Pumpkin Energy Balls
This is the best Pumpkin Energy Balls recipe ever! These protein-packed mini snacks are loaded with pumpkin puree, mini chocolate chips, fall spices, and oats.
If you’re looking to stay on track with healthy eating this fall but deep inside you’re hardcore craving pumpkin chocolate chip cookies… just know, these pumpkin energy balls taste *just* like my cookie recipe, minus all the sugar and calories.
More snack recipes:
- No-Bake Energy Bites
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls – taste like a Reese’s!
- Healthy Almond Joy Bites
- Oatmeal Raisin Protein Balls
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Baked Oatmeal Cups – doubles as a great snack or breakfast!
I’m being serious when I tell you that these taste like pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I felt a bit cheated actually. These pumpkin balls were suppose to taste “healthy.” So imagine my surprise when I bit into one and immediate thought about my favorite pumpkin cookies. I no longer needed those cookies anymore.
But I quickly tossed those sad thoughts out as I remembered eating isn’t just about flavor… there’s texture too.
And while these protein balls have a delicious chewy and crunchy texture to them, they can’t replace the soft crumb of a cookie.
It’s now your duty to make these pumpkin protein balls and my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies so that you can have a personal side-by-side comparison. 🙂
Ingredients for Pumpkin Protein Balls
- Old fashioned oats
- Pumpkin puree
- Kodiak cakes mix – if you don’t have this, or don’t have access to it you can replace the kodiak cakes mix with ground flax seed or more old fashioned oats. I love their mixes because they have a lot of protein in 1 serving.
- Honey
- Almond butter
- Spices – I used cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Mini chocolate chips
How to make Pumpkin Protein Balls
Literally one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever make on my site… all you need to do is add all of the ingredients to a medium sized bowl.
Stir the ingredients together until they’re fully combined.
Portion the “dough” into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls.
Place the pumpkin energy balls on a baking sheet and chill them in the fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes.
Once chilled store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. They’ll keep in the fridge for 7-8 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Tips for making fall flavored protein balls
If the “dough” is too sticky as you’re stirring the ingredients together, you have several options:
- You can place the dough in the fridge prior to rolling them into individual balls. This will really the sticky factor.
- Or, you can add a tablespoon of the old fashioned oats or Kodiak cakes to the bowl. Stir it in and gauge it from there.
However, this recipe should be spot on! You shouldn’t have any issues with things not working out; I make sure to test these recipes vigorously so that you don’t have any mistakes or road bumps when you make them.
If you make one of my recipes make sure you snap a picture and tag #saltandbaker and @saltandbaker so I can see what you’re making!
Pumpkin Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup Kodiak cakes mix
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg - I do *just* shy of 1/2 teaspoon. Ideally it would be about 1/3 teaspoon 🙂
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves - I do *just* shy of 1/2 teaspoon. Ideally it would be about 1/3 teaspoon 🙂
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium sized bowl. Mix until everything is fully combined.
- Roll the dough into 1 - 1 1/2 inch sized balls.
- Place the balls on a parchment lined plate or baking sheet. Place the plate in the fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes or until set.
- Transfer the energy balls to an airtight container and store in the fridge.