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Gluten Free, No-Bake Energy Bites

February 1, 2013 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 54 Comments

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Easy Gluten Free No-Bake Energy Bites that everyone will love!

Gluten Free No Bake Energy Bites | 5DollarDinners.com

NOTE: This is an older post…I’m not currently on maternity leave 😉

So. I’m on maternity leave.

But I have a problem. I really can’t sit still. We’ve been so blessed with oodles of help and gobs of food. Which has allowed me extra time to “sit still.” But, I just don’t sit still well. Despite my best efforts.

At least 12 times a day, I have to sit still. I’m nursing Austin, and boy does he like to nurse. He’s a little champion at it…regaining his birth weight at day 7…and who knows where we are now with his weight. (I’m tempted daily to bop in to the pediatrician’s office, just to see.) But I have to sit still…for a bit while he nurses. Minutes pass, hours pass…but during this “sit still” time, I still need something to do. While nursing Ryan back in the day, I turned to Alias. (Remember that TV show with Jennifer Garner…I so wanted to be a spy!) I watched all the seasons that were out on DVD at the time. With Charlie, it was catching up on 24. With Tyler, I worked right through…not taking much of a break.

And now with Austin, there’s Vine. (Which is no more.)

Gluten Free No Bake Energy Bites

I’ve been meaning to make the energy balls that float around all over Pinterest. And I finally got around to making them for an afternoon snack this week.

I used up all the oats I had in the house for the first batch that I made on Wednesday. So when I went to make them yesterday, I needed an alternative.

Gluten Free Rice Krispies….perfect! I dumped them into the bowl first, “broke them down” slightly by crushing them with my hand and then finished mixing up the no-bake energy bites.

Gluten Free No Bake Energy Bites

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did/do!

(Really, I have been enjoying the slower pace of maternity leave and all the cuddles with baby, and even the big boys!)

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Gluten Free, No Bake Energy Bites

No-bake energy bites are ridiculously delicious and fast to pull together. They are a great, filling afternoon snack for everyone. Gluten-free and regular options below.
Prep Time15 minutes minutes
Cook Time0 minutes minutes
Chill Time1 hour hour
Servings - 16 energy bites

Ingredients 

  • 1 1/2 cups gluten free rice krispies
  • 2/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 cup shredded coconut flakes
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Add the rice krispies (or oats) to a bowl, crush lightly with your hand or potato masher.
  • Add the peanut butter, honey, coconut flakes and cinnamon and stir together.
  • Then add the chocolate chips.
  • Chill in the fridge for about an hour. Then form into balls.
  • Serve and watch them disappear!

Notes

You can use certified GF quick cooking oats too.
If you wish to make a NON-GLUTEN FREE version of this, you can use regular quick cooking oats or regular rice krispies.
You can use unsweetened almond butter in place of the peanut butter.

 

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Filed Under: After School Snacks, Budget Friendly Recipes, Dairy Free Meal Ideas, Food Allergies on a Budget, Gluten Free Recipes, Healthy Snacks Tagged With: popular recipes

Comments

  1. Sheri says

    February 12, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    These sound really yummy. I’ll have to make that for my crew.

    I understand the whole nursing thing. I have watched a few shows in my many years of nursing. If you want to keep up on baby’s weight between visits, go to Walmart and in the fishing section they sell fish scales. It has a hook on it and I knot a blanket or use a sling. It’s really easy to weigh the baby and gives lb and oz. As ours gets heavier (over 20lbs now), I do have someone hold their hands under the baby as I lift him a few inches off the floor.

    Reply
    • Joan says

      January 7, 2014 at 4:57 pm

      My mother kept track of all her babies weights with one of these. All 14 of us, 7 boys and 7 girls.
      Your comment brought back a vivid memory of the ritual of the weighing of the baby!
      I’m going to make these Energy Balls for my hard-working daughter!

      Reply
  2. Phancy Design says

    February 26, 2013 at 12:59 pm

    Any idea at all on the calories, fat and fibre count for these? They look delicious!

    Reply
  3. Cindy says

    February 28, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    I have not seen gluten free rice krispies. I never really thought about them having gluten or not. Generally the entire breakfast isle has gluten. Thanks for the information I will have to look for this.

    Reply
    • Lori S says

      March 6, 2013 at 8:06 pm

      rice is gluten free

      Reply
      • Lesley says

        March 23, 2013 at 9:02 am

        If you check the back of the regular rice krispie box it says contains gluten.

        Reply
      • sue says

        September 3, 2014 at 5:10 pm

        I been using generic rice crispies for ages…I always look at the label and it doesnt say anything about wheat or contains gluten…maybe it is because it is the generic one?

        Reply
        • haley says

          September 3, 2014 at 11:55 pm

          It’s because they don’t contain wheat and there is no labeling laws for gluten. It’s the malt in rice crispies that you have to look out for.

