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If you’re looking for a filling a satisfying Weight Watchers snack idea to beat cravings, these WW protein balls are the perfect solution. Everyone can snack on these chewy, chocolatey, delicious granola bites.
Making Weight Watchers protein balls checks a couple of boxes on my meal prep and planning list. I can whip these up as a healthy snack for my family of busy people, a midday no bake energy balls Weight Watchers snack for me, or a quick breakfast on the go.
These are family friendly no bake protein bites for Weight Watchers. They’re protein bites but they eat like a little cookie, they are just the perfect amount of sweet and chewy. The whole family enjoys these. I usually prep a batch on a Sunday night and then I have some for everyone to enjoy all week long.
This recipe is full of healthy ingredients and is so easy to customize–You can incorporate your family’s favorite add-ins like flax seed, chia seeds, raisins, cranberries–just make sure to re-calculate the points for your snack.
Where’s the Recipe?
Here at My Crazy Good Life we write our recipes with all readers in mind. We know that our readers have a variety of skill levels in the kitchen, and we are mindful in how we can support all of you.
In each recipe post, you’ll find detailed instructions, helpful tips and tricks, healthy eating plan points, and nutrition information. If you are ready for a simplified recipe, simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Weight Watchers Protein Balls recipe.
Ingredients in Weight Watchers Protein Balls:
Making these no bake cookies is easier than you think! You’ll need just a few wholesome ingredients that I’ll list below. You can find the exact amounts of each in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Oatmeal: The combination of oats and chocolate chips just taste good. It’s the perfect combination for our no baking protein balls. We like using old fashioned rolled quick oatmeal for this recipe. Steel cut oats would be a bit too dense for this recipe. Just a reminder, you DO NOT cook the oats ahead of time.
- Mini chocolate chips: The chocolate chips give a little boost of chocolate without having to make any major WW point decisions.
- Coconut flakes: Unsweetened is what you need.
- Peanut butter: We love making this healthy no bake snack with peanut butter. However, you are more than welcome to use a peanut butter replacement instead.
- Honey: This ingredient helps the balls stay together. It also adds just a little bit of sweetness.
- Vanilla
Here are some things that you can consider adding to your recipe to make these delicious Weight Watchers “cookies” even more flavorful, and packed with nutrition!
- Protein Powder: Some people love adding powdered peanut butter protein to treats. We haven’t tried the powdered peanut butter protein flavor before, but I bet it’d be delicious!
- Other chips: Dark chocolate chips would be delicious in this recipe.
- Almond Butter or other nut butter:
- Extra Coconut:
- Chia Seeds: Such a powerhouse for all things nutritious. Adding these to your protein balls just make sense. I like to add chia seeds because they are high in fiber.
- Flax Seeds: Flax Seeds help improve digestive health. If you don’t have actual seeds on hand, ground flaxseed would also be perfect for this recipe.
How to make Weight Watchers Protein Balls:
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, chocolate chips, and coconut.
- Add the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Mix well until evenly combined. I prefer using a stand mixer with this recipe because it seems to make the balls easier to roll out and stick together.
- Chill mixture in the refrigerator for an hour, then roll out balls about an inch in diameter. Be sure to add your extra peanut butter and/or honey in small amounts. I usually just set aside a 1/2 cup total so I know I have more liquid ingredients if needed to make the batter more or less sticky.
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Recipe Tips:
- We really should call these energy bites, or no bake energy balls. These peanut butter protein bites give me just the perfect amount of an energy boost to get through a long day of work and working out. My son totally refers to this recipe as his favorite peanut butter energy balls. I like to leave out the little fact that they are indeed Weight Watchers energy balls, and healthy for him!
- Depending on your peanut butter, the mixture might be a little dry or a little moist. Just add a little more peanut butter, honey, or oats to the mix–depending on what you need. I’ve found that thinner peanut butter like the Kirkland Organic Creamy that we buy from Costco works best because it’s so thin.
- If you are using a nut butter of your choice you might want to make sure it is room temperature. If the nut butter is too stiff, it will be tough to mix.
- I think that using mini chocolate chips helps these granola bites stick together better than using the regular chocolate chips–especially if you’re going to make 40 balls out of one batch. If you are using the larger chips you can always give them a quick run in the food processor to make them into smaller chunks.
- Swap out your add-ins, but don’t forget to re-calculate your Weight Watchers points for any changes you make to these energy bites. Old fashioned oats work best but you can use the quick oats if that is what you have on hand.
- If you can’t make balls and are over trying to make it work, take a peek at this post to see how we form and cut our granola bars–you can easily make bars instead. Honestly the protein ball recipes can be made into any shape and you will still have the same benefits without spending 30 minutes fighting with the batter. Sometimes it just doesn’t come together properly so matter how much you try. This really is a great recipe and the perfect snack, regardless of the shape it ends up.
