Nut-Free Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls with Sunflower Seed Butter and Pepitas
Nut-free energy balls made with sunflower seed butter, oats, pumpkin and toasted pepitas. They're no-bake, school-safe and full of warm pumpkin spice.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 4 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Serves
- 9
Nut-Free Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls with Sunflower Seed Butter and Pepitas is a vegan snack recipe made with raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), smooth sunflower seed butter, pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling). It takes 24 minutes of hands-on time, plus 30 minutes resting, serves 9, and each serving has 211 calories, 7 g of protein and 4 g of fiber.
These nut-free energy balls use sunflower seed butter to bind and toasted pepitas for crunch, so they're safe for nut-free classrooms and lunchboxes. Pumpkin purée adds moisture and flavor in place of dates. Ground flax and a short chill firm the mix enough to roll without sticking. Toasting the pepitas takes a few minutes and makes the whole batch taste nuttier, even though there are no nuts in it.
A dietary need (nut-free, school-safe with sunflower seed butter and pepitas instead of pecans) + seasonal flavor profile (pumpkin spice) take on our No-Bake Apple Pie Protein Balls with Hemp Hearts and Pecans.
Ingredients
- ½ cup65 graw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
- ½ cup128 gsmooth sunflower seed butter, well stirred
- ⅓ cup81 gpumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 3 tbsp60 gpure maple syrup
- 1 tsp4.2 gvanilla extract
- 1½ cups122 gold-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 tbsp14 gground flaxseed
- 1½ tsp3.9 gground cinnamon
- ½ tsp0.9 gground ginger
- ¼ tsp0.6 gground nutmeg
- 1 pinch0.2 gground cloves
- ¼ tsp1.5 gfine salt
- 3 tbsp30 gdairy-free mini chocolate chips (check for a nut-free facility) (optional)
Kit: large mixing bowl, skillet, sturdy spatula, tablespoon or small cookie scoop, parchment-lined tray
Tips
- For a truly school-safe batch, choose sunflower seed butter, oats and chocolate chips labeled as made in a nut-free facility.
- Blot the pumpkin purée on a paper towel if it looks watery. Extra moisture makes the balls sticky and shortens how long they keep.
- Use a sunflower seed butter with no added sugar or only a little. Sweeter brands plus the maple syrup can taste cloying.
- If you have 1¾ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, use it instead of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
Swap ideas
- Chia seeds instead of ground flaxseed
- Binds just as well, with a slightly more speckled look. Let the mixture chill the full 30 minutes.
- Hulled sunflower seeds instead of pepitas
- Still nut-free. They're smaller and milder, and they go well with the sunflower seed butter.
- Tahini instead of sunflower seed butter
- Keeps the recipe nut-free, with a more savory, sesame flavor. Add another 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to balance it.
- Dried cranberries instead of chocolate chips
- Adds tart, chewy bites for a more autumnal flavor and keeps the recipe free of chocolate.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
211kcal per serving
Everything else · 9 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 1.5 g 8%
- Sugars
- 6.2 g
- Sodium
- 68 mg 3%
- Potassium
- 238 mg 5%
- Calcium
- 37 mg 3%
- Iron
- 2.1 mg 12%
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg 1%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried, Seeds, sunflower seed butter, without salt (SR Legacy), Pumpkin, canned, without salt, Syrups, maple, Vanilla extract, Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry, Seeds, flaxseed, Spices, cinnamon, ground, Spices, ginger, ground, Spices, nutmeg, ground, Spices, cloves, ground, Salt, table
Method
Toast the pepitas in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often, until they puff and start to pop and a few turn golden, 3–4 minutes. Tip them onto a plate to cool, then roughly chop about half and leave the rest whole.
In a large bowl, whisk the sunflower seed butter, pumpkin purée, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth and glossy. If the seed butter is stiff, microwave it for 10–15 seconds first.
Add the oats, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir with a sturdy spatula until no dry oats remain.
Fold in the pepitas and the chocolate chips, if using. The mixture should be soft and a little tacky, and it should hold together when you squeeze it. If it's wet enough to smear, stir in 2–3 tablespoons more oats.
Cover the bowl and chill for 30 minutes (or 15 minutes in the freezer). This gives the oats and flax time to absorb moisture so the mixture firms up and is easier to shape.
With damp hands, roll level tablespoons of the mixture into 1¼-inch balls, about 18 in all, and place them on a parchment-lined tray. Rinse your hands if the mixture starts to stick.
Serve right away, or refrigerate for another 15 minutes for firmer balls that are ready to pack.
Storage: Because of the pumpkin, keep them in the fridge, not at room temperature. Store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze, freeze them on a tray until firm, then bag them for up to 3 months. Thaw for 10 minutes before eating, or pack them frozen in a lunchbox and they'll thaw by midday.
Questions
- How much protein is in nut-free pumpkin spice energy balls with sunflower seed butter and pepitas?
- Each of the 9 servings has 7 g of protein, 4 g of fiber and 211 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is nut-free pumpkin spice energy balls with sunflower seed butter and pepitas vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does nut-free pumpkin spice energy balls with sunflower seed butter and pepitas take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 4 minutes of cooking, so 24 minutes of hands-on time, plus 30 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make nut-free pumpkin spice energy balls with sunflower seed butter and pepitas ahead?
- Because of the pumpkin, keep them in the fridge, not at room temperature. Store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze, freeze them on a tray until firm, then bag them for up to 3 months. Thaw for 10 minutes before eating, or pack them frozen in a lunchbox and they'll thaw by midday.
- What can I substitute in nut-free pumpkin spice energy balls with sunflower seed butter and pepitas?
- Chia seeds instead of ground flaxseed — binds just as well, with a slightly more speckled look. let the mixture chill the full 30 minutes.. Hulled sunflower seeds instead of pepitas — still nut-free. they're smaller and milder, and they go well with the sunflower seed butter.. Tahini instead of sunflower seed butter — keeps the recipe nut-free, with a more savory, sesame flavor. add another 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to balance it.. Dried cranberries instead of chocolate chips — adds tart, chewy bites for a more autumnal flavor and keeps the recipe free of chocolate..
- Does nut-free pumpkin spice energy balls with sunflower seed butter and pepitas contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 30, 2026 ·American
