Turn leftover roast pumpkin into delicious Pumpkin Bliss Balls. These quick, budget-friendly snacks are packed with nutritional goodness and are a tasty way to reduce food waste. I always roast as much pumpkin as I can fit in the oven to make sure we have leftover pumpkin to make this healthy snack.
Pumpkin Bliss Balls recipe
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups rolled oats
- ½ -1 cup of cooked pumpkin – skin can be left on
- 6 pitted dates (can vary to taste)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbs chia seeds
- 2 tbs pumpkin seeds /pepitas (optional)
- Optional pecans
To coat
- 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (to dust the outside of the balls)
Instructions
- Soak dates in just enough hot water to cover them
- Process all the ball ingredients, including the date water in a food processor until ingredients are the mixture starts to come together into a ball.
- Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls, then roll in coconut to coat.
- Keep in the fridge until ready to serve or put in a lunch box
Notes:
- If you use Medjool dates, you can skip soaking them if they are soft
- I use a 20 ml tablespoon for these, but if they’re for young kids 2 teaspoons for one ball is good size
- I prefer to leave the skins on – but if you do cut the skins off, you can try pumpkin skin chips
- This recipe is nut free, so good for school lunches, but these bliss balls are even better with pecans, although my son does prefer chocolate chips
