Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites
No matter the time of year, you’re going to love these Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites. They’re a healthy treat with tons of seasonal flavor. These no-bake pumpkin cookies are made gluten-free, vegan, and paleo.
Why You Need This Recipe
These no bake pumpkin cookies fall into the category of Energy Bites, meaning that they are a raw treat full of energizing ingredients. This version includes real pumpkin puree as well as pumpkin pie spice, so they are jam-packed full of pumpkin flavor.
This Pumpkin Spice No Bake Energy Balls recipe is:
- vegan,
- gluten-free,
- paleo,
- and a healthy treat for both kids and adults.
The ingredients in these healthy energy balls are so clean. Since there is no flour in this recipe, they’re also gluten-free no-bake cookies. There is even an addition of pumpkin puree for extra nutrition and authentic flavor.
Best of all, they only take about 15 minutes to make.
Key Ingredients
Almonds or any type of nut or seed are perfect as the base of a no-bake cookie. They are full of texture and nutrition.
Medjool dates add sweetness and act as the “glue” to hold together these healthy energy bites.
Coconut oil helps keep the cookies intact and adds some more healthy fats.
Pumpkin pie spice (or ground cinnamon) adds that distinctive pumpkin pie flavoring.
Pure pumpkin puree is rich in beta-carotene and helps add moisture to the cookies.
Shredded coconut adds more texture.
Recipe Steps
Step One
The first step is to gather up your ingredients and place them in a food processor.
I highly recommend the Breville Sous Chef as the best food processor on the market. But, you can also use a Cuisinart food processor. See all of my recommended clean eating appliances.
Step Two
Run the food processor for a couple of minutes, or until everything is well combined.
Step Three
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and use your hands to form the mixture into about 15 balls. Lay them on a baking sheet.
Step Four
Then, roll each ball in a little bit of coconut sugar and pumpkin spice for extra flavor, sweetness, and texture.
If you are refined sugar-free, then leave off the coconut sugar dusting.
Step Five
For ultimate sweetness and firmness to the cookies, chill them in the refrigerator for several hours.
Recipes Tips & Substitutions
- If you are nut-free, you can easily substitute the almonds with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds and leave out the coconut oil.
- You can feel free to get creative with making any other substitutions based on what you have on hand or for certain food allergies. These types of energy bites are very forgiving! You will need about 1 and 3/4 cups of any combination of nuts and seeds.
- I also recommend using 100% pure canned pumpkin puree to help add extra pumpkin flavor and nutrition.
- If you are refined sugar-free, then leave off the coconut sugar dusting.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can use ground cinnamon instead.
- These energy bites also freeze really well. You can make a double batch and freeze half of them for the future.
Recommended Items
- Food processor (I use a Breville Sous Chef)
- Organic hemp seeds, also called hemp hearts
- Organic pumpkin pie spice that has a really nice flavor…my favorite one!
- Canned pumpkin
Other Healthy No-Bake Dessert Recipes You Might Like
- Edible Cookie Dough
- Double Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Balls
- Brownie Batter Edible Dough
- No Bake Brownies
- No Bake Chocolate Fig Bars
Or, see my entire index of No Bake Gluten Free Desserts or my Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie!
I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.
And, consider following me on social media so we can stay connected. I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube!
PrintPumpkin No Bake Cookies
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 15 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
You’re going to love these Pumpkin No Bake Cookies. They’re a healthy treat with tons of seasonal flavor. This pumpkin spice dessert recipe is made gluten-free, vegan, and paleo.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw almonds (or your favorite nut or seed)
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or ground cinnamon)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 10 pitted Medjool dates, about 1 cup
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or ground cinnamon)
Instructions
- Combine the almonds, hemp seeds, coconut, 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, coconut oil, pumpkin puree, and dates in the base of a food processor. Turn the processor on high for about 2 minutes or until the ingredients are well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl and then use your hands to roll the dough into about 15 cookies, about 1-1/2-inches in diameter.
- To make the pumpkin pie spice dusting, place the coconut sugar and pumpkin pie spice onto a plate. Roll each cookie in the sugar until covered.
- For the best texture and sweetness, place the cookies in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours to chill.
Notes
- You can freeze these cookies for up to 2 months in a tightly sealed container. Just defrost them then the fridge for about 4 hours before you serve them.
- If you are refined sugar-free, then leave off the coconut sugar dusting.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe depending on how many cookies you want to make.
- If you are nut-free, you can easily substitute the almonds with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds and leave out the coconut oil.
- You can feel free to get creative with making any other substitutions based on what you have on hand or for certain food allergies. These types of energy bites are very forgiving! You will need about 1 and 3/4 cups of any combination of nuts and seeds.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can use ground cinnamon instead.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food processor
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: how to make vegan pumpkin pie energy bites, energy bite recipe, no bake pumpkin spice cookies
Don’t forget to join the Clean Eating Kitchen newsletter. You’ll get my Clean Eating Quick Start Guide, plus links to all the latest recipes.
These no-bake pumpkin energy balls are yummy! (Not quite sure why the recipe calls them both energy balls and cookies?) They’re quite easy to put together since a food processor is used. The coating of coconut sugar and pumpkin pie spice is a nice touch, as well. These will be appreciated by my daughter, who is due with baby in three weeks and is supposed to eat dates every day to make the birthing process easier. Thank you for this great recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed and hope your daughter does too!
I love the flavors – it tasted great! However, my food processor, which is usually just fine, couldn’t handle it. It just kept getting stuck and, in the end, the almonds were still in pretty big chunks. I’m thinking there were just so many dates that it was too sticky. : /
★★★★
Interesting, thanks Melinda! I’ve never had that problem, but I appreciate you sharing your experience!
is this a good recipe for diabetics
Probably not as dates are very high in natural sugars.
What could I use to get substitute the coconut?
You can just leave it out and add a bit more of the seeds instead.