I can’t decide if these little coconut frosted, grain-free energy bites were inspired by my trip to Hawaii or this weekend’s blizzard on the east coast. These dairy-free bites are a perfect portable snack or grab and go gluten-free breakfast to keep you going while hiking along a Hawaiian beach or shoveling your way out of your house.
Either way, these are a great alternative to the store-bought energy or protein bars that are often packed with sugar. It’s amazing how much sugar is in some of the “protein” bars. In my opinion, most of them are only slightly better than a candy bar. But . . . off my soap box and on to better things!
For more grain-free snacks and treats check out my gluten-free banana-blueberry muffins, healthy banana cupcakes recipe, and my gluten-free vegetable spring rolls with dipping sauce.
Energy Bite Ingredients
Sweetener – There is no refined sugar in this recipe. I have used coconut palm sugar and coconut nectar as the sweetener. The sticky coconut nectar syrup also helps to bind them together. If you can’t find it, agave or honey for non-vegans can be a good substitute.
Cashew Butter – The cashew butter gives these energy bite richness and makes them satisfying. It also helps to hold them all together. Cashew butter can be quite expensive, so if you’re on a budget, use unsweetened peanut butter instead. If you have a nut allergy sunflower butter is a good option.
Roasted Chickpeas – You can find these crunchy chickpea snacks in many markets. The Good Bean is a great brand. If you can’t find them, you can make your own by roasting canned chickpeas like this:
- Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Spread them out on a kitchen towel to absorb any excess moisture.
- Lay them on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes at 400ºF.
- Remove the pan from the oven and stir the chickpeas to shift them around the pan then roast 15 minutes longer.
Store these grain-free energy bites in the refrigerator.
Grain-Free Energy Bites
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Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted garbanzo beans* The Good Bean or Chic A Peas are good brands
- ⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut + 3 Tbsps for coating
- ½ cup cashew butter
- 2 Tbsps coconut palm sugar
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Nectar or agave
- 1 Tbsp flax-seed meal
- 2 tsps cinnamon add 1 more tsp if you love cinnamon
Instructions
- Place the roasted garbanzo beans in the food processor and run for about 20 seconds or until there are no big pieces. It does not have to be completely ground to dust but all the beans should be broken in small pieces at least.
- Place the ground beans in a mixing bowl and stir in the ⅔ c shredded coconut, coconut palm sugar, flax-seed meal and cinnamon.
- Add the cashew butter and coconut nectar syrup and stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened. If the mixture seems dry, add another tablespoon of cashew butter and a teaspoon of coconut nectar.
- If you have a kitchen scale, place the bowl on it and pull out 1 ounce of the mixture and gently roll into a ball. Without a scale you can eyeball about 2 Tbsps of mixture per ball.
- If your hands get very sticky, give them a rinse after rolling a few. This will make the process easier.
- Roll the bites in the remaining shredded coconut (optional). These work best if stored in the refrigerator.
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