Is there anything pumpkin can’t do? We think not. From pumpkin cake to pumpkin pie ice cream to the ever-amazing pumpkin spice latte, there is nothing quite as classic as those warm and comforting flavors. So we’ve taken it to a whole new level — meet pumpkin spice cake bites (they’re thrilled to be here)!
All the best parts of pumpkin spice in a decadent and dreamy bite — perfect for snacking, enjoying as a wholesome treat, or adding some bite-sized fun to your holiday table. Just 10 ingredients required. Let us show you how it’s done!
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cake Bites
We start with adding pitted dates to a food processor to create a sticky paste that holds everything together.
Walnuts, oats, and almond flour provide the wholesome cake-like base, while pumpkin purée adds moisture and a gorgeous orange hue. Cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice create that classic pumpkin spice flavor, and sea salt brings it all together.
After processing the mixture, roll it into balls and chill for best texture.
Top with optional melted coconut butter and orange zest for a frosting-like glaze. Swoon!
We hope you LOVE these cake bites! They’re:
Sweet
Spicy
Rich
Comforting
Quick & easy
& So delicious!
They’re the perfect snack or healthier treat for fall and beyond! Enjoy them with our Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte if you’re feeling festive. Or make our 1-Pot Pumpkin Black Bean Soup if you want to use up your remaining can of pumpkin. Hot tip: you can also store leftover pumpkin purée in an ice cube tray in the freezer, then defrost a cube when you need just a small amount.
More Snack-Able Bite-Sized Treats
- No-Bake Vanilla Cake Bites
- 5-Ingredient No-Bake Cookie Energy Bites
- Almond Joy Energy Bites (6 Ingredients!)
- No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
*Note: method updated 10/6/21 to address reader issues with blending.
Pumpkin Spice Cake Bites (No-Bake!)
Ingredients
CAKE BITES
- 1 ½ cups pitted dates (we prefer medjool dates // if dry, soak in warm water for 15 minutes, then drain and pat dry)
- 1 ½ cups walnuts
- 3/4 cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free as needed)
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 ¾ tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp allspice (optional)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin purée
GLAZE optional
- 3 Tbsp coconut butter
- 2 tsp orange zest (about 1/2 an orange, zested)
Instructions
- BITES: Place the dates in a food processor and process until mostly smooth or a ball forms. Scrape the sides as needed. Remove the date paste from the food processor and set aside.
- Next, add the walnuts, oats, almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice (optional), and salt. Pulse until very fine crumbs appear. Add the vanilla and pumpkin purée. Add a spoonful of date paste at a time pulsing to incorporate. Repeat until all of the date paste is used. Taste and adjust the level of spice to your preference, adding more vanilla for cakey flavor, more cinnamon for warmth, or more ginger for spice!
- Scoop out 1 ½ Tbsp amounts (we love this scoop) and roll into balls. Repeat until all of the dough is used. For best texture, we recommend placing the bites on a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate and placing in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes (or 15 in the freezer).
- GLAZE: If using the optional glaze, prepare it once the bites have chilled. Add 1 inch of water to a small saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and place the coconut butter in a small heat-proof bowl (we prefer glass). Carefully place the bowl on top of the saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula or spoon, until melted and loose (~2 minutes). You can also melt the glaze in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave in 20-second increments until melted.
- Using a small spoon, carefully place some melted coconut butter on top of each of the bites, letting it run down the sides slightly. Alternatively, dunk each bite into the glaze and roll around until all sides are coated. Use a fork to tap off excess glaze, then transfer back to your parchment-lined plate or baking sheet. While the glaze is still tacky, sprinkle orange zest evenly over all the bites.
- Enjoy right away or whenever you need a quick snack! Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Note that the coconut glaze can get soft at warm temperatures.
Alexa Dominique says
Hi ! I’m allergic to walnuts, what do you suggest as a replacement ? Thanks !
Hi Alexa, we’d suggest pecans or cashews. Let us know how it goes!
Alexa says
I tried almonds ! But my (new) Ninja food processor broke makint it :'(
Oh no! So sorry that happened, Alexa! We haven’t used a Ninja, but wonder if maybe it’s not powerful enough? Our food processor has no problem handling almonds. We’d definitely check with the company about a warranty!
Annie says
I read the comments and made some additional subs and these turned out GREAT! They tasted like little bites of pumpkin pie – yum!
– I added some pumpkin pie spice. I believe this gave it that pumpkin “flavor” that everyone was wanting more of. (pumpkin on its own tastes pretty bland, to me)
– I used mostly almonds, with only a few pecans/walnuts, with no problems.
– I rolled in coconut like some other commenters – thank you for that suggestion!
Bon App!
