No bake protein pumpkin chocolate chip energy balls – filled with pumpkin, pumpkin spice, collagen, dates, and nut butter for a quick and healthy festive treat!
It’s officially October and it’s my first pumpkin recipe of the season! And it’s super easy, protein packed energy ball! WOOT WOOT!
Not going to lie, I feel like I’ve been making pumpkin recipes nonstop since the beginning of September. I’m not a ‘go get a pumpkin spice latte on September 1st’ type of person, but I do really enjoy pumpkin once fall hits. I think it’s a great addition to smoothies, desserts, no-bake treats, and even savory dishes.
The best part is, pumpkin is really a nutrient dense veggie! It is low on calories and carbs and packed with vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Since I hadn’t made an energy ball for awhile on the blog, I figured a pumpkin one would be perfect. And a great addition to pumpkin is chocolate chips! Along with some nut butter, dates, and spices, you have the perfect nutrient packed pumpkin chocolate chip energy ball.
PS – if you like pumpkin and chocolate chip and you haven’t tried these pumpkin chocolate chip protein muffins, they should be next on your list!
How to Make Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls
These pumpkin protein energy balls come together in about 5 minutes, are no bake, and are super easy to make. All you need is a food processor and handful of ingredients. Let’s break down what you need and how to do it.
Ingredients:
- cashew coconut butter (or nut butter of choice)
- canned pumpkin
- dates
- collagen peptides (or protein powder of choice)
- coconut flour
- pumpkin pie spice
- salt
- chocolate chips
The process in making no bake energy balls is super easy. First, I like to break up the dates in the food processor. Then you add the remaining ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and let it come into large ball of dough. Then you mix in the chocolate chips and form into balls.
If you don’t like or use collagen, you can try to substitute another protein powder of your choice. Or you can leave it out and add a little more coconut flour.
To store them, keep them in the fridge or freezer. The will last 2-3 weeks in the fridge and a few months in the freezer. Energy balls actually taste really good right of the freezer too!
These protein pumpkin chocolate chip energy balls make a great snack, healthy sweet treat, or meal prep option. I also love them for a pre or post workout snack. They are super easy to pack in your bag and bring on the go. Make them on Sunday for meal prep and you will be set for the week. If you need some more energy ball ideas, I got ya covered!
protein chocolate peppermint energy balls
peanut butter & jelly energy balls
pumpkin cinnamon raisin balls
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR ANYTHING FROM EAT THE GAINS, MAKE SURE TO POST IT AND TAG ME SO I CAN SEE ALL OF YOUR CREATIONS!!
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Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates (120 grams/18 dates)
- 6 tablespoons cashew coconut butter
- 6 tablespoons pumpkin
- 2 servings collagen (4 scoops)
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place the dates in a food processor or high speed blender and pulse a few times until broken down into pieces. Add remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips, and blend until smooth and a ball of "dough" forms.
- Break up the dough and roll in chocolate chips. Form into equal size balls and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes until chilled. Store in the fridge or freezer and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Terri dodge
December 11, 2018 at 4:13 pmI love this recipe! Thank Kelly for all these yummy, healthy, easy recipes!
Kelly
December 17, 2018 at 11:41 amHappy to share them with you Terri!!
Linda
January 21, 2019 at 2:03 pmWould love to make these, but how big are your scoops of collagen? My collagen does not come with a scoop, so I have no idea how much you’re using in this recipe . . . Thanks!
Kelly
January 24, 2019 at 7:51 pmHi Linda! One scoop is about a heaping tablespoon or 10 grams. Hope that helps!
Jeffrey Tomlinson
October 19, 2019 at 5:01 pmHello! Thank you for posting this yummy treat. I made them, and they taste delicious – my only problem was they fall apart. They never stayed in balls, even after I take them out of the freezer, they turn to mush pretty quickly. And getting them out of the food processor was a mess. Nothing seemed to stick together. Any idea what I may have done wrong? Thank you!
Kelly
October 24, 2019 at 2:51 pmHi Jeffery! So sorry to hear that. I’m not sure what went wrong, but I would guess that maybe your dates were too juicy or nut butter was too runny as it sounds like they are too wet? I’ve had different batches of dates and sometimes they are super moist and others times not. That could totally change the texture of the balls. And not sure if you used the coconut cashew butter, but if not the substitute could of been a too runny. To remedy them, I would add more coconut flour or protein to help absorb the liquid. I know that doesn’t exactly help, but just my suggestions.