Pumpkin Oatmeal Energy Bites

These Pumpkin Oatmeal Energy Bites are the ultimate healthy snack recipe to make and they’re vegan, nut-free and gluten-free and great to pack for school.

Let’s just get one thing squared away before we dive into the recipe – these energy bites are caffeine loaded or filled with something to make kids jump off the rails. They are an “energy” snack that fuels them with nutritious ingredients and keeps them satisfied. Not the energy that makes them bounce off the walls and be even more wild, I promise!

These oatmeal bites are an easy recipe to make a head and keep in the fridge for easy snacking. Plus you don’t need any fancy ingredients or materials to make them. They take about 5 minutes to make too and you just let them set in the fridge to firm up before rolling into balls too. It’s about 10 minutes of effort I promise 🙂

They have a texture that’s similar to cookie dough too so they’re a great option to even feed your kids for a “sweet” snack or dessert. And speaking of sweet – you can 100% add in some maple syrup if you want to sweeten them up a bit.

I love having these on hand for myself and my kids to snack on!

Tip: these bites are great for a nut-free school-approved snack! I keep them in my fridge and freezer so my kids can bring them to school, playdates or anything.

What ingredients you need to make Pumpkin Oatmeal Energy Bites:

• Sunflower seed butter or any nut butter if not making nut-free
• Pumpkin puree – I look for unsweetened organic pumpkin puree!
• Vanilla extract – I love adding this for extra flavor to the bites too
• Gluten-free rolled oats – you can also use quick outs too but steel cut oats won’t work well
• Chia seeds – add these in for extra nutrients for the bites!
• Cinnamon – I love adding this in for flavor too
• Chocolate chips – I typically do no sugar added chips or cacao nibs!

How to make your own oatmeal based energy bites:

1. Add sunflower butter, pumpkin and vanilla to a medium mixing bowl and mix together
2. Add in oats, chia seeds and cinnamon and mix again
3. Fold in chocolate chips then add batter to fridge to set for 30 minutes
4. Scoop about 1-2 tablespoons of the batter into your hands and roll into a ball and repeat for remaining batter and enjoy!

Tips for success making these bites:

• Make sure the seed butter is extra creamy! Using a chunky one would impact the consistency of these when you mix the ingredients together
• You can really add in any mix-in’s you want besides chocolate chips or instead of. Raisins are another great option and I love using cacao nibs too
• I don’t add sugar to these but if you want them sweeter than add some maple syrup or honey to them to sweeten them up
• Use a tablespoon measuring spoon or ice cream scooper to portion out the dough for the balls. You can also make these as big or small as you wish
• Store these in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for 2 months! If you need them less firm for younger eaters, let them sit at room temperature before eating.

A few other healthy toddler-approved snacks and recipes to make:

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

2-ingredient Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Gluten-free Veggie Frittata Sticks