Are Energy Balls High in Sugar? Get the Facts Here!

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Are Energy balls high in sugar? In this post, I am going to be telling you the average sugar content of energy balls and comparing the sugar content of 9 different brands of Energy Balls. Now at this point, you may be wondering exactly what an Energy Ball is. Well, let me tell you. An Energy Ball is a snack made up of a combination of seeds, dried fruit, nut butter, and other ingredients. As its namesake suggests these ingredients are mixed into a dense ball that is designed to offer a high protein nutrient-rich snack and give you a boost of energy. But how sugar-friendly are these densely packed Energy Balls and what are some of the lowest sugar brands available?

How Much Sugar is there in Energy Balls?

As a general rule, most energy balls contain 3g-7g of total sugar per ball. Energy Balls tend to be sweetened with sweeteners such as monk fruit, dates, brown rice syrup, honey, agave syrup, juice, and/or purees. Energy Balls do not tend to be sweetened with cane sugar and so are often low in or free of added sugar.

What are some of the lowest sugar Energy Ball Brands?

What are some of the lowest sugar Energy Ball brands? To answer this question, I selected 9 energy balls at random and looked at the sweeteners used as well as the sugar content. So, let’s dig in.

1. Betty Lou’s Protein Plus Almond Butter Energy Balls – 12g of Total Sugar

I am starting off with these energy balls from Betty Lou’s. Now 12g of total sugar may sound like a lot but when you take into account the size of these energy balls you realize it actually isn’t. One of these almond butter energy balls weighs a whopping 49g. When you compare these energy balls to other energy balls – many of them weigh as little as 14g, you realize that 12g of total sugar for such a big ball isn’t that much.

Betty Lou’s protein plus almond butter energy balls are sweetened with brown rice syrup and grape juice. They can be found on Amazon here.

2. Betty Lou’s Paleo Cacao, Coffee & Pumpkin Seeds Energy Balls – 12g of sugar

Betty Lou also has paleo energy balls which contain cacao, coffee, and pumpkin seeds. These energy balls are sweetened with dates and honey. Again, there are 12g of sugar per ball but once you consider the size of the ball its sugar content is in the same sugar range on a gram basis as the below balls.

You can find Betty Lou’s Paleo Cacao, coffee & pumpkin seed energy balls on Amazon here.

3. Frooze Balls Dark Chocolate Raspberry – 7g of Total Sugar

Next, we have a big name in the vegan energy balls space – Frooze. Frooze’s dark chocolate raspberry flavor energy balls are its highest sugar energy ball. These balls are sweetened with dates, juices, and purees.

There are 37g of total sugar per 5 energy balls. This equates to 7g of total sugar per energy ball. Just bear in mind these energy balls are a lot smaller than Betty Lou’s – each Frooze energy ball only weighs 14g.

You can find a variety pack of Frooze energy balls (which includes the dark chocolate raspberry) on Amazon here.

4. Frooze Balls Peanut Butter and Jelly – 6g of Total Sugar

Frooze’s peanut butter and jelly energy ball comes in a little bit lower in sugar at 6g of sugar per ball. Only 1g of this is added though. This flavor of Frooze is also sweetened with dates, juices, and purees.

You can find Frozen Peanut butter and jelly energy balls on Amazon here.

5. Frooze Blueberry Crumble – 5g of Total Sugar

Frooze’s lowest sugar energy ball is its blueberry crumble. This energy ball comes in at 5g of total sugar. Again, you can find the variety pack which includes Blueberry Crumble on Amazon here. Like the other Frooze balls, the blueberry crumble is also sweetened with dates, juices, and purees.

6. The Gluten Free Brothers Dark Chocolate Coconut Protein Balls – 3g of Total Sugar

These dark chocolate and coconut protein balls from The Gluten Free Brothers are sweetened with organic brown rice syrup and organic agave nectar. As you may have guessed from the name these balls are gluten-free. There are 3g of total sugar per 12g ball.

You can find The Free Brothers protein balls on Amazon here.

7. Protein Power Ball Dark Chocolate Peanut Balls – 3g of Total Sugar

These dark chocolate balls by protein power balls are sweetened with organic dates and organic agave. Just a note that there is cane sugar in the chocolate chips. One of these balls contains 3g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar.

You can find these balls on Amazon here.

8. Protein Bites by Protein Power Ball Lemon Coconut Balls – 2.5g of Total Sugar

The lemon coconut variety of Protein Power Ball’s balls is sweetened with organic agave and organic dates. There are 2.5g of sugar per ball. You can find them on Amazon here.

9. Creation Nation Energy Ball Mix – 1g of Total Sugar

If you want a super low sugar energy ball, one good way of having your cake and eating it is to make your own energy balls using this mix from Creation Nation. This mix is sweetened with monk fruit and there is also organic cane sugar in the chocolate chips. If you don’t add any sweetener to your mix, then one 20g ball will only contain 1g of total sugar. You can’t beat that really!

You can find Creation Nation energy mix on Amazon here.

My Personal Choice?

If you want the lowest total sugar energy balls, you can really go wrong with Creation Nation energy ball mix if you are prepared to make them yourself without sweetener. 1g of total sugar per ball is pretty unbeatable!

If you don’t want to make your own Energy Ball and want a low sugar pre-made energy ball, then I would go for Protein Power Ball lemon coconut balls, which you can find on Amazon here. 2.5g of total sugar per ball is low for an energy ball.

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Are Energy Balls High in Sugar? – The Final Bite

Are Energy Balls high in sugar? What have we learned from the above? Well, when it comes to energy balls the sugar content really depends on the brand of ball you are choosing. If you want the lowest sugar option, then a pre-made mix might be your best option. If you don’t then there are some Energy Balls available with a sugar content of only 2.5g per ball. When choosing your brand of Energy Ball just make sure to always compare the size of the energy ball to the sugar content. Energy Ball sizes are not standardized and the bigger the ball the more sugar it will contain.

And Remember…