These easy birthday cake protein balls are super easy to make, are plant-based, gluten free and require no baking! Plus their packed with protein and taste exactly like your favourite cake batter.
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Is there anything better than a slice of birthday cake? I think not. When I was a kid I used to sit next to my mom every single year while she was making my birthday cake just so I could taste the batter. As an adult, I still think the absolute best part of my birthday is picking out what flavour cake I want.
Which is why I knew I needed to find a way to enjoy birthday cake every single day. These cake batter protein balls are the perfect balanced snack. Their packed with protein, healthy fat, naturally sweetened and taste just like the classic 'confetti cake mix' we all grew up eating on our birthday. These are great protein balls for kids because their not only loaded with nutrients, but also look tasty, and appetizing with colourful sprinkles!
Now you can feel like it's your birthday every single day!
Ingredients needed for Birthday Cake Protein Balls
This recipe is SO easy that now doesn't have to be your birthday to enjoy these no bake birthday cake energy balls!
One thing to note is that although many of my protein ball recipes are customizable these have slightly less substitutions just because the birthday cake flavour is hard to mimic!
Protein powder- You can't have birthday cake protein balls without protein! Vanilla protein powder or birthday cake protein powder both work perfectly here. I wouldn't recommend substituting with a unflavored protein or collagen as the extra flavour and sweetness is needed in these!
this is my personal favourite vegan protein powder, I've been using it for years in all my recipes and find it has the least 'protein powder' taste and texture!- use the code NOURISHEDBYNIC to get 15% off your order!
Almond extract- DO NOT SKIP THIS! I know it seems like such a small amount that it should be easy to just leave out but I promise it's important. Almond extract provides the 'birthday cake' flavour to these birthday cake energy balls. If you leave it out these will just taste like vanilla (which isn't bad but isn't birthday cake)!
Vanilla extract- Artificial or natural vanilla extract works! I personally like using natural vanilla extract in anything I'm not baking as I find the flavour a little stronger, however either works great!
Cashew butter- Once again sadly, I wouldn't recommend substituting this! Cashew butter has the least nutty flavour of any nut or seed butter I've tried. I have tried these with both peanut butter and almond butter and although they both do work they taste slightly more nutty and have less of a birthday cake flavour. If you really need a substitute almond butter works better than peanut butter!
Oat flour- Oat or almond flour both work here! I typically use oat flour as it's cheaper, and super easy to either buy or make yourself at home (just blend up oats in a high powered blender or food processor). If you decide to use almond flour you will need a little bit more as it is less dense than oat flour.
Note- if you are gluten free make sure you use either almond flour or gluten free oats!
Sprinkles- Any sprinkles will work! I personally find the solid sprinkles work better than the crystallized ones as the colour tends to run less. Amazon has these naturally coloured sprinkles free of dye as well!
Honey- I know honey isn't vegan BUT it is plant based. I have tested these cake protein balls with maple syrup as well and although it does work I would still recommend honey for a sweeter flavour!
How to make cake batter protein balls:
I love a good easy recipe that is packed with nutrients and this recipe fits both of those categories!
To make these birthday cake protein balls all you need is a large bowl, a plate or baking tray and your ingredients (see above).
Step 1: Add all of your ingredients to your large bowl. If you are making these protein balls for kids get them involved in this step! They can help you measure and mix all of the ingredients. When kids get involved in the kitchen their more likely to get excited about trying new things... so this is a great place to start!
Step 2: Once your 'cake batter' is mixed together scoop out about two tablespoons at a time, using your hands to round the mixture into a ball. Place the protein balls on your plate or cookie sheet.
Another option is turning these into birthday cake protein bars by pressing them into a parchment paper lined rectangle baking dish and slicing them into bars!
That's it! Honestly these are so simple I'm not even sure I can qualify it as a recipe!
Other no bake high protein options:
I love a good no bake snack option (especially one packed with protein to help keep me full and satisfied). These are some of my favourite sweet options:
- snickers protein balls
- smores no bake protein bars
- chickpea cookie dough
- cheesecake high protein dip
PS. I love seeing my recipes in action! If you decided to make these no bake birthday cake protein balls don't forget to tag me on Instagram- @nourishedbynic or leave a comment below!
📖 Recipe
Birthday Cake Protein Balls
Ingredients
- ½ cup cashew butter see notes
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- ⅓ cup vanilla protein
- ¼ cup oat flour
- 2 tablespoon sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.
- Use your hands to roll the mixture into 10 equal sized protein balls (grabbing about 2 tablespoon of mixture per ball).
- Store in the fridge for an easy grab and go snack.
Michelle says
Very good, I will reduce honey to 1 1/2 tbsp because it was a bit too sweet but other than that I used almond butter and flour instead as that’s what I had on hand.
Nicole Addison says
Hi Michelle! I'm so glad you enjoyed these! I find the type of protein powder can alter the sweetness as some tend to be a bit sweeter than others so adjusting the honey to reflect that is a great option!
Jackie says
The flavor was fabulous and they were super easy to make but my batter turned out very sticky / was hard to roll into balls. I followed the recipe so not sure where I went wrong. In this case would you recommend adding a bit more oat flour or protein powder?
Nicole Addison says
Hi Jackie- hmm that's quite odd. Were you using natural peanut butter, sometimes I find processed peanut butters provide more moisture than a natural peanut butter will which may result in a stickier texture. If this happens in the future I would add a bit more oat flour until the desired consistency is reached!
Maggie F says
Don’t sleep on this sweet treat! I was hesitant to try at first because I’m not a fan of cashew butter, but this recipe changed my mind. Tried with peanut butter (what was easily accessible) and agree that it provides an inferior texture to the cashew butter. Couldn’t recommend more!
Sydney says
Delicious and so easy!!