Soft, chewy, perfectly spiced, and secretly packed with protein, these pumpkin protein cookies are my favorite way to get my pumpkin fix all fall long! They’re made with just 5 simple ingredients: pumpkin puree, almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla protein powder, and pumpkin pie spice. There’s no flour, no eggs, no butter, and no mixer. Just one bowl, a few minutes of mixing, and about 15 minutes in the oven.
Each cookie has about 10 grams of protein, and they’re naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and sweetened with maple syrup. They taste like a cozy pumpkin cookie from the bakery, but they’re the kind of treat I actually feel good about grabbing for an afternoon snack, a post-workout bite, or dessert. Plus, they’re perfect for meal prep: bake a batch on Sunday and you’ve got healthy pumpkin cookies ready to go all week!
If you love these, you’ll also want to try my Pumpkin Protein Balls, Single-Serve Protein Cookie, and 6-Ingredient Protein Muffins!
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Protein Cookies
- Just 5 ingredients and SO easy to make. Mix everything in one bowl, scoop, flatten, and bake. You don’t need a mixer, and you don’t have to chill the dough or wait for butter to soften. These pumpkin protein cookies go from bowl to oven in about 5 minutes!
- Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened. These cookies are made with no flour, no eggs, and no butter, so they’re naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. The only sweetener is a little maple syrup, and the pumpkin and vanilla protein powder do the rest.
- Perfect for meal prep. These cookies hold up beautifully in the fridge and freezer, so you can bake a batch once and have a high-protein snack ready all week. They’re great for lunchboxes, a pre-workout snack, or that 3pm sweet tooth.
How Much Protein Does Each Cookie Have?
Each pumpkin protein cookie has about 10 grams of protein when you make 6 cookies, and two cookies give you about 20 grams! The protein comes from two ingredients:
- Aloha Vanilla Protein Powder: the biggest protein boost, adding about 4–5 grams per cookie. Aloha is organic, plant-based, and has a smooth vanilla flavor that pairs perfectly with pumpkin spice. Shop through THIS link for 20% off Aloha!
- Almond butter: adds about 4–5 grams of protein per cookie, plus healthy fats that make these cookies soft, chewy, and satisfying.
Want even more protein? Peanut butter instead of almond butter also adds about 1 extra gram per cookie.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Dairy-free: This recipe is already dairy-free as written, because Aloha protein powder is plant-based! If you add chocolate chips, use a dairy-free variety like Enjoy Life or Hu Kitchen. If you swap in a different protein powder, choose a plant-based one, since whey and casein contain dairy.
- Nut butter: Any creamy nut or seed butter works. Peanut butter, cashew butter, and sunflower seed butter are all great swaps. Use sunflower seed butter for nut-free cookies that are safe to pack for school (note that it can turn the cookies slightly green when baked, which is totally harmless).
- Mix-ins: Fold in ¼ cup of chocolate chips, chopped pecans or walnuts, or dried cranberries for a fun twist. For pumpkin cheesecake cookies, top each cookie with a small dollop of sweetened cream cheese before baking!
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Pumpkin Spice Protein Cookies (5 ingredients!)
Equipment
- 1 medium bowl
- 1 cookie sheet
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup almond butter or any nut/seed butter
- ¾ cup Aloha Vanilla Protein Powder
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Chocolate chips for topping (optional)
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment.
- Mix together the pumpkin puree, almond butter, and maple syrup in a medium bowl. Then mix in the Aloha Vanilla Protein Powder and pumpkin pie spice.
- Scoop 2–3 tablespoons of the dough out onto the cookie sheet, press down to flatten the cookie, and top with chocolate chips (if using). Bake the cookies for 12–15 minutes, then let cool completely before serving or storing.
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