Pumpkin Protein Balls

These healthy pumpkin protein balls are the perfect no-bake snacks! They only require a handful of ingredients and are so easy to throw together. These pumpkin energy balls are great for meal prepping as they keep well in the fridge throughout the week. You will love the cozy, fall flavors of these pumpkin energy bites.

Energy balls are one of my go-to snacks when I want to make a healthy grab-and-go snack. They’re full of good-for-you ingredients and don’t require any cooking!

 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• You only need 9 ingredients and a few minutes to mix everything together and roll into balls! It’s so easy!
• These pumpkin spice protein balls are full of good-for-you ingredients such as rolled oats, pumpkin, and hemp hearts!
• They taste great! Who says things that are good for you can’t taste delicious?

Ingredients You’ll Need

• rolled oats — make sure you use old-fashioned rolled oats and not steel-cut oats.
• protein powder — use your favorite protein powder! I’m using 100% Whey Protein Isolate in vanilla.
• pumpkin puree — make sure you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. They’re usually side by side on the shelves, but pumpkin pie filling comes pre-spiced and sweetened. Try my homemade pumpkin puree if you can’t find it in a can! Also, did you know pumpkin is quite good for you? To ensure I get all the healthy goodness of the pumpkin puree, I like to make it at home to ensure it’s 100% pumpkin.
• almond butter — I like the healthy fats and protein that almond butter provides. You can also use peanut butter or another nut butter.
• maple syrup — make sure you are using real maple syrup and not pancake syrup. You can also use honey if you prefer.
• cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice — pumpkin pie spice is made up of a wonderful blend of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, giving the protein balls their pumpkin/cozy flavor as pumpkin puree does not taste super strongly of pumpkin.
• hemp hearts — I love adding hemp hearts to the energy balls for a little extra boost of protein and omega-3s.
• mini chocolate chips — I prefer using mini chocolate chips as you get more evenly dispersed chocolate throughout the energy balls. If you only have regular chocolate chips, that’s totally fine, but you might want to add less.

How to Make Pumpkin Protein Balls

• Add the rolled oats, protein powder, almond butter, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to a large bowl.
• Mix to combine. Then add the mini chocolate chips and hemp hearts.

• Fold the mini chocolate chips and hemp hearts into the mixture.
• Using a cookie scoop or a large spoon, scoop out the mixture and roll into balls.
• Place the rolled balls into a lined sheet pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes before enjoying or transferring to an airtight container.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• You can add a spoonful of chia seeds for more healthy goodness.
• Do not skip chilling the rolled protein balls. This helps the balls firm up and holds them together. If you’re in a rush, you can pop them into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Pumpkin puree usually comes in a large can, so this recipe is great for using up leftover puree. However, if you’re opening up a new can of pumpkin puree, you can always freeze leftover pumpkin puree in ice cube molds until ready to use again.
• Use a good-quality protein powder as the protein powder you choose to use will affect the overall flavor of the pumpkin protein balls. If you dislike the flavor of your protein powder, the rest of the ingredients will unfortunately not mask the flavor.

Make Ahead Tips

• Meal prep: you can store these pumpkin energy balls in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
• Freezer: freeze the energy balls in an airtight container. You can freeze them with wax paper between them so they don’t stick together or you can flash-freeze them on a sheet pan first then transfer them, frozen, into a bag. They can last for up to 3 months.

More Healthy Snacks to Try

• Protein Chia Pudding
• Matcha Chia Pudding
• Strawberry Chia Pudding
• Strawberry Yogurt Bites
• Peanut Butter Yogurt Bark
• Nutritional Yeast Popcorn

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