White Chocolate & Cranberry Protein Balls

These white chocolate and cranberry protein balls are a festive snack inspired by Starbucks' Cranberry Bliss Bars. 

These White Chocolate & Cranberry Protein Balls embrace flavours of the holiday season. These nutritious holiday-inspired protein bites make for the perfect pre-workout snack, a healthy dessert to share at a holiday gathering, or a healthy after dinner snack to satisfy your sweet tooth! If you enjoy this recipe, you may also enjoy our festive recipe for Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars.

Let's take a look at the nutritious line-up of ingredients and how to adjust the ingredients to make this recipe your own!

• Almond Butter: Almond butter is rich in healthy monounsaturated fats, fibre, and vitamin E. Almond butter can be replaced by mixed nut butter or cashew butter!
• Honey: Honey adds sweetness to the recipe and helps the protein balls stick together! You can replace honey with maple syrup if preferred.
• Protein Powder: Protein powder adds a boost of protein making them an excellent pre-workout snack to kick start muscle recovery. We used vanilla protein powder but other flavours like a cinnamon protein powder would work well here!
• Quick Oats: Oats add a source of fibre to the energy bites and offer carbohydrates which make these protein balls suitable as a pre-workout snack! If you are gluten-free, choose a certified gluten-free rolled oat.
• Coconut: The addition of coconut offers festive flavour to these energy bites. We chose an unsweetened coconut to reduce the total amount of sugar in the recipe as we are already adding sweetness from honey, flavoured protein powder, chocolate, and dried fruits.
• Dried Cranberries: Dried cranberries offer festive colour to the recipe and a delicious flavour. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY PROTEIN BALLS

SERVING: 12 protein balls

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup (120g) almond butter
• ¼ cup (80g) honey
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (45g) vanilla protein powder
• ⅓ cup (40g) quick oats 
• ⅓ cup (30g) unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tbsp (15g) dried cranberries 
• 2 tbsp (30g) white chocolate chips 

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the natural almond butter, honey, and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. I like to use a food scale to weigh the ingredients for accuracy! If needed, you can microwave the almond butter and honey in 15 seconds intervals to make it easier to mix.
2. Next, add the dry ingredients including the protein powder, quick oats, and shredded coconut. Mix until well combined. You may need to use clean hands to work the mixture into a dough.
3. Chop the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips into smaller pieces. Then, add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries to the dough and mix until evenly distributed.
4. Measure about 1½ tablespoons of the dough and roll into a ball. Continue with the remaining dough. You should have enough dough for 12 protein balls.
5. Store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

DIETITIAN TIPS

We love enjoying these festive energy balls as a nutritious dessert to satisfy a sweet tooth! They also make for an energizing pre-workout snack for those who work out early in the morning and need a boost of energy before having a larger breakfast later in the morning!

WANT TO LEARN HOW TO BUILD MEALS FOR YOUR GOALS?

Our team of Registered Dietitian support clients through nutrition counselling and coaching to teach them how to build balanced meals and snacks to reach their specific goals. After working with our dietitians you'll understand how to build meals to suit your preferences and have concrete meal and snack ideas to implement into your day! You can book with a dietitian here to get started on your journey!

The recipe makes 12 protein balls and a serving is one protein ball: