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Gluten, Dairy & Oat-free Energy Balls

by Megan Lavin » 41 Comments

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No bake, clean ingredients and crazy delicious–I’m talking I could tell my kids these were cookies and they’d have no idea they’re packed with B vitamins, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. These Gluten, Dairy & Oat-free Energy Balls are also free of: grains, gluten, dairy, egg, peanut, tree nuts and oats. Yes, an energy ball that is oat free! These can also be easily made vegan too.
gluten-free vegan energy balls

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If your child needs to be grain-free or has food allergies–it can be super tough to find filling snacks. I feel like my friends’ kids live of crackers, nutrigrain bars and protein bars–(jealous!) all of which can be next to impossible to find or super expensive to find something comparable that’s safe for my kids.

I’ve been on the hunt for awhile now to have something homemade that actually fills them up (IE–has lots of protein) and that they’ll actually eat.

ground buckwheatallergy-friendly energy balls

I kept seeing these “power balls” or “energy balls” float around the Internet for the past two years or so. I’d always be sad and wish that my son could have them–but I’ve only seen them made with oatmeal, and my son is allergic to oatmeal so I figured we’d never get to experience the no-bake bliss of these rolled wonders.

Lately, I’ve discovered the magic of buckwheat–it’s not even a grain, or related to wheat–someone just had a really bad idea to name it. I always figured it wasn’t safe until I realized only the name was misleading. It’s the best grain substitute and so I figured I’d try it in this super popular energy ball recipe and see if it’d still bind and taste good.

dairy-free energy balls recipegluten-free & dairy-free energy ball recipe

And it is WONDERFUL. Truly. Even my husband who doesn’t like the taste of SunButter really liked these balls. My kids will legit eat 3-4 in a row, and I don’t even mind. It’s a snack I don’t feel like I have to put limitations on because it has no refined sugar and it’s full of good stuff. I even find myself downing a bunch at a time. I basically need to start doubling the batch each time because we go through sixteen balls in one day. (Note–you can use any nut butter that works for your diet–there is a soy butter and of course almond, peanut–whatever works).

gluten-free energy balls recipe

The texture is even fabulous! The crunch from the chia seeds and buckwheat groats gives it a nice chew (reminiscent of the days when we could have that lovely snap from nuts), so that it’s not this soft, wet ball–like a lot of them look like. And by all means, if you’d rather not include chocolate, craisins would be just as yummy too!

I see myself adding these to lunches when I have to pack them next year and just always having them on hand.

Having hungry kids complain there is nothing to eat is one of the most frustrating things a mom can hear–especially when you have hungry boys who are bottomless pits. Don’t get me wrong–they love to snack on carrots and apples and such–but those never fill them up and five minutes later they’re scavenging the kitchen. It’s even more stressful when you feel like you don’t have a lot of options due to food allergies. I’m so grateful I’ve found a homemade, easy snack that is allergy-friendly!

And, if you need a paleo version (uses tree nuts), check out out HealthSeasonalRecipes’ Paleo Energy Balls.

I hope your family enjoys these Gluten, Dairy & Oat-free Energy Balls too!

oat-free energy ball recipe

Do you have a video showing how to make these Gluten, Dairy & Oat-free Energy Balls?

Yes, I do! I like to use TikTok because their videos are short and succinct. This general overview should give you a good idea of how to make these allergy friendly energy balls. I also have the video saved to my Instagram Highlight Bubbles. Enjoy!  

@allergyawesomeness##nutfree ##dairyfree & ##glutenfree energy balls. ##greenscreen ##foodallergy ##learnontiktok ##tiktokpartner♬ original sound – Megan Lavin


 

gluten-free vegan energy balls

Gluten, Dairy And Oat-free Energy Balls

Yield: 16 balls
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

No bake, clean ingredients and crazy delicious--I'm talking I could tell my kids these were cookies and they'd have no idea they're packed with B vitamins, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. This is also free of: grains, gluten, dairy, egg, peanut, tree nuts and oats. Yes, an energy ball that is oat free! These can also be easily made vegan.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add all of the ingredients and mix until everything is incorporated.
  2. Using a cookie scoop, scoop one ball at a time and place them on wax paper. (I find sometimes I have to use my hands to help roll it into a ball if it's a bit crumbly.)
  3. Chill for 30 minutes. Can be stored room temp or in the fridge, covered.
  4. *See notes section for additional questions/swaps.

