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Love these! They are much easier to shape and less crumbly than other energy bites I’ve made, and are of course delicious 🙂
Hold on, hold on. I’m envisioning a perfect fall snack.
It has pumpkin, oats, maple, chia seeds, almond butter, pumpkin seeds, sea salt, and cinnamon all packed together in a densely-textured nutritional powerhouse bomb. It’s just sweet enough, and it slightly resembles cookie dough, but with more of a fall cookie flavor and more of a feel-good healthy body buzz.
It requires no baking and no chopping. It’s made in 15 minutes and easily stored in the fridge or freezer for easy grab-a-ball-and-go level snackage.
It can be a breakfast, snack, or two-bite dessert.
And also, as much as we love them, it’s made with zero dates.
Are you into this or ARE YOU INTO THIS?
How To Make Pumpkin Energy Bites
Ready? Put everything in your food processor.
Blend it up. Add chocolate chips because joy is important, too.
Roll it into balls. Freeze, refrigerate, do whatever you do.
Okay, that’s all. I’m serious. Pumpkin Energy Bites + Hungry Fall You is a winning combo that was made for such a time as this.
Slightly sticky, dense, seedy, chocolate chippy, super healthy, and just the right amount of cinnamony maple sweetness. Fine, Pumpkin Energy Bites, YOU WIN.
More Energy Bites
In case you didn’t know, my love for salty sweet energy bites of happiness runs deep and wide. Check out these Cookie Dough Energy Bites (yes, COOKIE DOUGH), Carrot Cake Bites, and Peanut Butter Pretzel Energy Bites for all your snack emergency needs.
Check Out Our Video For How To Make Pumpkin Energy Bites:
Pumpkin Energy Bites
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 25–30 bites 1x
Description
The Best Pumpkin Energy Bites! Made with oats, pumpkin, almond butter, maple syrup, and pumpkin seeds. Naturally sweet, super healthy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup almond butter or peanut butter
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, see notes)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
- generous pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pulse all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a food processor until well-mixed.
- Add chocolate chips and pulse a few more times until they are in small pieces.
- Scoop mixture and roll into balls. Freeze until solid and store in the freezer or refrigerator.
Notes
Cinnamon vs. Pumpkin Pie Spice: I actually prefer this with straight cinnamon because I’m not a huge fan of the nutmeg that is often found in pumpkin pie spice. Just do whatever your heart feels!
Almond Butter vs. Peanut Butter: Really I think any type of nut or seed butter would work here! It’s just about the flavor you want. I liked peanut butter the best and I didn’t feel like it was overly peanut buttery.
Honey vs. Maple Syrup: Both work really well. Maple syrup is great if you want to keep it vegan. My favorite was 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup maple syrup – best of both worlds. 🙂
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: energy bite, pumpkin energy bite, pumpkin snack, pumpkin recipe, healthy snack
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our easy pumpkin recipes page. Check it out!
Could you add a scoop of protein powder to up the protein content or would that change the texture too much?
We haven’t tested that!
Hi! Could you sub molasses for honey/syrup?:) thx
We haven’t tested that, but the flavor is stronger just to note! So if you like molasses you certainly could substitute it.
How long will these last in the freezer?
These should last around 3 months in the freezer!
I don’t have pumpkin seeds. Do you think almonds would work as a replacement?
Almonds could be a good replacement! Let us know how it goes!
We had these last week with honey and had to make more ASAP! My 2-4 year olds all love them and it makes me a happy mama to get nutritious food like pumpkin.
Making some with pumpkin seed butter for school lunches right now. Recipe bookmarked and will be back often.
I had some leftover canned pumpkin from a different recipe and this was a perfect way to use up the rest of the can! I had all the ingredients already and in 15 min. I was able to make a great snack. Such a treat.
These are my go-to when making food for new moms. Nutrient dense, easy to eat, and delicious. The moms always tell me how much of a lifesaver they are during those middle of the night feeds!
Am NEVER without these, year-round!
I’ve been making these every other week and keeping them in my freezer for ease! I LOVE them!! Absolutely obssessed!
These energy bites are delicious! So flavourful, healthy and filling. I usually find energy bites to be on the drier side, but these are perfectly moist with a lighter texture. I found they barely tasted like pumpkin, but have all of the added benefits of pumpkin puree. I added 1/4 cup hemp hearts as well. I made 4 batches prepping for postpartum!
Hi can you substitute raisins for the chocolate chips ? Thanks
Absolutely!
These pumpkin energy bites are very good. I’ve made them a few times. It’s saved a lot of hassle when hubs has a hankering for a snack mid-day and there’s nothing around. Try them!
I was shocked to see the quantity of chia seeds in this recipe, and no liquid or pre-soaking. Chia seeds should never be consumed dry as they will expand in the stomach and can cause very serious problems.
They absorb the liquid of the pumpkin puree, nut butter, honey/maple syrup etc as they are blended. They’re moist when they’re in the final product.
I love these! I made a big batch A LONG time ago and just found the rest of them in the back of the freezer. Still in really good shape and delicious. Looking forward to my next batch.
Can be frustrating! The flavor is delicious but be warned if you use a softer almond butter. It’s impossible to roll into a ball! I’ve added more oatmeal and I’m letting the mix harden up in the fridge for a bit before I try to roll these again. I’ll try to use a more firm nut butter in the future like Barneys or maybe use less pumpkin puree.
Any idea if these would work well with half the sweetener, I would worry about them coming together. I have PCOS I need to cut back on sugar!
Great question! I agree that they may not come together as well. You could try adding a bit of water or milk to the batter to help them stick together!
So good! Originally made these for postpartum snacks, and have continued making them since. My now 2 year old can’t get enough!
Yumm!! These worked out so well!! I replaced pumpkin seeds with sesame seeds, led out the choc chips and used dates instead of honey/maple. Yum yum yum loved them xx
These were surprisingly good! I had never made any of the no bake energy balls, but decided to since we always have leftover pumpkin. Only change was using walnuts instead of pumpkin seeds, since that is what we had. We ended up with about 20+ balls. My 22 month also enjoyed them and I’m glad they are made of ingredients that are good for her. Will make again.
These are so good! Has anyone tried any nut butter substitutions? I’d love for my kids to be able to take these to school but everything has to be nut free. Not a fan of soy so Wow butter isn’t an option for us unfortunately.
You could try sunflower butter. Thanks for the comment!
I ALSO find that my dislike of nutmeg is a barrier to entry for most pumpkin spice treats so, thank you so much, I feel so seen.
Very interested in making these over the weekend! Would you recommend raw pepitas or toasted?
Thanks!
Whoops forgot to rate
I wouldn’t exactly call these healthy, but they were sure delicious. I used honey and reduced the amt called for by about a fifth. It was still plenty sweet and tasted like eating oatmeal cookie dough. Yum.
I made these and they came out amazing! Instead of all oats, I used some homemade granola that I had leftover. Came out great.
Great substitute! So glad you liked the recipe, Olivia!