Yay! Thanks so much for the review and for sharing your experience, Annie!
Susie says
Kept incredibly well! I found some in a baggie, un-refrigerated, a month after I had made them. They were better than when fresh! The spices had time to blend and they tasted great!
Susie says
P.S. I added 2 to 3 times the amount of pumpkin too, because I wanted a stronger pumpkin flavor.
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Susie! Thank you for sharing! xo
Karry says
This is a wonderful recipe. I froze half the bites and have not tried those yet. The ones that I kept in the fridge lasted about a week with no loss of flavor. I did buy a spice mix from a German deli because I love the flavors in German spice cookies. Rather than do the an ‘icing’, I bought British Biskoff cookies (vegan), crushed those and rolled the bites in them. These are a perfect Christmas treat.
Amazing! That crushed cookie topping sounds incredible! Thank you for sharing, Karry! xo
Sarah says
I expected these to be much more pumpkiny. I was disappointed with how they turned out. Definitely would not make again.
Oh no! Our goal with the flavor was a subtle pumpkin with the focus on the pumpkin spice aspect, but we’re sorry you didn’t enjoy them. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Sarah!
LJ says
Made this with a blend of dates & apricots, substituted pecans for the walnuts (since that’s what I had on hand)… and it came out great! Also followed reviewer’s suggestion to simply roll the bites in coconut “dust” for visual appeal. Reminds me of a fall version of rum balls — Hoping my vegan friend will enjoy them as much as I do!
Thank you for sharing, LJ! We hope your friend loves them too! xoxo
Florence says
I made this, but I didn’t have the ingredients to make the glaze, so I rolled the bites on finely shredded coconut, delish!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Florence. We are so glad you enjoyed the bites! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Laurie says
I love these! My food processor did a good job mixing the ingredients but failed me on the homemade coconut butter, so instead of glazing the balls, I rolled them in the coconut “dust” and orange zest and the result was wonderful. Thanks for this yummy treat!
Thank you for sharing, Laurie! xo
Taylor says
This recipe did not work for me the way it was written – unable to process, too thick and sticky, had to keep adding water and then they were far too soft and sticky when I rolled them. I think it would work better if after making the date paste, you remove it from the food processor and set it aside. Then process/pulse the dry into smaller bits, then add back in the date paste. Hope this helps! Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for the helpful feedback, Taylor! We’ll take another look and see if we can make improvements. Would you mind sharing what size food processor you have? We hope you enjoyed the end result!
Taylor says
7 cup!
Thanks for the info, Taylor! We’re giving it another test to see if we can ensure success for everyone! We use a similar size food processor, so it’s possible the wattage could be the difference? Either way, we’ll fix it!
Yasmin Sanchez says
Hi, Can I use almonds instead of walnuts? I am allergic to walnuts, cashews. Thanks
We haven’t tried it but it should work! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try.
Robin says
These had a nice 🙂 spice flavor with subtle pumpkin flavoring. Enjoying them for breakfast 😋
We’re so glad you’re enjoying them, Robin! Thank you for sharing! xo
Bianca says
These taste yummy, although they are very sweet. My food processor struggled to blend this mixture; it would basically stop mixing the batter and the blade would just spin. I had to keep adding water, stirring, and running the processor over and over. It was quite tedious and then the consistency ended up too thin, so I had to add more almond flour at the end to thicken them up. After refrigeration, they are still a bit too soft. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but I followed the directions.
Hi Bianca, sorry to hear that happened! Is it possible you were using dates that were really dry vs. sticky and moist? In that case, it can be helpful to soak them in water for a few minutes to soften them.
Emily says
Eh. I was really excited to make these, as I love your other recipes, but this one came out mediocre. They barely tasted like pumpkin. I added about 6 more tablespoons of pumpkin puree but the nut and oat flavors still took over.
Oh no! So sorry these didn’t turn out well for you, Emily! If you can find it we highly recommended using Libby’s brand pumpkin as it has the best flavor and texture. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Georgina says
How can I make glaze without making a large batch of coconut butter as posted ?
Hi Georgina! We like using store-bought coconut butter when we don’t want to make a batch from scratch, some good brands are Artisana, Nutiva, and Ostara. Alternatively you could use a little bit of powdered sugar, vanilla, and orange zest to create a more traditional glaze without coconut. Hope this helps!
Lucinda Maddux says
Can I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour in place of the almond flour? It has white and brown rice flour, potato starch, whole grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour and xanthan gum.
Hi Lucinda! Unfortunately Bob’s 1 to 1 is not ideal to eat raw, some of the ingredients are difficult to digest without cooking them and it could be unsafe. We’d suggest a nut flour, or even coconut flakes in place of a flour blend. Hope this helps!
