Today I’m going to show you how to make a raspberry lemon date protein balls recipe. It’s super easy to make, but it’s also super inclusive in terms of allergy status. This oat free recipe is also free from nuts, coconut, peanuts, grains, and more.
One of the biggest perks to making something like this at home as compared to buying it at the grocery store: you save money (usually a good amount). So, grab your wholesome ingredients and let’s get to work.
Allergy Status
Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nuts, Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Top 14 Allergens, Alliums, Apple, Avocado, Banana, Beans & Lentils, Buckwheat, Cane/Refined Sugar, Carrot, Celery, Cinnamon, Coconut, Cruciferous, Garlic, Latex Cross Reactive Free (H/M), Legume, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Nightshade, Oat, Onion, Pea & Pea Protein, Potato (Nightshade Variety), Poultry, Red Meat, Rice, Squash & Gourd, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Tomato, Yeast
Friendly To: EOE, FPIES, Grain Free, Paleo, Vegan
Tools Needed to Make Your Date Protein Balls
- Food Processor (this is the updated model of the one that I use)
- Baking Sheet/Tray (this is the brand I use the most these days) + Parchment Paper (I get mine in bulk at Costco) OR Glass Container with Lid
- Kitchen Scale (the one that I LOVE)
- Cookie Scoop (I have a ridiculous amount of these)
- Spatula (this is a good one)
Link Note: I’ve only linked you to items I personally own, test, and love.
Raspberry Lemon Date Protein Balls Ingredients
You’ll only need seven simple ingredients to make this delicious snack recipe:
- 225g Organic Medjool Dates (8 ounces, weighed without pits)
- 1.5 ounces Freeze Dried Raspberries (I use this brand)
- 2 TBSP Organic Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest to Taste (I usually use at least a Tablespoon)
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 TBSP Zego Pure Protein Powder
- 4 TBSP Golden Flax Meal (use this brand for best results)
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Dates: You can swap the medjool dates for other date varieties. I sometimes purchase a big bag of deglet noor dates from Costco and use those instead.
For nut free dates, use Sam Cobb Farms. These dates are sold directly from the farmer, straight from the farm. There aren’t any tree nuts (or other foods) in the supply chain. Also, expect your order to take a couple of weeks to arrive since it’s a farmer and his family doing it all on their own.
Protein Powder: This is the protein powder that I. use. However, you can use a vanilla protein powder, chocolate protein powder, or your favorite protein powder that won’t clash with the lemon raspberry flavour profile. Just Ingredients is another great protein brand option, and they have a vegan line available.
I use a small amount of protein powder since my kids don’t love the taste in large amounts. However, you can add more of your protein powder if you love the taste.
More Delicious Snacks to Enjoy
These fantastic snack recipes are all gluten free, vegan, no-bake, and very allergy friendly (most are top 9 free and some are top 14 free). They’re also great for lunchboxes and busy mornings.
- Chocolate Date Bliss Balls Recipe
- No-Bake Cookies (GF, Top 14 Free, and made with basic ingredients)
- Vanilla Protein Power Balls (GF, V, Top 9 Free, perfect for a lunch box snack)
- Carrot Cake Power Balls
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Directions
Ready for some super easy instructions? Start by pitting your dates. If they’re very dry, soak them (whole) in warm water overnight, or for a few hours before starting.
Place your food processor bowl (with the blade in) on your kitchen scale and tare to zero. Pit your dates and add them directly to the bowl, stopping once you’ve hit 225g/8 ounces. Tare to zero and add the other ingredients.
Pulse a few times, then process/mix/blend until all of the ingredients are well combined. I like to use a small cookie dough scooper (2 tsp) to portion out protein balls directly into a large container. Rolling and shaping is optional.
How to Tweak This Recipe
When it comes to making energy balls, there are a lot of ways you can add a little of this, or take out a little of that to create a snack that’s *jussst* different enough to give you more variety. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Add a Little Cacao
Chocolate and berries are a classic combo, and you can add a little cacao powder, or even dark chocolate chips to your protein ball mixture. This is a great way to add a little something extra to each bite, without taking up extra time or energy. Note: cacao powder is not the same as cocoa powder.
Swap the Berries
What I love about this kind of recipe is the versatility. You can create a range of variations in your snacks by simply swapping the freeze dried raspberries for another fruit. Choose a fruit such as strawberry, orange, or blueberry, as these different flavors will all pair well with the lemon.
