My No Bake Energy Bars are one the most popular recipes on my site. They have been a huge hit with the cyclists, triathletes and endurance runners I work with, and have taken social media by storm. Speaking of which, there has been so many fantastic variations on Facebook and Instagram that I thought it was about time I created version two. So here it is, lower fructose and still packed full of good fats, protein and slow release energy. Natural fuelling at its finest.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 cup quinoa flakes
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup almonds, chopped*
- 2 tablespoons pepitas
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons goji berries
- ½ cup rice malt syrup
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat grill.
- Place quinoa, coconut, almonds and seeds onto a lightly greased baking tray and toast for 5 minutes, stirring mid-way.
- Pour toasted mix into a large bowl and stir through goji berries.
- In a medium saucepan, add rice malt syrup, salt and vanilla and bring to the boil (about 4-5 minutes until thick), stirring constantly. Your syrup should be thick and golden, but take care not to overcook as it will burn.
- Pour hot syrup over dry mix and combine thoroughly.
- Line a cookie sheet pan or cake/bread tin with greaseproof paper, or lightly coat in coconut oil.
- Transfer mixture and press firmly until flat (grease your hands with coconut oil to prevent sticking).
- Pop in the fridge to set first, then remove before slicing. Once at room temperature, cut into 8-10 bars. Store in an airtight container or wrap individually in glad wrap to take on the bike or for when you’re on the go.
Just as good as the original, don’t you think?
*For nut free, please add an extra half a cup of pepitas and/or sunflower seeds in place of almonds.
HI, I made these but mine came out hard and crunchy, could it be that I cooked the syrup to long?
They should be a little crunchy, but too much usually means not enough RMS in my experience. Try another batch and compare 🙂
My dietician has directed me to these as a replacement for store bought energy bars. I am doing 1/2 & full Ironman. Is this recipe suitable for long course and do you have the amount of carbs in them?
Also I know you are not a fan of the 80g / hour idea but I am trying to get my bearings on how much of this combined with your home made gels I should be consuming per hour during an event
Thanks for any advice you can offer
Where is the 1 tablespoon of cocunut oil used?
Hi Simon, there’s approximately 25g of carbohydrates per hour These are most definitely suitable for long course and I have many clients that use these in conjunction with Freedom Fuel. If you would like personalised assistance with your sports nutrition plan, I’d love to help. Please find out more here: https://thenaturalnutritionist.com.au/work-with-us/
To grease the tray if required 🙂
I made these yesterday – so delicious! But I found that 1/2 cup RMS wasn’t enough for all
The dry ingredients – I just got huge (yummy tasting) chunks and a lot of dry ingredients. Does the RMS get thinner and easier to mix in the longer u boil it? Don’t really want to use any more RMS as I don’t want to increase the calories…. This is the first time I cooked with RMS actually so just wondering what I did wrong….
The RMS does get thinner if you boil it longer and you should find this helps to combine with your dry ingredients. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the saucepan if need be, and don;t be concerned if you also need a touch more RMS as it will be relative to your measurements of the dry ingredients any way.
Made these for training. Delicious. Also added 2 tablespoons of powdered peanut butter. Adds some creaminess to the mix and fat.
I’m so pleased!
Hi Margaret, it’s to oil the baking tray.
Can something be used in place of rice malt syrup?
Hi June, rice malt syrup is our sweetener of choice as it is a blend of complex carbohydrates and fructose free. There are other substitutes such as honey and maple syrup, however we don’t recommend these syrups as they are high in fructose (type of sugar you should be avoiding where possible).
Hey Steph, I’ve recently cut added sugar out of my diet and when preparing for a few days away on a Business trip prepared a tray of these V2 Energy Bars and found them to be extremely hand AND great to eat.
The one small issue I had was the bars were set quite hard – is that they way they should form or did I make a mistake (quite possible!!)
Thanks for the help!
Hi Mark, they are quite crunchy but the amount of time you cook the rice malt syrup (RMS) will change this. As long as they still bind, cook the RMS for a shorter amount of time and that should do the trick. Really glad to her you are enjoying the bars!
Hi Steph,
How long do these keep for? Can’t wait to try them! Love the peanut butter idea too! 🙂
Thanks,
Priscilla
These will keep for a good fortnight in the fridge. Best cycling fuel (a tie with Freedom Fuel)!
Hey Steph, can the Quinoa Flakes be subbed with anything else? Just made the freedom fuel, tastes awesome. Will be testing it out tomorrow!
Have just seen someone else used puffed quinoa, have that in the pantry 🙂
What about agave or molasses? I don’t know where to find RMS here in France 🙁
Hey Steph,
I just want to track these lovely bars in MyFitnessPal
Whats the % of Fats/Protein/Carbs content per bar?
Typical bar size would be from the picture above.
Thanks!
Hi Keith, if you pop the ingredients into MFP and save it as a recipe, you’ll be able to pull the info direct from MFP.