nut butter, hemp seeds, honey, protein powder and coconut. One bowl, gluten free, grain free. Yum! #proteinballs #energyballs #paleo #healthysnacks

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls; just one bowl to make these quick mix healthy energy balls! The perfect snack made with nut butter, hemp seeds and coconut. Yum! #proteinballs #energyballs #paleo #glutenfree

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls

No food processor paleo protein balls! Just one bowl to mix it all together, roll and you're done! Combining nut butter, coconut, hemp seeds, a little honey and your favourite protein powder. The perfect healthy sweet snack! Grain free, gluten free.
5 from 11 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Snacks and Bites
Cuisine: dairy free, egg free, freezer friendly, gluten free, grain free, paleo, vegan, vegetarian
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 20 balls, approximately

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cashew butter - I like to use crunchy cashew butter
  • 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup protein powder of choice e.g. whey protein, or vegan protein like hemp or pea. Use unflavoured or a light flavour like vanilla or mild chocolate
  • 1/3 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/3 cup desiccated coconut

For coating the protein balls

  • 1/2 cup desiccated coconut extra

Instructions

  • Combine cashew butter and honey in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the hemp seeds, desiccated coconut and 1/4 cup of protein powder. Start to stir the mixture together to form a crumbly, slightly sticky dough. Continue to add the remaining protein powder until you get the mixture to a consistency you can shape into balls.
  • Using your fingers, shape heaped tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Press firmly to get a nice solid shape. Roll in additional desiccated coconut if desired.
  • Place the balls in the fridge to firm up a little. Keep them stored in the fridge. They should last about two weeks; you can also freeze them and they'll keep well for 2-3 months. 

Notes

*I have made these balls using crunchy cashew butter or crunchy almond butter. I find the crunchy nut pieces add a nice texture to the protein balls. If you use smooth nut butter, you may need to add a little extra hemp seed/desiccated coconut to help hold the balls together as there may be more liquid. 
*Similarly, if you use maple syrup instead of honey you might need a little more of the dry ingredients too as I find maple syrup to be more runny.
*You can substitute almond meal/almond flour for the hemp seeds. I prefer the texture of hemp seeds!
*Please use a nice natural protein powder with no (or very few!) artificial ingredients. These are such a simple, healthy snack, keep them that way 🙂

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls. A healthy easy snack made with nut butter, hemp seeds, honey, protein powder and coconut. One bowl, gluten free, grain free. Yum! #proteinballs #energyballs #paleo #healthysnacks

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls! One bowl to make these quick mix energy balls. The perfect healthy snack made with nut butter, honey, hemp seeds and coconut. Yum! #proteinballs #energyballs #paleo #glutenfree

No Food Processor Paleo Protein Balls! One bowl, quick mix, gluten free and grain free. A healthy snack made with nut butter, protein powder, hemp seeds, honey and coconut. #proteinballs #energyballs #paleo #glutenfree

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Hi Sara, I don’t collect nutrition data for my recipes. Generally speaking the ones without oats will be lower in carbohydrate and higher in fat than the oat-based ones. 🙂 You can use an online analyser like Happy Forks to calculate it if you need specific info!

      Reply

    • Thanks so much! 🙂 No you couldn’t buy hemp as a food product until very recently – like last month! Some stores sold hemp but it always had to be labelled “strictly not for consumption” etc. LOL!

      Reply

  4. 5 stars
    Such yummy little bites! I love that these are packed with protein. I need to have snacks like this on hand.

    Reply

    • I want to make a batch of these to share with my mom but shes allergic to coconut… do you have a recommended replacement or advice how to adjust to no coconut in the recipe?

      Reply

      • Hi Jessica, you could try almond meal/almond flour instead of the coconut, if your mum can have that. Another option is to use rolled oats but I don’t know if you want to use grains. 🙂

        Reply

  6. 5 stars
    I have made protein balls with this ingredient combination – they are SOOOO good! The hemp hearts are such a bonus. My kids who would not eat any form of coconuts, would eat them hidden in the balls too. Winner! <3

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Jean! We love our protein balls, quick to make and I love that you can keep them stocked away in the fridge or freezer for ages 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply

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