Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls

Pumpkin Spice, crunchy pecans, vegan vanilla protein powder and dates to sweetness.  Oh and a few chocolate chips! 

Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls are scrumptious little snacks that will have you wishing pumpkin season lasted all year long!  It can you know? No one says you have to stop eating pumpkin everything just because the temperature rises!

Energy balls are perfect for on the go snacks, a sweet treat to get you over cravings or put them on a cookie platter and watch people gobble them up just for fun.  You can tell everyone there are healthy and made with dates later and watch their surprise! Healthy snacks are just as yummy as those loaded with sugar and fat. Sometimes better!

These little bites of pumpkin spice heaven come together quickly with items you likely have in your house.  If you are inclined you can use fresh pumpkin but if simple is what you are looking for pumpkin puree from the can work just as well.  This is what I typically use.  

Just make sure that you don’t go for pumpkin pie filling.  Pumpkin pie filling has spice and other ingredients in it and this recipe will not work out the same.  

Packed with protein and good fats these energy balls are a great quick snack.  They use chia seeds for some added protein and good fats. I also like them because they add a nice little crunch and crackle! But if you don’t have any on hand no worries.  You can just leave them out or replace them with flax sees or hemp hearts.

Energy bites are really forgiving and make it easy to get creative.  Don’t like pecans, use almonds or walnuts. Like a tropical flavour, roll them in unsweetened coconut flakes, add them to the mix or both if you are crazy for coconut.

No baking needed.  Just put all the ingredients in a bowl.  Mix with a spoon or fork and roll into balls.  Nothing to it! I like to make a batch every week and keep in the fridge so I always have them ready when I am looking for a great snack on the go.

Here are two other energy ball recipes I love to make…

Coconut Vanilla Protein Balls

Almond Espresso Energy Bites

Raw Cookie Dough Energy Bites

Tips For Making Great Energy Balls

• Chances are you have everything in your kitchen to make a great energy ball.  You need some sticky ingredients like nut butter, honey, maple syrup or dates to hold everything together.  Then add nuts, seeds, hemp hearts, coconut flakes, flax seeds, spices, protein powder and oatmeal.  
• You should try and stick to a ratio 1:1 dry ingredients to sticker soft ingredients.  This way the balls will come together enough to form a smooth ball and be too dry that they crumble and fall apart.  You really can’t mess things up. Too dry, add more peanut butter, pumpkin or dates. To wet? Add more protein powder, seeds, nuts or chocolate chips.  Not too many chocolate chips…or you might as well just eat the chocolate bar that has been calling
• If adding oats to your energy bites you can go two ways.  Old fashioned oats will add a chewier texture whereas quick oats will add a softer velvety texture to your energy balls.  Not sure or feeling adventurous… why not add half and half.
• Store energy balls in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a week (if they last that long).  Doing so will help them hold their shape and stay fresh longer.

How to Make Date purée

• 500 g of dates, pitted
• 400 g of water

Heat in a microwave-safe container for 4 minutes. Then use a hand blender and blend until smooth.   For more information and great date purée recipes check out Madame Labriski’s site!

With energy balls being so simple to make having healthy snacks on hand is a no brainer.  Less than 5 minutes and you can have yourself a great on-the-go snack that tastes amazing.  And the best part is… there really are no limits to the creativity you can have in making your own signature recipe.

If you like this recipe please leave a comment and give it a 5* rating!

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