I’m always looking for portable snacks and treats to help keep us going a little longer, whether at school, work, travel, or play. Here’s a light, sweet, gluten-free snack that’s easy to pack. If you like breakfast bars that are made of light, puffed rice and other gluten-free grains, this recipe is for you. And if you eat grain-free, the gluten-free puffed grains can easily be subbed with other great stuff.
The freeze-dried raspberries really give this treat a sweet, tangy flavor, and the pistachios add an additional texture to the raspberries and puffed rice. I found the freeze-dried raspberries at Trader Joe’s, and you can also order them online from places like Honeyville Grain and Nuts.com.
I’m not a big grain-eater, even the gluten-free kind, but I do occasionally have some rice or quinoa, and a bit of corn every so often. If you’re strictly grain-free (or on SCD) you can easily substitute the puffed grain with an the equivalent amount of nuts, seeds, dried and freeze-dried fruit to make a grain-free version of this treat.
Raspberry Rice Crispy Treats
I’ve perfected this recipe by adjusting the ingredient ratios (as of 5/26/2014). Here’s the old recipe for reference: 1/2 cup of honey (or maple syrup), 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt, 3 cups of puffed brown rice and millet (I use Nature’s Path), 1/4 cup of freeze-dried raspberries pieces (I used Trader Joe’s brand), 1/4 cup of toasted pistachio pieces (optional) If you can’t find millet, you can substitute with more brown rice. When I use honey with this recipe I add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract for additional flavoring. I like a hint of raspberry, but I can see adding another tablespoon or so of raspberries to the mix.Ingredients
- 3 cups of puffed brown rice and millet (I use Nature’s Path)
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup freeze-dried raspberries
- 1/4 cup chopped pistachios (toasted or raw; optional)
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C or gas mark 4).
- Spread the rice and millet on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Add the honey, water, vanilla and salt to a saucepan and bring the honey mixture to a boil. Lower the heat until the mixture has a bubbly boil. Cook for about 10 minutes or until it turns a darker brown, without burning it.
- Add the the rice, millet, raspberries and pistachios to a bowl and then add the honey mixture. Blend until well-coated.
- Line a baking dish or rectangular container with parchment paper and scoop the warm mixture into the dish. I use an 8 inch x 10 inch baking dish (20 cm x 25 cm).
- Using another piece of parchment paper and your hands, press down on the mixture to make it compact and uniform.
- Let it cool for at least 15 minutes and then slice into squares or rectangles.
- Store in a sealed container or wrap well to seal out air.
- Snack accordingly.
Makes 8 bars
I used this as a basic recipe for granola bars, it works perfectly! It was really easy and took 15-20 minutes total to make them. I added chia seeds, flax seeds, dried gooseberries, crazins, sunflower seeds, coconut, quinoa flakes and oats.. anything I had a small amount of left in my pantry. I didn’t have quite enough honey so I used a bit of maple syrup too. I can’t leave a recipe alone! I ate some out of the pan before it dried, really good! Next time I am going to add a bit of coconut butter and see how that works.Even with all the ingredients I used, it is still MUCH cheaper than buying granola bars from the store and so much healthier.
LOVE this recipe and so does my son who is on the Modified Atkins dietary protocol to control seizures. We also love your site and recipes even more b/c we live in Sammamish! 🙂 Back to food, the past few times I’ve made the recipe, they look great in the pan but then crumble whenI go to cut them. I use Agave in place of honey…any suggestions on what I’m doing wrong? BTW – we love to eat it kind of like cereal when it falls apart – no waste here!
thanks! a Sammamish reader! Yes, I haven’t made these in a while, and yes, they did crumble on me a bit. I remember that I increased the oil and honey a bit and that worked. I’ll add a note and try them again some time soon.
Just a quick fyi – I tried these this morning with 4 tablespoons of butter and pressed firmly, and they stuck together well. I suspect 1/2 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of butter/oil is the way to go. I’ll update it again soon.
Yet another update. I made a quick batch again but I baked them for about 7 minutes at 350 degrees F after pressing them into the baking dish, and, they stayed together quite well. I need to update this when I get a moment (which is unlikely for a few weeks). I’m not quite sure what to make of this, but more testing is in order for sure.
Just got some freeze dried fruit and am looking for ways to use it, this is so creative!
These look great. Is the puffed brown rice SCD legal?
no sorry – it’s not. Thanks for the correction!
We made these using dried strawberries and bananas from Target. They froze well, but were a little crumbly. Next time, we are going to try pressing them into silicon baking cups. Thanks for another great recipe!
I substituted light agave syrup for the honey 1/3cup, 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil for the butter, whole foods dried blueberries in place of raspberries, added a handful of finely shredded coconut- they came out Yummy. I also used the Erewhon Crispy Rice Cereal.
Hi there, I made these and they are fantastic. I did find them a wee bit dry compared to regular rice crispy treats. I would increase the liquid but worry that it would be too sweet. I’d love to hear what other people think. Thx!
yes, with the marshmallow rice crispy treats using the cereal, butter is added. I’ve been thinking about trying some oil or butter, I just haven’t done so yet.
I used coconut oil in place of the unsalted butter since we don’t do dairy, and it was delicious. I think I just had to get past comparing them to the typical rice crispy square. These are far better, and don’t leave hands sticky. Do you ever use different fruit? I was at TJ’s yesterday and picked up the freeze dried blueberries, strawberries and bananas to try different variations. Thanks for a great recipe!
Great idea using coconut oil. I haven’t tried another fruit. I have the freeze-dried blueberries but they didn’t taste good to me, even on their own, so I didn’t add them. I bet the bananas and strawberries will be excellent.
Made these this morning – YUM! Didn’t have the cereal called for so used Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice (GF) and they turned out AWESOME! Better than any rice crispy treat I’ve ever had! Thanks for the great idea! May have to try them with other TJ’s crunchy fruit too!
These look so pretty not to mention tasty!
Do you think these would freeze/thaw well?
Thanks!!
Kristy
not sure. sealing them tight is the best defense though, regardless if you freeze them.
These look amazing and I’m so excited that they’re marshmallow free! (I don’t eat gelatin). Heading to Trader Joe’s this afternoon…will keep my eye out for freeze-dried raspberries 🙂
How gorgeous! Clearly, I need to make a trip to the US so I can get Trader Joe’s dried raspberries! 😀
This recipe looks amazing!! I don’t have any cereal but do you think popcorn might work? Thanks!
The popcorn idea sounds great!