Low Calorie Carrot Cake Protein Balls

Carrot cake protein balls on a wooden cutting board with a bowl of carrot beside them and coconut and oats around them.

Low Calorie Carrot Cake Protein Balls

Easy to make and soft in texture these protein bites have all the flavor of carrot cake without all the calories! A protein ball recipe with oats, vegan protein powder, and banana, these bites make a great snack or easy, no-bake dessert!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Sitting 10

Total Time 10

Servings balls

Calories 75kcal

Author Shelby Stover

Equipment

Muffin cups
Trigger ice cream scoop

Ingredients

1 banana large
¼ cup carrot finely grated
1 cup oats gluten free
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ tablespoon molasses
2.5 tablespoons almond butter
¼ cup vegan protein powder
1 tbs Plant-based milk

Instructions

Place half of the oats and all other ingredients except protein powder, milk, and carrots in a food processor and blend until mixed.
In a medium-size bowl, stir together the protein powder, carrots, and remaining oats.
Pour the mixture from the processor into the bowl and mix everything well until it is sticky.
Add in the milk half a tablespoon at a time and ONLY if needed, only using as much as you need to make the batter thick and sticky. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes to absorb.
Line a cutting board with parchment paper and use a trigger point ice cream scoop to portion out the mixture into balls. When you scoop, press down into the scoop with a spatula to get them to bind as best as possible.
Place the bites onto the parchment paper and put the tray in the fridge for 2 hours.
Once they've chilled, whip up the cream cheese frosting (if using) and pipe it on top. Serve!

Video

Notes

You want a thick sticky batter, so you may not need all the milk, depending on your protein powder.

Originally made with vegan protein powder, eef protein powder will work as well, specifically the protein powder from Equip, which has the best flavors I've tasted. Add ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon and don't use any milk. You'll probably want to roll the balls in coconut, though, as it tends to make things sticky. Roll the balls only after they've chilled.

There isn't a sweetener in the recipe, so if you don't LOVE your protein powder, you'll want to add a pinch of coconut palm sugar, stevia, or maple syrup.

The balls don't firm up until they have fully chilled. From there, they are best eaten out of the fridge as they become too soft/sticky at room temperature.

Here is the recipe for the cream cheese frosting if you want to drizzle the protein balls.

Learn more about which protein powder to use in the body of the blog post.

The carrot cake balls are sugar-free and very nutmeg-flavored. If you want a bit of a sweeter variation, sub the molasses for honey (so long as you're not vegan) or add a pinch of stevia to the mix. A sprinkle of coconut palm sugar works too. Just taste test before you roll them.

The nutritional breakdown does not include the frosting and is based on each protein ball. The size of the ball will be determined by the size of your trigger ice cream scoop.

Nutrition