Energy Balls Recipe with Oats, Gluten Free, Sugar Free

If you love oatmeal cookies, you will love this energy balls recipes made with oats, toasted in brown butter. They taste just like everyone’s favorite cookie but without any refined flour or sugar.

Now that many kids are doing school remotely, this is the perfect snack to keep them going!

When I originally wrote this post, it was to make something for kids that was healthy after visiting the school cafeteria and seeing all the sugar almost all the kids were eating

Would you believe me if I told you that the majority of these 10 year olds were eating sugar as the majority of their calories?

This is what inspired me to make an energy balls recipe with oats that would be sugar free, peanut free, full of healthy fiber and taste good.

I witnessed nearly every kid started lunch with dessert. Probably 80% of the chicken patties go in the trash and 90% of the baked potatoes get thrown away. That was the school lunch!

I’m not going to throw blame around, because as I see it, it belongs to everyone. The bigger problem is that no one “blames” anyone, because clearly, no one sees a problem.

The kids that brought their lunches were not much better, as at least 50% of the calories were pure grocery store, sugar snacks.

One of  boy’s at the table had a lunch that was 69 grams of sugar and the only thing remotely not junk food was apple sauce! He licked the jelly off his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and threw the rest away.

I left inspired to try to make a snack that could sustain energy and still be sugar free and tasty. This energy balls recipe tastes like oatmeal cookies, but has no refined flour or sugar. Swerve doesn’t spike blood sugar so there is no crashing. The oats, almond butter and grass-fed butter serve as healthy fats and let me say again, these are delicious.

My Process Energy Balls Recipe with Oats

I always toast the oats first in grass-fed butter and a little brown sugar. I used Swerve’s new brown sugar (amazon) which is going to make baking such a joy this Fall. If you don’t have that, just use all Swerve granulated. If you happen to have some Choc Zero maple syrup, you could add a tablespoon of that in for extra flavor.

I personally like them with one or two tablespoons of  chopped golden raisins for added texture (and a bit of sweetness).

These are great “pick me up” bars, the kind you can keep in the freezer when you need a little pick up or a bite of food in between meals that is also healthy and fast.

Sugar Free Energy Balls Recipe Using Nuttzo or a Chunky Almond Butter

These are sugar free, made with Swerve’s new brown sugar and granulated sugar. Swerve is a powdered erythritol.

I love Nuttzo (Amazon) which has 7 nuts and seeds, including chia seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds and is extra high in fiber.

If you don’t have Nuttzo, you can use an almond butter and add in some chopped nuts and a tablespoon of chia seeds for that added texture. You could also make these just with almond butter. I like the Maranatha brand.

More Grain Free Baking Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Paleo Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Energy Balls Recipe with Oats

Energy bars with coconut almond butter for a quick pick me up.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Healthy Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12

Calories: 116kcal

Author: Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• This Recipe contains Amazon Affiliate Links which earn a small commission.
• Preheat oven to 350 F. 180 c, gas 4
• 1/4 cup grass-fed butter
• 1/2 cup gluten free oats
• 4 tablespoons granulated Swerve Sweetener
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• dash freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons crunchy Nuttzo or almond butter ORDER HERE
• 2 tablespoons dried cranberries or golden raisins chopped (optional)
• 1 small egg beaten

Instructions

• Melt butter in frying pan. Add oats and sauté until golden. Mix with 1 tablespoon Swerve.
• Once oats are toasted, remove from heat. Allow to cool for at least ten minutes.
• Mix flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, nutmeg, sea salt cinnamon, remaining Swerve.
• Mix flour mixture with toasted oats.
• Add nut butter.
• Add cranberries or golden raisins if using.
• Add in just enough beaten egg to bring the mixture together. It will still be loose.
• At this point you can refrigerate overnight and make later.
• Roll into 12 balls.
• Bake for ten to 15 minutes. (Mine were done at 12 minutes)
• Store in a cookie tin to keep texture. You can store in plastic bag, which will soften the energy balls.

Notes

Nuttzo is a 7 nut & seed butter. You can use an almond butter and add in some chia seeds for extra texture.

Nutrition values are with almond butter and no raisins.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g

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