Gluten-Free Sweet & Salty Paleo Bites Recipe
Ummm… I somehow concocted these seriously, oh so addicting, what I’m going to call, Sweet & Salty Paleo Bites! I was trying to make grain-free granola bars that were actually edible and ended up with this:
Sweet & Salty No-Bake Paleo Bites
yield: 8 SERVINGS
prep time: 5 MINUTES
cook time: 2 HOURS 15 MINUTES
total time: 2 HOURS 20 MINUTES
Make these sweet and salty, no bake paleo bites that are perfect size for a snack.
Ingredients
- Nuts & Seeds
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup pistachios (I used salted)
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped – Optional (or choose another dried fruit you have on hand)
- 1 3oz chocolate bar with at least 70% Cocoa, smashed/chopped
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup honey (or Agave Nectar)
- 1 tsp salt
Directions
1
Mix all of the nuts and seeds in a medium bowl. Take out about half and blend in a Vitamix or blender until they are finely ground.
2
With the other half, chop or do what I do (put in a Ziploc bag and pound with a meat tenderizer). Put both sets of nuts and seeds in a bowl.
3
Add the shredded coconut, chopped cherries, chocolate and salt to the nut mixture. Stir to combine.
4
In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine the honey, coconut oil and almond butter.
5
Then turn up the heat and bring to a boil for about 1 minute, then take off heat. Pour this hot mixture over the nut and seed mix.
6
Stir until all ingredients are combined.
7
Firmly press the sweet & salty mix into a greased 8×8 pan (or line with parchment paper). Let cool for about 15 minutes and then, again, press the mixture down into the pan very firmly.
8
Place pan in fridge for at least 2 hours to chill. The longer they chill, the better tasting they will be!
I got lucky! These are amazing. Sweet and salty all in one bite! It doesn’t get much better than that. 😀
Oh and did I mention that they are super easy to make and you can substitute various ingredients with items you already have on hand. Plus, no baking is needed. Easy Peasy!
wow, this sounds dangerously good,
Wow those look good!
These sounds YUMMY! I just “pinned” this recipe. I would LOVE to see you have a tab just for your “paleo” posts. 🙂
I am actually almost done creating a blog just for these recipes… stay tuned! 🙂
These look yummy Collin..you had me when you put ‘shredded coconut’..oh gosh.. btw..I did order the coconut oil from Vitacost.. I have a question.. I made scrambled a few eggs..I knew my husband would try the coconut oil if I made him some eggs right ? well.. I only used a ‘half teaspoon’ of the coconut oil. Of course it is a solid, but feel the coconut was a bit overpowering in flavor and the eggs turned out a little oily. I thought I didn’t use enough compared to butter or olive oil.. until I saw them glistening..haha.. so..tell me the trick to using the Vitacost brand coconut oil..I like coconut, but I don’t want everything I eat to taste like coconut..can you help me please? Been so busy..haven’t had time to make any good dishes w/ the oil..we have been eating foods I had prepared and frozen in bulk for past few weeks.. Gotta love taking homemade thai curry chicken out of freezer and heating it up ..and serving it over jasmine rice. Thnx in advance
Hi Joy!
I actually always use coconut oil when scrambling my eggs and haven’t noticed a coconut taste in them… I find it very mild. However, everyone will have their own opinion on this, as we all have different tastes.
Other recipes you may want to try coconut oil in – when baking cakes and when roasting veggies (I love pouring coconut oil over my veggies before roasting). I also have previously used coconut oil to pop popcorn. Tastes amazing!
Thanks Collin… I will have to try it with my baked butternut squash and other dishes.. I do like a tiny hint of coconut flavor..but I think I put too much.. haven’t tried it with popcorn yet….
You can buy refined coconut oil that does not have any flavor/odor to it. It loses some of the benefits of unrefined, but is much better for you than canola/vegetable oil!
Thanks Monica..I may look into that after I use this up..I think my husband would enjoy not tasting coconut better..I have to think about us both of course when cooking.. I don’t mind a hint of the taste in my eggs and such..but then again I don’t eat much dairy anyway. What brand doesn’t have a flavor ..can you recommend one? thnx
Hello Joy
I use Tropical Traditions “Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil”. Yes, it is little refined comapred to Extra Virgin, but there is no chemical/solvent involved to refine it. Check their website http://www.tropicaltraditions.com so you see how they refine it. There is no taste whatsoever and I get the benefit as well..
