$By simply combining some pumpkin, pea protein powder and a couple of other ingredients, you can make Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites at home for a fraction of the cost to buy them in the store.$

Are these not the cutest Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites you have ever seen?! By simply combining some pumpkin, pea protein powder and a couple of other ingredients, you can make these healthy Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites that you and your family are sure to enjoy.

I am not going to lie to you and tell you that I came up with the design of these adorable mini pumpkins.

I actually got the idea from Suzie Homemaker's website. However, I did NOT follow her recipe as it calls for butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar and orange food dye!!!

Although I am sure that her recipe tastes delicious, I am somewhat against using food dye in any of my recipes.

Why am I against food dyes?

Well, according to Eating Well, the three most widely used culprits-Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40-contain compounds, including benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl, that research has linked with cancer. Research has also associated food dyes with problems in children including allergies, hyperactivity, learning impairment, irritability and aggressiveness.

Yikes!

Although I am not a parent, I can not believe that any parent would want to feed food colouring to their children knowing how potentially harmful it can be.

So, using the same method to create the "look" of the pumpkin itself, I decided to modify the recipe to make it significantly healthier and jam-pack it with protein for a great kid-friendly snack.

How did I get the pumpkins bright orange without using orange food dye?

Simple! All I did was break open 2 turmeric capsules and add it to my protein powder before stirring it into the pumpkin. This added quite an intense orange colour but if you don't have turmeric supplements lying around, simply omit them as it does not add any flavour to the pumpkin pie protein bites.

$By simply combining some pumpkin, pea protein powder and a couple of other ingredients, you can make Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites at home for a fraction of the cost to buy them in the store.$

How to Make Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), vanilla pea powder, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar and salt. Stir to combine everything and then gradually add enough coconut flour until the mixture thickens. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes as this will allow the coconut to absorb any liquid. If the mixture still seems too soft after 10 minutes, add an additional tablespoon of coconut. Keep adding the coconut flour until the mixture can be formed into balls.

Next, take the pumpkin pie protein mixture and roll them into individual small balls (I ended up getting a total of 15). Using a toothpick, carefully press the toothpick into the ball to form an indentation. Continue until the entire pumpkin has several indentations. Add a chocolate chip on top as the stem and gently flatten the ball into the shape of a pumpkin. Repeat with the remaining pumpkin pie dough.

$By simply combining some pumpkin, pea protein powder and a couple of other ingredients, you can make Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites at home for a fraction of the cost to buy them in the store.$

Substitutions for the Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites

Vanilla pea protein powder - you can use unflavoured protein powder and just add some imitation vanilla to add the vanilla flavour. I do not suggest that you use vanilla extract as you will end up with a hint of alcohol taste since these pumpkin pie protein bites are not baked.
Pea Protein powder - you can replace this with egg white powder, rice powder or casein protein powder. Do not use whey protein powder as the mixture will not come together properly.
Coconut Flour - you can replace this with almond flour but you may need more flour as almond flour is not as absorbent as coconut flour.
Lakanto Golden - you can use brown sugar instead but each pumpkin pie protein bite will have a higher number of carbs.
Turmeric Capsules - to get these pumpkins a nice bright orange, I opened 2 turmeric capsules. Feel free to omit this as it does not add any flavour but does add the bright orange colour.

$By simply combining some pumpkin, pea protein powder and a couple of other ingredients, you can make Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites at home for a fraction of the cost to buy them in the store.$

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$By simply combining some pumpkin, pea protein powder and a couple of other ingredients, you can make Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites at home for a fraction of the cost to buy them in the store.$

Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-free, Low Carb)

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Print Recipe

By simply combining some pumpkin, pea protein powder and a couple of other ingredients, you can make Pumpkin Pie Protein Bites at home for a fraction of the cost to buy them in the store.

Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 15 Pumpkin Pie Portein Bites 1x

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the protein powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, salt, brown sugar and turmeric capsules (if using). Whisk everything together.
Add pumpkin puree and stir to combine. Add coconut flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture can be rolled into a ball.
Taking 1-2 tablespoon of mixture, roll it into a ball. Using a toothpick, indent sections of the ball and top with a chocolate chip.
Store in the fridge.