These Pea Protein Crispie Bites are crunchy, chewy, and crispy on both the inside and the outside. They’re made with peanut butter, oat flour, and pea (or soy) protein crispies for an easy no-bake recipe that tastes like your favorite protein ball with a lot more texture.
A Quick Look At This Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Pea Protein Crispie Bites
🕒 Ready In: ~10 minutes prep + 40 minutes chilling
👪 Serves: Around 16 balls
🍽 Calories & Protein: ~138 calories and 10g protein per ball without the chocolate shell and 160 calories and 11g protein with.
🥣 Main Ingredients: Peanut butter, oat flour, soy or pea protein crisps, maple syrup or honey
If you grew up loving crackles, chocolate crispy treats or rice krispie cakes, you are going to love these pea protein crispie bites. They have that same crunchy chewy texture, but with a few simple ingredient swaps to make them a little more balanced and satisfying.
Instead of regular puffed rice cereal, these are made with soy or pea protein crisps for extra protein and fiber, while peanut butter and oat flour help make them extra filling.
If you like this kind of recipe, you might also enjoy my chocolate quinoa crisps or my chocolate chia pudding, both of which use similar ingredients.
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Key Ingredients
The complete ingredient list with measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Smooth peanut butter: I always recommend looking for a peanut butter made with just peanuts and salt. Drippy, runny peanut butter mixes more easily than thick, dry peanut butter. If your jar is on the dry side, microwave it with the maple syrup for 10 to 15 seconds before mixing. For a nut-free version, swap for sunflower seed butter or pumpkin seed butter, just check the label for added oils or sugar.
Maple syrup or honey: Either works well. Maple syrup keeps these vegan, while honey adds a slightly different flavour.
Oat flour: I recommend making your own by blending oats in a food processor or blender until it forms a fine dust like consistency.
Pea or soy protein crisp cereal: This is how we are getting >10 grams of protein per ball without relying on protein powder. Both soy protein crisps and pea crisps work well here. I buy mine on amazon and use them in lots of my recipes like my protein crisp bars as an example.
Optional dark chocolate: For the chocolate crunch layer. Use dairy-free chocolate to keep these vegan.
Expert Tips for Making This Recipe
Use a cookie scoop for even sizing. Same-sized balls chill more evenly and look more polished if you are sharing them or putting them in lunch boxes.
Wet your hands before rolling. If the dough is sticking to your palms, slightly damp hands make rolling much easier.
Test one ball first. Before chilling the full batch, roll one ball and pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes to check the texture. If it falls apart, adjust the mixture before rolling the rest.
For the chocolate crunch coating, I like to first roll the balls in extra soy or pea crisps before dipping them into the melted chocolate. I personally found this the easiest way to get lots of crunchy texture on the outside. You could also stir the extra crisps directly into the melted chocolate and coat the balls that way, but I found it a little harder to get an even crunchy coating using that method.
Storage
Fridge: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. The texture stays best in the fridge.
Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Many of my clients actually prefer them straight from the freezer because the texture is even crunchier but I recommend letting them sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before eating.
FAQ
Yes, because this recipe doesn't contain protein powder, I consider them kid-friendly. However because they contain nuts I'd be cautious about adding them to lunch boxes as many schools have policies against this.
Absolutely. Mini chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate, or dried fruit like cranberries or chopped dates all work well. Add about 30g of mix-ins to the recipe as written, and fold them in at the same time as the crisp cereal.
More High Protein Snack Recipes You'll Love
If you love this recipe, you might also enjoy these other no bake protein snacks from the blog.
📖 Recipe
Pea Protein Crispie Bites
Ingredients
- 170 grams smooth peanut butter ⅔ cup
- 4-5 tablespoons maple syrup or honey 80-100 grams
- 60 grams oat flour ½ cup
- 180 grams pea protein crisp cereal 2 cups
- pinch of salt if using unsalted peanut butter
Optional chocolate crunch coating
- 60 grams dark chocolate ⅓ cup
- ¼ teaspoon coconut oil to help the chocolate melt
- 25 grams pea or soy crisps ⅓ cup
Instructions
- Add the peanut butter and maple syrup or honey to a large mixing bowl. Stir until smooth and combined. If your peanut butter is thick or dry, microwave the bowl for 10 to 15 seconds first to make mixing easier.170 grams smooth peanut butter , 4-5 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- Add the oat flour and salt (if using). Stir until a thick dough forms. The mixture should feel slightly sticky.60 grams oat flour, pinch of salt
- Gently fold in the crisp cereal.180 grams pea protein crisp cereal
- Roll the mixture into balls using your hands or a cookie scoop. You should get around 16 balls depending on size.
- If you are making the chocolate crunch coating, roll each ball in additional crispy cereal now while the balls are still soft and slightly tacky so the crisps stick well.25 grams pea or soy crisps
- Place on a lined tray and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes until firm.
- Optional chocolate crunch coating:
- Melt the dark chocolate with the coconut oil in 20 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, until smooth.¼ teaspoon coconut oil , 60 grams dark chocolate
- Dip the crisp-coated chilled balls into the melted chocolate and refrigerate until the chocolate has set, about 10 minutes.
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Notes
- For nut-free: swap peanut butter for sunflower seed butter or pumpkin seed butter.
- For gluten-free: use certified gluten-free crisp cereal.
- For vegan: use maple syrup and dairy-free dark chocolate.
Rachel Busby says
These are delicious I swapped in pea protein and quinoa popped cereal, I’m getting lots of compliments and I feel so satisfied having these as a treat
Maria Lucey RD says
Amazing!! I am so happy you enjoyed them Rachel! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it 🤍xx