Add Vanilla Extract
In this recipe a teaspoon vanilla extract can add a little oomph to your snack. You can also explore other flavouring agents and extracts. This is the brand that I love for organic vanilla extract, and this is the brand that I use for my other flavouring extracts. Deepening on what you’d like to add, a food grade oil could be a good addition as well.
Include Seeds
You can include a few tablespoons of a seed of choice, such as sunflower seeds or chia seeds. If you use hemp seeds, start with a tablespoon and taste before adding more, since they can have a pretty powerful/loud presence.
I’d also avoid sesame seeds for this particular recipe, unless you know you’ll love that flavor combination.
Include a Nut Butter or Safe Spread of Choice
You can add several tablespoons of a safe spread to these date protein balls. Stick with options that will pair well with both lemon and raspberry such as cashew butter, almond butter, and a paste or butter from pistachios.
Healthy fats such as sunflower seed butter and tahini might not work out as well due to their inherent flavour.
Add Toppings
To add a topping, you’ll roll and shape your power balls, then roll them though an ingredient such as coconut flakes, crushed walnuts, mini chocolate chips, or even crushed almond pieces.
If you have kiddos, they can help “decorate” power balls. You could also have their little fingers help you place a few large sprinkles on each power ball, just for fun.
Protein Ball Storage
After making your date protein balls, you’ll want to store extras in the refrigerator, in an airtight container. The good news is that protein balls keep very well in a sealed container in the fridge for several weeks.
Alternatively, you can freeze extra date balls, however, some people are on the fence. If you’ve never frozen energy balls before, only freeze a few. The next day, thaw one on the counter at room temperature, then eat it. If you like it, repeat for the next few days with the other power balls you froze to make sure you still enjoy the texture when thawed. If you’re still a fan, go all in and freeze your leftovers in a freezer safe container.
Lazy Storage Tip: If you don’t have kids, and really don’t care about the shape, invest in small 4-ounce jars. You can add a heaping spoonful or two to each jar, and pop the lid on. Now you have an easy snack that’s ready to go, and you didn’t have to get your hands dirty.
Freezer Tip: You can line a large baking tray with parchment paper and fill it up with protein balls. Freeze the entire tray, and when all of the balls have frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer safe bag or container. Freezing them on the tray first prevents them from sticking together.
Fun Ways to Enjoy Your Date Protein Balls
I’m a huge fan of using foods in non-traditional ways, and with that in mind, here are some ideas on how you can use your protein balls outside of just snacking.
Yogurt Parfait Jar
Rather than eat your date protein balls straight, you can incorporate them into something else, like a tasty breakfast yogurt parfait jar. Create layers with Greek yogurt, and fresh fruit. Then, use your protein balls as a layer in place of the oats (or granola) that are normally in a yogurt parfait.
Use as a Topping
If you’re a fan of oatmeal for breakfast, or something like cream of wheat (or cream of buckwheat if you’re gluten free), your date protein balls would make for a fabulous topping. Break balls into small pieces and sprinkle all over your cooked breakfast cereal. If you want to jazz it up a little more, you can add unsweetened shredded coconut or even almond slices for texture and extra flavor.
Baked Treat Jars
When you bake energy balls, the texture changes into something that’s a cross between baked cookies, baked cake, and a good fudgy brownie or pudding. Personally, I store power balls in small 4 ounce or 6 ounce jars in the freezer. After thawing a jar, I’ll pop it in the oven. You know it’s ready because it will gain a little height.
I take it out of the oven, then drop the jar into a large mug so it’s easy to eat and you don’t need to worry about burning your hand. If you really want to take this to dessert land, add a little homemade vanilla ice cream on the side. You won’t be disappointed.
Make a Layered Dessert
You can create all sorts of awesome layered desserts with date protein balls as the base (think: millionaire’s shortbread). For example, you can press the batter into a small glass baking dish, then top with a layer of mashed gooey bananas, then sprinkle crunchy nuts and dark chocolate chips on top.
This concept can easily produce hundreds of flavour and layer combinations, so run wild with it.
Answering Your Questions About Date Protein Balls
Are power balls a healthy snack?
Let’s be honest, bliss balls, power balls, energy bites, or anything else you like to call them legit taste like you’re eating dessert. When you use a sweet dried fruit as the base, in this case dates, you’re headed in direction of sweet treats.
However, these types of recipes can still be nutritious, and make for a great quick snack on busy days. The top perk these balls have are their natural sweetness which comes from dried fruit, as compared to a processed or refined sweetener. The dates also bring in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Back to healthy. It’s really going to depend on who you ask. For people with blood sugar regulation issues who are also at a high risk of heart disease, these types of recipes aren’t a great choice. On the flip side, for a young athlete that needs high energy foods to tap into, these are easy snacks they can rely on.