What are the Weight Watchers Points for this recipe?
With the ingredients as listed in the card below (without any extra peanut butter or honey to make the batter stiffer / stickier) this recipe makes 40 balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. Each one is 3 Blue Plan Points | 3 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points.
The points for the new 2022/2023 points plan is 5
It’s a nice little sweet treat that I can feel good about. There are wholesome ingredients, the points are low enough that I don’t have to make a “sacrifice” to enjoy these protein bites, and fat is coming from a healthy source that I know is balance with protein.
Weight Watchers Desserts:
You can enjoy dessert recipes without going crazy trying to save up points and use your weeklies. I like when I can work dessert recipes into my meal plan without having to try too hard and after you try these…you will too!
Delicious Weight Watcher recipes
- Starbucks Red Pepper Egg Bites Recipe
- Healthy Starbucks Egg Bites Recipe
- Crack Chicken and Rice Casserole
Weight Watchers Protein Balls with Peanut Butter
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats quick oats
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup coconut flakes unsweetened
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, chocolate chips, and coconut. 2 cups oats, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, 2/3 cup coconut flakes
- Add the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Mix well until evenly combined. I prefer to use my stand mixer or a hand mixer for this–stirring by hand never seems to incorporate all of the ingredients well enough for me. 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Chill mixture in the refrigerator for an hour, then roll out balls about an inch in diameter. Keeping the mixture in the fridge before rolling helps them to roll easier.
- Store in an airtight container–I prefer the these in the refrigerator!
Video
Notes
- Sometimes I use a bit more peanut butter and honey to help the balls stick together. I add about 1/4 cup peanut butter and 1/8 cup honey to what’s listed above. You could also form the balls into bars instead – I explain how to do this easily in my Healthy Granola Bar post.
- With the ingredients as listed (without any extra peanut butter or honey to make the batter stiffer / stickier) this recipe makes 40 balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. Each one is 3 Blue Plan Points | 3 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points. assuming you make 40 small balls per batch. 2022/2023 Points: 5
Nutrition
Make This Recipe?
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Ooh real ingredients!!
hello Becca, just wondering if i add in the extra honey and peanut butter, will that change the points for each ball?
thank you.
You’ll have to count that depending on how much extra you use of each. :)
Allergic to peanuts, can I use another but butter?
Absolutely!
These are the best!
Hi, this looks great! One question… on the video, you use (vanilla) protein powder, but that isn’t in the recipe. how much WW Vanilla protein powder would you use and would that affect the quantities for the rest of the recipe or number of points? Thank you!
I didn’t include the optional ingredients :)
It completely depends on the kind of powder you use – I’d calculate the new points in the app.
So, how many of these can you eat in a sitting?
How many can I? Or should I? :) If you’re asking about serving size, all of the information you need is in the recipe at the bottom, including how big to make them and the points calculation!
How long do these stay fresh for?
A few weeks in the fridge!
I can’t have coconut what would you suggest instead?
Brenda, you can leave the coconut right out of these!
I wanted to make these for my daughter and son-in-law but he is very allergic to honey. What would you suggest for a replacement? Some have said try maple syrup. What are your thoughts??? Many thanks!!
Hi Josephine,
I have not tried this recipe with maple syrup. My concern would be that maple syrup is thinner than honey and might not hold the balls together as well. If you do end up trying it out, I’d love to hear how it goes!
What are your thoughts on using cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips? Thanks!
You can totally do that!!
Made these with PB2 instead of peanut butter. They were fantastic! Added in some hemp powder and flax and chia seeds. My kids even liked them. Thanks for thur recipe!
How much would the points be with using PB2 powder?
Hi Nicole, you’d have to recalculate for your specific plan using the WW calculator.
Okay, thank you!
Delicious!!! Turned out great.
These are a great go snack!
Could you freeze these?
Absolutely!
Can I leave out or sub the coconut?
Absolutely! Leave it out if you don’t care for coconut :)
Could you swap the oatmeal for Rice Krispies?? Would that change the points.
Thanks! 🥰
Hi Joanna, I’m not sure–I’d check the points calculator. I haven’t tried it with rice krispies :)
I was wondering how many calories are in each ball and the serving weight
The recipe makes 40 1-inch balls. Each ball is 64 calories but I’m not sure on the serving weight. :)
Can I try these with old fashioned oats instead of quick oats?
Old fashioned oats should work just fine :)
I want to make these for a quick breakfast to eat at my desk at work. If I wanted to make these as bars instead, would that work? Would I just press then into a pan and refrigerate and then just cut into bars?
That should definitely work!