What is the fastest way to get snowballs in Minecraft?

Shovel snow blocks in a snowy biome without a Silk Touch enchantment. Every block drops 4 snowballs, and snow layers clear even faster.

How many snowballs does it take to grow a ghastling?

64 snowballs fed directly grow a ghastling into a happy ghast immediately.

Do snowballs damage mobs?

Almost never. They deal no damage to most targets, with blazes as the notable exception, but they do cause knockback, including against players on Bedrock.

Why does my shovel give snow blocks instead of snowballs?

It has Silk Touch. That enchantment harvests the block itself; use any unenchanted or differently enchanted shovel to get snowballs.

How to Make a Snowball in Minecraft

Nobody thinks about snowballs until they suddenly need sixty-four of them. Between knockback tricks, end crystal duty and one very hungry baby ghast, this humble throwable has more jobs than most utility items. The good news: you are never more than a snowy hillside away from a full stack. Here are all the ways to get snowballs, from the one you will actually use to the ones worth knowing exist.

Method 1: Shovel Snow Blocks (the Reliable Way)

Find a snowy biome, equip a shovel, and dig snow blocks. As long as the shovel does not have Silk Touch, every snow block drops exactly 4 snowballs. Snow layers work too and are thinner to clear, so a pass across a snowy plains with a decent shovel fills your pockets fast. This is the only method that scales: no mobs, no redstone, no explosives, just digging. Silk Touch is the one trap to avoid, since it gives you the block itself instead of the snowballs.

Method 2: Kill Snow Golems

A snow golem drops 0 to 15 snowballs when killed. Since a golem costs two snow blocks and a carved pumpkin to build, this is only efficient if you already have golems standing around as base decoration or a trail-making patrol. As a deliberate farm it loses to the shovel, but as opportunistic looting it is perfectly fine.

Method 3: Explosions and Pistons

For the redstone-minded, snow also yields to force:

TNT on snow layers	Each destroyed snow layer drops 1 to 8 snowballs
Pistons breaking snow (Bedrock only)	1-3 layers drop 1, rising to 4 snowballs for a full 8-layer stack
Ravagers in a snowy taiga raid	Charging ravagers smash snow blocks, scattering snowballs slowly

The ravager route is real but glacial; it is trivia, not a strategy. TNT is fun for clearing a build site you were flattening anyway.

What Snowballs Are Actually For

Feeding ghastlings: the big one. A ghastling raised on snowballs grows into a happy ghast, and feeding it snowballs directly takes 64 snowballs to complete the growth. That single use turned snowballs from junk into a stocked item.
Throwing: snowballs deal no damage to most targets, blazes being the exception, but they knock back. On Bedrock they knock other players back too, which settles arguments. Java players only get the knockback on mobs.
The dragon fight: a thrown snowball can destroy an end crystal from a safe distance, and snowballs make a fine cheap distraction for a Warden you would rather not meet.
Crafting: 4 snowballs in a 2x2 square craft back into a snow block, handy for builders who dug too enthusiastically.

Keep a stack in your exploration kit from now on. Between the ghast economy and the dragon fight, Plan your carrying capacity, too. Snowballs stack to only 16 per slot, unlike most throwables you would compare them with, so the 64 a ghastling eats means four inventory slots, or a shulker box if you are raising several. Dig with that in mind: one snowy hillside, a good shovel, and ten unhurried minutes will fill whatever container you brought. Between the ghast economy and the dragon fight, snowballs have quietly become one of the most useful pocket items in the game.