          Reply
    • Shanda says

      September 4, 2014 at 9:05 am

      My son has been GF for 5 years and here’s a bit of what I’ve learned. Some Chex cereals are gluten-free (their box is labeled). GF Rice Krispies come in a smaller box that looks different from regular ones. Gluten is found in the following:
      Wheat
      Varieties and derivatives of wheat such as: wheatberries, durum, emmer, semolina, spelt, farina, faro, graham, KAMUT® khorasan wheat, einkorn wheat
      Rye
      Barley
      Triticale
      Malt in various forms including: malted barley flour, malted milk or milkshakes, malt extract, malt syrup, malt flavoring, malt vinegar
      Brewer’s Yeast
      If any of these ingredients is in a food, it is not Gluten Free. If you use ingredients that have come in contact with gluten (butter with a few regular bread crumbs), then an item is not gluten free. We’ve had instances where very kind people have meant to make GF snacks for my son, but haven’t understood these ingredients and therefore have made something unsafe for him to eat.

      Reply
  4. Katherine S. says

    March 5, 2013 at 8:41 am

    I am out of rice krispies, I am not GF but I am wondering if other cereals crushed would work, like honey nut chex or cheerios, i have a bunch of those around. I might need to try this later.

    Reply
  5. Melissa R says

    March 6, 2013 at 11:03 am

    These are awesome. I am 6 weeks pregnant and craving sweets. These hit the spot. I also added chia seeds to mine.. I even made some without coconut and put them in my husbands lunch, he liked them until I told him they were healthy lol..

    Reply
  6. Lori S says

    March 6, 2013 at 8:04 pm

    i make these all the time, and vary the recipe depending what i have…
    i skip the chocolate chips and add unsweetened cocoa powder or carob chips (helps with fat and calories but you still get the chocolate taste and eliminates the dairy), i also add (about 1/4 cup) ground flax seed (for some more nutrition).
    i only use 1 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of PB, and will sometimes add raisins if i’m feeling crazy! haha!
    also, a good tip, if you put in the fridge for 30 min (or more) they roll much easier.
    whats awesome about these is that they are so customizable with what you have in your pantry, and are great bite size snacks….and i make my vegan.
    i have never made with cinnamon, so i will try that next!
    i have learned if i bring them to work i need to leave some at home because they get eaten up in no time!!! (and they are all used to ordering out fat, unhealthy stuff, so im glad they are getting SOMETHING healthy once in a while! 🙂

    Reply
    • Suzanne says

      January 27, 2015 at 9:26 pm

      EnjoyLife brand chocolate chips are dairy free. soy free, nut free.
      I’ve been searching comments to see if anyone mentions sweetened vs unsweetened coconut. I try to only buy unsweetened but the texture is a fine shred (ground?) rather than nice fluffy shreds of the sweetened coconut from regular grocery stores.

      Reply
  7. Julianne says

    March 11, 2013 at 12:55 pm

    Yes, plain rice is gluten free. However, Rice Krispies or other puffed rice cereals often have malted barley syrup or other sweeteners that are NOT GF.
    Apparently even yeast can be a problem depending on what it is grown on, and that is not ever on the ingredient list. GF is tricky, but scratch baking avoids a lot of the hidden ingredient issues.

    Reply
  8. Local Coupon says

    March 13, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    Looks like good! easy way to do no bake… thanks for sharing this tips..

    _______________________
    couponfield.com

    Reply
  9. Alice says

    March 18, 2013 at 11:10 pm

    Is there a good substitute for the coconut? I’m not a huge fan.

    Reply
    • Alice says

      March 18, 2013 at 11:12 pm

      Never mind. I’m a goober.

      Reply
    • Alice says

      March 18, 2013 at 11:13 pm

      Never mind. I’m a goober. I see it’s either coconut or oats

      Reply
    • kirstin says

      March 22, 2014 at 8:08 pm

      When we made these we simply omitted the coconut because we didn’t have any and my husband isn’t a big fan of it anyway. It was still insanely delicious and took great willpower to not eat it all at once.

      Reply
  10. Alice says

    March 18, 2013 at 11:14 pm

    Never mind. I’m a goober. I see it’s either coconut or oats

    Reply
  11. Sheila says

    March 19, 2013 at 8:13 pm

    These look super! We are akways making weird power ball treats and these will be a nice departure from my standard of dates-nuts-coconut-chocolate.

    Reply
  12. Dona Collins says

    March 22, 2013 at 10:40 am

    I am slowly but surely exploring the possibility of going gluten free. My fiance and I could both benefit, health-wise, but are finding it difficult to transition. This recipe is DEFINITELY going on my list of things to try next week!