Notes

Adapted from Clean Eats and Treats.

I made this recipe because my son couldn't eat oats at the time. He now can, and it's delicious both ways. Feel free to swap in oats for buckwheat if you can and want to, use oats at the same measurement.

Frequent FAQ--I use whole buckwheat kernels, I do not cook or crush them first. I like the crunch they give. I buy it in bulk at my local Winco.

For the protein powder, I use a soy protein powder (we can do soy) from Forever Living (in Arizona) because I got it for free for doing freelance writing for them for a bit. Use what works for you! I've also used Organic Organic Vegan Vanilla.

I've also swapped in hemp seeds in place of the chia seeds when I get sick of them getting stuck in my teeth.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 110Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 39mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 3g
© Allergy Awesomeness

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oat, dairy & gluten-free power balls recipe by allergyawesomeness

Looking for other buckwheat recipes? Try these:

Blender Buckwheat, SunButter & Banana Waffles (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan)

SunButter gluten-free waffles

Oat-free & Nut-free Chocolate Banana Granola Bars (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan)

Nut-free gluten-free granola bars by AllergyAwesomeness

Happy Trails Mix (Nut free, DF, Top-8-free)

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rebecca

    Can you use cooked quinoa instead? My LO is allergic to oats but really enjoys the many uses of quinoa plus i have so much on hand.

    Reply

  2. Serena

    I had no idea what buckwheat groats were – as a person with Celiac I was excited to find out they are gluten-free despite the name. Love that this recipe doesn’t contain oats (very hard to find energy balls like this). All this to say they were a hit 🙂 will definitely be making them again soon,

    Reply

    • Megan Lavin

      Serena–I had never heard of them either until we had to go gluten-free. So nice to have different grain options, right? Happy to hear you enjoyed them. Cheers!

      Reply

      • Avril

        Hi there 🙂
        I really want to try this for myself because I struggle so with my energy because of many chronic illnesses. But I really don’t like the texture of coconut at all. Do you recommend a substitute for that ingredient?
        ~Avril~

        Reply

  3. M

    These are SO GOOD!! I am allergic to oats, soy, and all nuts including coconut so made a couple of adjustments to this recipe and they are awesome! I never would have thought to use buckwheat groats and they really are crunchy like nuts!! I used pumpkin seeds instead of coconut, hemp protein powder, and maple syrup instead of the honey since I couldn’t find flavored protein powder and they are so good. I added a few more chia seeds (did a 1/4 cup as well). Usually healthy food like this isn’t that tasty, but these are awesome! Can’t wait to take them on some hikes.

    Reply

    • Megan Lavin

      Hi Rita, I am not a dietitian or a nutritionist, so I don’t feel comfortable calculating this. I do use a automated nutrition calculator, provided by my blog publisher, but I’m not entirely sure if there are better calculators out there, but hopefully it will give you a good ball park. It should be in the recipe card for you to look at. Enjoy!

      Reply

  7. Megan

    I made these and they were delicious! I would like to be able to take these on the go (biking) and was wondering if baking them would help to hold them together better to create more of an energy bar?

    Reply

  8. Heena

    Hi,
    This looks delicious ? my son can’t have coconut & have not tried honey yet as he just turned 1 can I replace honey with brown sugar? And what can I add instead of coconut ?
    Thanks
    Heena

    Reply

  9. Rachel Packer

    I have been searching for a protein powder that is safe ! Free of peanut, nut and egg. While I can find powders that may be free, I can’t find any additional info on cross contamination. Do you know o f any such powders??

    Reply

    • [email protected]

      I feel like lots of protein powders are good–can’t think of any off the top of my head…but I guess that depends on what you consider is safe. I go strictly off labels, but you can always call company if you want more info. I use Forever Living’s powder.

      Reply

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