No Bake Birthday Cake Protein Balls

Meet my birthday cake protein balls bursting with vanilla cake flavor, AKA your new favorite high protein snack! I'm obsessed with the soft and chewy texture (anything but dry or chalky, trust me). With 6g protein per bite, they're the perfect fun and filling on-the-go bite to fuel your busy afternoons.

The level of satisfying that is sinking your teeth into a protein ball that has the *ideal* texture is 10/10. If you've made my matcha cookie dough protein balls or pumpkin spice protein balls, you know we don't mess around with crumbly balls. Heck no!

My secret weapon to make birthday cake balls that stand out among the rest is the almond + oat flour combo, which lends a truly dreamy cake-like flavor and texture.

Also I love that this recipe makes a bigger batch to actually last all week! Cuz I need more than 10.

Let's make 'em

Behind the scenes of recipe testing

• The cake flavor is perfected with almond extract. I developed this recipe with almond extract because it really makes these taste outstanding. I tested these without it and they just tasted like vanilla (womp womp), so don't skip it!
• The type of nut butter really impacts flavor. I realized in recipe testing that cashew butter is indeed the most neutral, cake-like flavor. But since it's tougher to find, I made (and photographed) these with more accessible almond butter, and I really enjoyed them! My trials with PB just tasted like PB vs cake so I don't recommend.
• Avoiding a chalky texture: It took a bit of trial and error to find the sweet spot of not having too chalky of a texture while also ensuring these boast enough protein per bite to deem them "protein balls." It was clear in testing that using ⅓ cup protein powder is the sweet spot for flavor and texture (the almond flour helps offset this, too). Use one you know you like the flavor of in smoothies!

We're partying with bday balls whether it's your bday or not!!

No Bake Birthday Cake Protein Balls

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Alexis Joseph, MS, RD
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 14-16 bites 1x
• Category: Energy Bites
• Method: No Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Meet my birthday cake protein balls bursting with vanilla cake flavor, AKA your new favorite high protein snack! I'm obsessed with the soft and chewy texture (anything but dry or chalky, trust me). With 6g protein per bite, they're the perfect fun and filling on-the-go bites to fuel your busy afternoons. 

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup almond flour
• ½ cup oat flour
• ⅓ cup vanilla plant based protein powder*
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup cashew butter or almond butter (cashew butter is best if you can find it!)
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼-½ tsp almond extract
• 2-4 tbsp sprinkles
• 1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk, if needed to moisten dough

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Instructions

1. Place almond flour, oat flour, protein powder, 1-2 tbsp sprinkles, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. Add cashew/almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and almond extract (I use ½ tsp). Stir to combine (I use my hands here). The dough should feel like moist cookie dough. If the dough seems a little dry, add 1 tbsp milk and stir to combine.
3. Roll into 14-16 balls. Place 1-2 tbsp sprinkles in a small bowl and press or roll each ball into sprinkles. Store in the fridge or freezer!

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Notes

Almond extra really makes these extra tasty and gives the birthday cake vibe; without it they won't have that birthday cake flavor.

*I have also made these with dry milk powder in place of the protein powder (I do this when I make them for my kids as I typically don't give them protein powder).

I have not tested these with whey. If you'd like to use collagen peptides instead, which is typically unflavored, increase maple to ⅓ cup. You will need to add more oat flour since collagen is very moist compared to plant protein.

If you'd like to omit the protein powder, you can sub more oat flour or ground flaxseed and increase the maple syrup to ⅓ cup (since the protein adds sweetness). You may not need the milk.