Personally, I think protein balls are a great healthy snack when part of a well rounded diet, but I’m also comparing them to highly processed and ultra processed snacks by comparison. One could easily argue that baby carrots and hummus are a better snack choice. See what I mean?
Ultimately, you’re the only person that can determine if a snack is a healthy choice for you (or your children), based on your unique health goals and individualized nutritional needs.
Could I swap the dates for raisins?
For this particular protein ball recipe, the dates are really the base of this recipe and help hold everything together. Whilst I don’t suggest replacing all of the dates with raisins, you could try a combination of dates and raisins, or even a combination of dates and cranberries.
On their own, and in that large of an amount, raisins will have an overwhelming taste that won’t compliment these power balls. If you can’t have dates, I suggest looking up a protein ball recipe that uses honey or maple as the sweetener, that way you don’t have to re-work the ratios.
Can I swap the dates for honey?
Whilst honey is a great sugar alternative, it wouldn’t work in this recipe for date energy balls. Honey, and even something like maple syrup ruins the consistency of the energy bites, alters the sweetness, and you’ll no longer have chewy, delicious bite-sized balls.
The dates (a type of dried fruit) are a key ingredient to making this recipe work. Now, if you’d be interested in creating a new recipe at home, let’s chat. It’s not that honey can’t be used to sweeten protein balls, it’s that it can’t be used in this specific recipe.
You would need to create a base recipe that leans into oat flour or rolled oats to make up the mass of the protein balls, then use honey as the sweetener. Ideally, you’d use a runny honey to take advantage of the sticky powers.
Know that you can still make a great snack without the pitted dates, but it’s going to be different for you to get the right consistency. If you can’t have oats, toasted tiger nut flour (tuber, not a tree nut) would be my next suggestion for you, followed by toasted almond flour.
As you create this new recipe, be sure to take good notes. I suggest starting with 100g of the oats, 35g of honey, and any additional ingredients (vanilla, freeze dried fruit, seeds, etc.). Process and sample for sweetness levels. Once you have the sweetness right, tweak the ingredients until the consistency is just right. You may need to add a little milk of choice, or maybe more of the flour to thicken things up a bit.
Could I make this recipe in a blender instead of a food processor?
When it comes to making an energy ball recipe, you’ll need to stick to the food processor to get the proper consistency. It has to do with the size of the blending container, blades, and overall power of the motor. Even if you were to cut the recipe in half, a blender would still struggle because of the low moisture content.
Would almond flour work in place of the protein powder?
In a pinch, you can use almond flour in these homemade protein balls. Since you’d be using a small amount, the almond flour won’t alter the flavor much, or change the consistency of the batter. Personally, I’d use blanched almond flour, but natural almond flour will work as well.
Can I make this recipe in a small food processor?
Yes! A small food processor will be able to handle this recipe. Be careful you plan to scale up and make a double or triple batch. You’ll want to prevent overloading the food processor’s motor.
Could I use whole fresh fruit instead of freeze dried fruit?
Whilst fresh fruits are fantastic healthy options, they wouldn’t work in this recipe for protein bites. Something like fresh raspberries or even pureed strawberries will add a high amount of liquid to the recipe, and prevent you from achieving the right consistency when mixed.
If you can’t have freeze dried fruit for some reason, you can replace it with other dried fruit, such as dried mango.
Can I add spirulina powder to this recipe?
Honestly, you can add anything to your homemade bliss balls, so long as you like the flavour combination. Superfood powders such as spirulina are going to come down to your personal food preferences. This isn’t something I’d normally add for my kids, so I can’t tell you what the flavour will be.
I’d advise removing a small portion of the dough when it’s ready, adding a small amount of spirulina powder to that, mixing it, and then taste. If you like it, add the powder to the full batch. If you don’t like it, you’ve only lost a small amount.
I’m new to my Celiac diagnosis. Are all protein powders gluten free?
Welcome to the free-from club! No, not all protein powders will be gluten free, however, most are. You’re more likely to run into milk or eggs in a protein powder as compared to wheat or other gluten containing grains.
Personally, I’d point you towards Just Ingredients and Zego for protein powder when you’re new to the Celiac diagnosis. Once you’re more comfortable reading labels, shopping, and so on, then venture out to find other protein powders that could be a good fit for you. Don’t forget to take your food preferences into account. But protein powder that sounds DELICIOUS to you, rather than settle for something that’s meh, just because it’s GF.
