Pumpkin Spice Protein Balls (No-Bake Healthy Bites)

Pumpkin Protein Balls are the perfect healthy no-bake dessert or snack for fall! Made with old fashioned oats, real pumpkin puree, almond butter, vanilla protein powder, and chocolate chips … these energy bites are nourishing, delicious, and perfectly spiced. Requiring about 15 minutes of active prep work, they’re a scrumptious meal prep recipe for the whole family!

Why You’ll Love Pumpkin Protein Balls

Once September rolls around I am ready to start enjoying all the fall foods and flavors at all times. I’m talking a cozy morning bowl of Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal to start the day, followed by a Warm Brussels Sprout Salad for lunch, and hearty Butternut Squash Turkey Chili for dinner to finish the day off. Sounds like my perfect autumn menu!

Plus dessert of course! You can’t go wrong with anything apple or pumpkin, but my personal favorites are Cream Cheese Caramel Apple Dip or Maple Glazed Pumpkin Bread. Ugh, YUM!

Now if you are thinking that I am missing a very important part of this fall inspired day of eating – you are right! The snack. Which of course has to be these chewy, sweet, and perfectly spiced protein-packed pumpkin balls that are studded with chocolate chips. Besides being my go-to snack from September through November and beyond, these energy bites are also:

• Scrumptious: Pumpkin balls are downright delicious. Which should be the number one reason we enjoy any food! But seriously, bite into one of these and your tastebuds will be dancing with pumpkin spice and everything nice.
• Quick & Easy: With 4 simple steps – Mix, Chill, Roll, & Enjoy – these balls are ready with under 20 minutes of active prep work.
• Meal Prep Dream: I absolutely LOVE having these on hand to munch on throughout the week. They work for anything and everything! Late night dessert, grab & go snack, or even a breakfast addition.
• Nutritious: At 108 calories and 7 grams of protein each – these pumpkin balls are loaded with complex carbs, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and fiber. This makes them the perfect nourishing and filling bite!

Ingredients & Substitutions

These delicious pumpkin energy bites call for only a handful of simple ingredients! Real pumpkin puree, old fashioned oats, and vanilla protein powder are the stars of the show.

Plus chocolate of course! Always chocolate. Now let’s get into the details of this short ingredient list:

• Pumpkin Puree: The base of any pumpkin treat is typically pureed pumpkin. This can be found in most grocery stores in the baking aisle during the fall! Make sure you use real pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling.
• Nut Butter: Nut butter adds great flavor, healthy fats, and a creamy texture to these pumpkin balls. I prefer creamy almond butter for its neutral taste here!
• Pure Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup sweetens up this great snack wonderfully. Alternatively, you could use honey or agave nectar.
• Pumpkin Spice & Cinnamon: To achieve that delicious fall pumpkin spice latte flavor, this no bake recipe requires lots of pumpkin pie spice and ground cinnamon. I recommend adding to your heart’s delight! Or in this case, your tastebud’s delight.
• Oats: Old fashioned oats help with the energy factor in these pumpkin spice energy balls. Carbs are the body’s main source of energy and this whole grain is full of the complex kind.
• Protein Powder: Now to give these little bites the protein boost they are named after you’ll add your favorite vanilla protein powder to the mixture. The amount used here equals 7 grams of protein per ball! This may be different, depending on the exact protein powder you use.
• Chocolate Chips: Last, but certainly not least, are chocolate chips. I use milk chocolate chips because they are my favorite but any type will work. I love these stevia sweetened ones for a lower sugar option!

Equipment Needed

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• Measuring Cups / Spoons
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Spatula
• Parchment Paper
• Small Baking Sheet

How To Make Pumpkin Spice Protein Balls

No Bake Pumpkin Protein Balls are incredibly easy to make! They require 4 quick steps: Mix, Chill, Roll, and Enjoy.

This simple recipe is the perfect healthy snack to meal prep during pumpkin season. You can have a treat on hand for all week in no time at all!

Step 1: Wet ingredients. Add the pumpkin puree, almond butter, pure maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon to a large mixing bowl. Combine thoroughly.

Step 2: Dry ingredients. Mix in the old fashioned oats, vanilla protein powder, and chocolate chips. Then place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill for 20-30 minutes. This will make rolling into balls much easier.

Step 3: Roll into balls. Remove the mixture from the fridge and roll into about 2 tbsp sized balls.  You should be able to make 15 protein balls. 

Step 4: Add a little spice. Place the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or plate.  Add an extra sprinkle of pumpkin spice and/or cinnamon.

Step 5: Enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptions

Pumpkin spice protein balls are absolutely perfect in my opinion! They are chewy bites full of warm, spiced, pumpkin flavor. I personally wouldn’t change a thing about them.