Jen says
These are yummy! To me they have almost no pumpkin flavor, which was a little disappointing. But they do taste like “fall” with the spice blend and I love how healthy they are for a sweet treat! I cut down the amount of dates to one cup and still had good results in texture and sweetness. Keep the no-bake treat recipes coming—thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Jen! We’re so glad you enjoyed them overall! We intended them to be heavier on the pumpkin spice vs. pumpkin, but for more pumpkin flavor, make sure you’re using a flavorful brand (such as Libby’s) and you can try adding more pumpkin purée. If it’s too moist, adding more oats should help. xo!
Leiah says
Any ideas on a replacement for dates? Unpopular opinion, but I just don’t like them :(
Hi Leiah! We haven’t tried this without dates and aren’t sure how it would taste, but it’s possible that prunes or dried cherries could work instead, some type of moist dried fruit is essential here for the texture. Hope this helps!
Clara says
Best recipe ever made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed it, Clara! xoxo
Maureen says
Any suggestion for a substitute if cannot have nuts? These look and sound delicious and I love all things pumpkin too!
Hi Maureen! We haven’t tried it yet but we think it would work if you increased the oats and added shredded coconut and/or a little coconut flour. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Melissa Burns-Johnson says
I can’t do any grain. Are the oats necessary? Or is there something I can substitute for them?
Hi Melissa! You could increase the almond flour and/or add some coconut flakes for added texture. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Kat says
I can’t get dates. Could I use sugar?
How much?
Please and thank you. :)
Ps. Sounds yummy!
Pps. Except for the coconut… ew! lol
Hi Kat! Unfortunately sugar will not work in place of dates in this recipe, as the dates + the flour are what give the bites their substance and texture. If you have access to them, we’d suggest trying it with another dried fruit, perhaps prunes or dried cherries? Hope this helps!
Gitanjali morey says
Hi! Is it possible to make this without walnuts or any nuts?
Hi Gitanjali! Unfortunately the walnuts and almond flour are important for flavor and texture here, but it’s possible you could have success by increasing the oats and adding coconut flakes or coconut flour. We haven’t tried it, though! Hope this helps!
Jordan says
Hello there! These look so so delicious but my partner is allergic to tree nuts. Is there something we could substitute for the walnuts that may give a similar result? I’m thinking either pine nuts, shredded coconut etc but would love to hear any ideas from the community. Thank you!
Hi Jordan! We haven’t tried it but increasing the oats and adding shredded coconut could work! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Helen says
Hi Jordan, you can substitute nuts with sunflower seeds, raw or roasted.
Marie Goodloe says
I’m curious if you can use any other nut besides walnut, say pecans or almonds?
Pecans should work!
kathy says
Would there be a way to change this up and replace the oats and almond flour? I am allergic to oats and almonds. These look delicious and would love to make.
Hi Kathy! If you can do coconut flour, that could be one option, but we haven’t tried it ourselves yet. You would probably want to start with a lesser amount as it’s very absorbent. Hope this helps!
sage says
You could also try buckwheat flour. I often use buckwheat to substitute for oat flour.
Kim Emons says
Can I use normal flour rather than almond flour?
Hi Kim! Unfortunately you cannot use regular flour here because these bites are raw. You could try coconut flour (1/2 the amount) or perhaps increasing the oats? We haven’t tried it ourselves yet, but let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Charlee Hildebrand says
These sound amazing! Any suggestion of what to replace the almond flour… I recently found out I’m allergic and I’m not yet adept at replacing it!
Hi Charlee! We would not suggest using another flour unless it’s coconut flour or perhaps increasing the oats? We haven’t tried it ourselves yet, but let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Caron Gibson says
Would you mind suggesting an alternative to the rolled oats? I am highly allergic and find myself bypassing great recipes because I cannot think of a decent substitute. Thank you!
Hi Caron! We think you could increase the walnuts (maybe an extra 1/4 cup) and the almond flour (extra 1/2 cup) here and it would work well. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Barb says
Wonder if quinoa flakes would work as they are a good sub for rolled oats.
Debbie says
Can you use chickpea flour or another kind if you don’t have almond flour
Hi Debbie! We would not suggest using another flour unless it’s coconut or perhaps oat flour, but we haven’t tried it ourselves yet! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Kat says
Chickpea flour must be COOKED! :)
Anna says
These sound lovely! Could you replace the almond flour with regular flour or would that not work?
Hi Anna! Unfortunately because these bites are raw you cannot use regular flour. If you are allergic to almonds, you could try ~1/2 the amount of coconut flour, but we haven’t tried it. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Evalata says
I am beyond excited to make this! 😍🥳🥳🥳
Woohoo! Let us know what you think when you give them a try, Evalata!