    Reply
  13. Majid says

    April 13, 2013 at 3:01 am

    These look super! We are akways making weird power ball treats and these will be a nice departure from my standard of dates-nuts-coconut-chocolate.

    Reply
  14. Energy Balls says

    April 16, 2013 at 8:25 pm

    Adding a little coconut oil to the energy balls helps with shelf life and adds some nutritious fatty acids as well!

    Reply
  15. Carlo/Carlo At Your Service Productions says

    April 17, 2013 at 11:54 pm

    I don’t know what happened or why… but, I recently (and suddenly) have been plagued with Celiac food allergy disease. Go figure. I was eating everything just fine, for like… forever. Then, suddenly, my body says “No!”. So, I just found out that gluten-free recipes are the new way I have to go.

    Thanks for posting so many great recipes. You’ll have me cooking for months! Yum!

    Reply
  16. The Cocktail Lady says

    May 20, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    Yum! These look so good! Thank You for the recipe, I just may have to try these myself =)

    Reply
  17. Hal from Swagbucks says

    May 29, 2013 at 4:54 pm

    $5 Dinners, 6 Second Recipes.

    Those look INSANE. Will there be any in Cincy?

    Asking for a friend.

    Reply
  18. Nancye... says

    July 7, 2013 at 5:27 am

    I make something very similar, using what we call Rice Bubbles which are the same as Rice Crispy’s I think, but instead of using chocolate bits, I use diced dates, and replace the honey with Malted Barley Syrup which we love, and it’s completely Vegan…

    Just a suggestion…

    Reply
  19. Sammy6622 says

    August 28, 2013 at 8:26 pm

    Sounds yummy! But oats are not gluten free 🙁

    Reply
    • Michealle H says

      February 18, 2014 at 2:10 am

      Quick oats are not gluten free because of the processing they go thru, but old fashioned oats or even steel cut are. My girl has celiacs so we have now found we can do oats, some peoples body reacts to the protein in the oats while others don’t.. good luck.

      Reply
  20. marcy says

    September 14, 2013 at 7:58 pm

    hello! these are delicious! I just made them and want to know if they are to be kept in the fridge or left out? 😉 Thanks!

    Reply
  21. Rachel Pitzer says

    September 22, 2013 at 8:47 pm

    I like to add chia seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds to mine, for extra protein and brain food!

    Reply
  22. Carole says

    September 22, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    Lol! I clicked on the link to this recipe tonight while watching, for the umpteenth time…”alias”!! We are going thru all 5 seasons 😉 we had a good laugh when I read your post!! Can’t wait to try the recipe now!

    Reply
  23. Heather says

    January 13, 2014 at 11:55 am

    I have seen these all over and want to try them but I have a nut allergy. Any suggestions for substitutions that would make these just as tasty as every says they are???

    Reply
    • LEsley says

      September 3, 2014 at 5:20 pm

      Sunflower seed butter is a good swap!

      Reply
  24. Folly says

    January 18, 2014 at 7:03 pm

    Hey all,
    I calculated some nutrition info. These are the ingredients I used:
    Great Value Quick Oats
    Planters Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
    Kroger Clover Honey
    Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flakes
    McCormick Ground Cinnamon
    Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Mini Morsels

    Per ball–
    Calories: 151
    Carbs: 16.5 g
    Sugar: 10 g
    Fat: 9.4 g
    Protein: 3 g

    Overall, I’d say there’s a little too much sugar for these to be considered healthy (women should not consume more than 25 g per day), but they’re really delicious, and if you’re in a hurry, these are great.

    Reply
    • Suzanne says

      January 27, 2015 at 9:38 pm

      You can cut some of the sugar by getting unsweetened peanut butter, and darker chocolate (or use less chips), and maybe a puffed rice cereal without (or with less) sugar… but would they be as tasty? 🙂

      Reply
  25. Carol Davies says

    September 3, 2014 at 6:47 pm

    what can the coconut be substituted with — we are allergic

    Reply
  26. jacqui says

    September 4, 2014 at 9:54 pm

    Just made these. Quick easy and delicious. Thank you

    Reply
  27. Helen Evans says

    September 6, 2014 at 9:26 pm

    I would love to have this to share with others. Thank you very much!!

    Reply
  28. Renata Ribeiro says

    January 7, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    These were so yummy! And better gluten free. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Joana Machado says

      March 23, 2015 at 12:29 am

      I’ll try to make gluten free recipes in my kitchen! Tks!

      Reply
  29. Alberto says

    February 8, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    I love it! Thank you very much!

    Reply
    • Marilia says

      April 9, 2015 at 7:36 am

      Oh my Gosh! Tks for this post. I loved and I’ll try to eat these foods.

      Reply
  30. LL says

    July 17, 2017 at 9:41 am

    I always get too lazy to finish rolling them all up into balls…much easier to just flatten and cut into bars.

    Reply

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