But as always, there is room for you to make changes and adaptions so they are perfect for you too.

• Healthify: This recipe is quite the healthy sweet treat as is, but you could add more ingredients to up the nutrition even further. Hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flaxseed, and pumpkin seeds would all be a great addition.
• Chocolate: I went with milk chocolate here, but any type will work. Like semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate chips. You can also use mini chocolate chips, regular chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks. As long as you get the chocolate into these pumpkin energy balls some way some how I am not complaining!
• Nut Butter: Almond butter and cashew butter work best here! They have the most neutral flavor profile that won’t overpower the entire recipe. Creamy peanut butter will work too, it just has a stronger flavor!
• Nut Allergy: Have a pesky nut allergy, but still want to enjoy these pumpkin protein bites? No problem! Sunflower seed butter just became your new best friend.
• Low Sugar: If you want to limit the added sugar in this no bake treat simply swap the pure maple syrup out for a sugar free syrup. Or just leave it out entirely!
• Gluten Free: To make sure this recipe is gluten free and celiac friendly, use certified gluten free oats and you will be all set.

Expert Tips

Pumpkin spice energy balls are quite the straightforward recipe! They’re pretty darn close to impossible to mess up. But I do have some tips and tricks to make the process as easy as possible and the results as delicious as possible.

Use a protein powder you enjoy! This tip is absolutely key in recipes where protein powder is a main ingredient, like my Protein Overnight Oats or Mixed Berry Protein Popsicles. You have to use a powder that you enjoy the taste of since it will be a large contributor to the flavor of these healthy pumpkin protein balls.

Add spice to taste! The ground cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice are what gives these energy balls their fabulous flavor. I also think they cover up that classic protein powder taste. I used 2 tsp of each, but probably could have added in even more. I recommend you taste as you add and see what amount is most yummy to you!

Mix, mix, mix the dough! This energy ball dough is quite thick and sticky. It is a true arm workout to make sure everything is combined evenly. But well worth it!

Make sure to chill the mixture before rolling! 20-30 minutes should do the trick. The mixture is initially quite sticky and would be pretty much impossible to roll into balls. When chilled a bit, it hardens, becomes less sticky, and makes rolling possible.

Roll with wet hands! I find that wetting my hands slightly before rolling this protein ball mixture makes things much easier. It helps stop the mixture from sticking all over your hands and leads to very smooth balls. All you need is a little bit of water though, not soaked hands.

Pumpkin Protein Balls Serving Suggestions

Protein pumpkin balls are an autumn staple in my house! I find myself reaching into the fridge to grab one on so many different occasions. Here are some great ideas on how you can enjoy and serve them too:

• Morning Coffee: I love a baked good with my morning cup of coffee, especially one with some warm fall spice. Now this is technically a no-baked good, but the idea is still the same. One of these protein balls is the perfect sweet treat to wash down with your morning brew.
• Kid’s Lunchbox: Now I do not have kids, but I do watch a lot of lunchbox packing videos on TikTok. LOL. I am always seeing little sweet bites added to the boxes to round off the sandwiches, veggies, and fruit. I think a pumpkin pie protein ball would be a fabulous choice for this!
• Pre/Post Workout: I’m not quite sure whether protein before or after your workout is scientifically optimal. I am just a food blogger, not a nutritionist! But I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong with enjoying one of these either as a pre-workout snack or post-workout snack.
• Afternoon Pick Me Up: When 3 PM rolls around during my workday I am always needing a little pick me up. I love to reach for one of these as they are not just delicious, but nutritious too! They’re the perfect way to get past that midday slump.
• Healthy Dessert: I know that pumpkin pie protein balls are not as enticing of a dessert as say real pumpkin pie or pumpkin snickerdoodles, but they will satisfy that sweet tooth and hankering for dessert. In a protein-packed way! It’s a win-win.

FAQs

Related Recipes

More Pumpkin Recipes

• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dessert Dip
• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars
• Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Maple Glazed Pumpkin Bread
• Gluten Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
• Single Serve Pumpkin Oatmeal

More Healthy Snack Recipes

• Viral Chocolate Date Bark
• Orange Banana Smoothie
• Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
• No-Bake Cookie Dough Bites
• Mixed Berry Protein Popsicles
• Almond Flour Banana Muffins

Connect With Me!

If you make this pumpkin protein ball recipe or any of my other recipes, I would absolutely love to know! Tag me @wellnessbykay on Instagram so I can see and share your recreations.

Love this recipe? Leave a comment and a rating! I love to see and it helps me continue to develop delicious recipes for this blog.

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