So you all know that I've made healthier LCMS, without all the nasties, (if you don't check them out here) but I decided to address the requests I've had to make them without puffed rice. Instead I tried quinoa puffs, because why not? Making no bake quinoa puff bites is fun and easy and they are dairy free, gluten free and delicious!
I wanted desperately to differentiate these from my usual puffed rice bars, so I got a little cheeky and added some powdered beetroot to the mix. You could leave it out if it doesn't appeal to you, but it does make them pink, which is very pretty! The beetroot powder I used came from a very expensive foodies shop, but you can get it at Aldi without selling a kidney. Quinoa puffs on the other hand you'll find in the health food section of your supermarket as they are considered a breakfast cereal.
After 2 years at school, I'm constantly trying to come up with different ideas for the lunchbox and these are a winner. Easy to make, freezer friendly and super yummy, it's a good idea to make them bite sized. In fact you could also make my lcm bars this way. I set some in a mini cupcake tray and then set the rest heart shaped, because I love the cute factor. You could set it in a slice tin or similar if cuteness isn't a thing for you.
These no bake quinoa puff bites are best stored in the fridge, or freeze them on a tray and transfer to a container when solid. They work well in the lunchbox with a cooler bag and ice brick, but using coconut oil means they aren't self stable for any extended period at room temp. So you want to make sure they are staying cool.
Aside from this quinoa puff bites, you can also try these other healthy quinoa recipes I made:
- 5 ingredient eggy quinoa cups
- Cooking perfect grains- sweet potato and quinoa salad
- Coconut and quinoa chicken strips
No bake quinoa puff bites
Ingredients
- 2 cups puffed quinoa
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup rice malt syrup
- 2 tsps vanilla paste
- 2 tbsps beetroot powder optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil and rice bran syrup together in a small saucepan until thick and bubbly.
- Add the vanilla and mix through.
- Combine the coconut, quinoa puffs and beetroot powder in a large bowl.
- Pour over the hot syrup and mix quickly to combine.
- Press into mini cupcake moulds or a slice tin.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.
Holly says
These look fab! Has anyone had any success with subbing the puffed quinoa for puffed rice?
Kylie says
Just try the lcm bars. They are the same but made with puffed rice.
Kathrin says
These sound great, I'm forever looking for nut free, healthyish new things to make for my little one to be able to take to crèche. Could you substitute the rice bran syrup for anything else do you think, I'm not sure I'd be able to find it here? Thank you!
Kylie says
Hi Kathrin, it should be rice malt syrup (I made a mistake when typing). It's also known as brown rice syrup.
Kathrin says
Thank you for replying! I will try to find it, thought it might be something you can only get down under 😉