Yes, it’s more fudge… and yes, it’s more pumpkin.
How about we all just eat fudge and pumpkin, and pumpkin fudge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner??
I could seriously live off of pumpkin right now.
(I’m not gonna lie, I kind of am.. I seriously have pumpkin in some way or another every.single.day.)
I can’t help it! IT’S just SO good!!
Pumpkin energy bars, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin fudge…OH, and on MONDAY.. PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WAFFLES!
Do I need a pumpkintervention?!
See what I did there? yup. pumpkin.
This fudge is a DIRECT spin off of the Peach Pie Fudge I made quite a while back.
I was looking at the pumpkin puree which is indefinitely in my fridge right now, and I was like hmmmmmm, what else can I put this in?!
Then, I saw the almond butter, and on went the light bulb!
Fudge. Healthy, refined-sugar free, easy, simple, tasty, pumpkin pie -esque FUDGE.
I pretty much followed my peach pie fudge recipe almost exactly, but subbed in pumpkin for peaches, and added the pumpkin pie spice!
Oh, and I used all stevia as my sweetener as I’ve recently switched over to Sweet Leaf stevia, and I’m loving it!
This fudge is definitely guilt-free! One whole serving, and trust me, it’s a good filling size, is 166 calories, with 12g of healthy fats, and 6g of protein, thanks to my favorite North Coast Naturals protein powder!
There is less than 3g of sugar per serving, and only 6.8g of total carbs.. 3g of that being fiber, thanks to the pumpkin!
This is a perfect treat to keep in the freezer when you are feeling like a little something sweet! And of course, it’s perfect for the season too!
Let’s be honest here, I’m going to guess about 90% of you reading this post today are as pumpkin obsessed as I am right now, and you’ve got some puree in your pantry or fridge…
Am I right… or am I RIGHT!?
Time to put it to use, it’s FUDGE time!
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons natural almond butter
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- ½ banana
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used North Coast Naturals Whey Isolate - you can use a vegan powder to keep it vegan, or omit altogether)
- 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 3 packets stevia (I used Sweet Leaf brand - you could also use 2 Tbsp of coconut palm sugar, or 2 Tbsp of pure maple syrup)
- Heat coconut oil in a saucepan at medium heat. Add in pumpkin puree and sautee until warmed (about 3 minutes).
- Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together almond butter, stevia, banana, and almond milk. (The mixture may be a little clumpy from the banana but that is fine!)
- Add the almond butter mixture to the saucepan with the pumpkin and oil and stir together.
- Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and protein powder.
- Transfer the entire mixture to a food processor or blender and process/blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a muffin mold/brownie pan/cake pan and garnish with cinnamon. (I used a silicone muffin mold which makes it very easy to pop the fudge out when it's done, alternatively you can make these into bars by using a brownie pan)
- Freeze for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
- Enjoy!
Have a LOVELY weekend!!
Remember to stay tuned to the blog on Monday to check out the waffles I mentioned… it’s another guest post on GREATIST! 🙂
Christal
Nutritionist in the Kitch
Was wondering how many ounces of pumpkin in the can?
I believe it’s a 14-oz can! 🙂
thanks 🙂
Thanks a lot for this recipe–innovative and delicious! I made it in a silicon mini muffin pan. Since I am pregnant and want everything simplified I just put everything but the protein powder in my Vita-Mix blender, decanted the mixture into a bowl and mixed the protein powder in then. Protein powder can leave stubborn traces on the Vita-Mix container so that was the only reason why. It seemed the pumpkin was already cooked during the canning process so I guessed it didn’t need to be cooked again, and I liked the result–so it seems ok! Thanks a lot for your protein treats that are freezer-friendly, as I’m collecting recipes to make ahead in January before the baby arrives. This is def on the list. Cheers!
Update: if anyone else wants to make these in a high-speed blender like a Vita-Mix, I just made a second batch for my curious neighbour. Started with raw cashews that had been soaked for 6 hours instead of almond butter. I actually forgot to add the almond milk but it all worked out by blending everything (except the protein powder) at low speed, stopping and scraping several times. I poured the mixture into a glass measuring jug and stirred in the protein powder then filled a silicone mini muffin mould. Great! This time I added a pinch of turmeric for colour since the protein powder made it lighter, and turmeric is such a great spice for one’s health. It’s undetectable in the taste. The coconut oil and pumpkin were superlative. There was just enough left over for a little taste and it’s lovely. The rest is chilling in the freezer. Thanks a lot!
Thanks so much for the feedback Katharine! 🙂
Awesome – so glad you enjoyed this one! Congrats on the coming baby!! 🙂
Can anything be used to lower the fat content a little? Applesauce maybe in replacement for some of the almond butter or coconut oil?
You could try that – or even mashed banana, however the fat is really what makes the recipe – it’s healthy fats, so the key is moderation – small servings 🙂