Hope you find it useful.
Joy-
I have the same issue with Nutiva, my husband is very picky/sensitive to the flavors I cook with. I love it though! Also you can get a double pack of 54oz from Amazon for $54 and free shipping.
Do you find that it is difficult to meet your needs for fiber with this diet? Or do you meet it because of the high levels of fruits and vegetables that you eat?
Hi Jessica,
I way over-exceed my fiber intake. I consume so many veggies and fruits on a daily basis, so my fiber intake is super high! 🙂
Bet these go wonderfully with COFFEE!!!!! And so much cheaper than the salty caramel bites at Starbucks! 🙂
Yep! 😀 …But doesn’t everything go great with coffee?! 😉
You could substitute the nut butter for any nut butter that is paleo(cashew, sunflower seed, peanut?). You could also sub in raw coconut syrup or brown rice syrup(if allowed on paleo?) for the honey.
not peanut butter. peanuts are legumes and legumes are not paleo/primal/ancestral
.
these look amazing! Can’t wait to make them!!
Wow, those look absolutely devilish! Think I’ll make them Friday since we are having friends over for fried fish and dessert slipped my mind! I bet they would think its fudge!
I wish I could click like…so LIKE. haha
They look so yummy! Thank you for sharing!
Wow those look good. And not paleo looking at all.
I’ve really been researching Paleo diet the past couple of weeks. So glad you are sharing your paleo recipes. I think I can make the leap I’ve been wanting to and try the Paleo way.
I wonder what the calorie count is with these because I seriously would eat the whole pan. Wow, Collin you really need to be on food network, I’m so in love with your paleo recipes, I’m dying to make this one. I think for Easter I’ll slurge!! Thanks for sharing your amazing talent!!
I’m wondering the calorie count as well!
See my comment below about calories…
These look delicious!
I’m loving these Paleo recipes; thanks! A couple months ago, I started eating paleo/primal and my “pregnancy-induced” heartburn and nausea completely stopped. Such relief. I just wish I’d known with my four previous pregnancies.
You ate an endangered species chocolate bar?
ANY chocolate bar in my house is an endangered species. (:
https://www.vitacost.com/endangered-species-chocolate-extreme-dark-black-panther
Oh gosh can you send a piece my way! Yummm
Collin, I love that you post these. I have been doing 80% paleo 100% of the time for 2 months..I get a lot of my recipes off of Pinterest. In fact, I plan my meals for the week thanks to Pinterest 🙂 Here’s an awesome recipe for cinnabun muffins that I found and has become one of my staples (they almost seem too good to be true!) They go GREAT w/ coffee & paleo coffee cream 😉
https://comfybelly.com/2011/08/cinnamon-bun-muffins-using-coconut-flour/
My family follows the Primal Blueprint and we make primal protein bars similar to this. Try pressing your mixture using a muffin tin with cupcake liners next time. The portion size is perfect and the muffin cup liner makes it a great on-the-go snack. I just fold over the top of the muffin liners, thrown them in a ziplock that stays in the fridge and we grab them on our way to the park/trail/where ever! 🙂 Muffin tins are amazing for portion control!
This is a great suggestion. Thanks!
I follow a low carb diet so I can’t have agave nectar or honey. What other sweetener could I use? These look yummy!!
How about Stevia?! 🙂 I Love the NuNaturals brand.
Maybe even the liquid stevia – such as the chocolate or the vanilla creme!
………
I have everything but the shredded coconut – I hate shredded cocount. Will have to figure out what to sub? Any suggestions? Maybe some more dried fruit?
wow, just did a rough calorie estimate because I was really curious. I looked up each item and there are well over 5,000 calories in this thing, or over 300 calories for a tiny 1/16 square!
These are definitely not low in calories, as they are filled with nuts and seeds – which are higher in calories… BUT nuts are filled with so many nutrients – including fiber!
You also can actually get about 30 small squares out of this. So I would guess each square would be around 150 calories (maybe more, maybe less depending on what you add). I personally do not count calories.
I also think these are a lot better to indulge in than let’s say a handful of M&M’s – which probably have less calories.
I understand your concern. Actually a lot of the Paleo sites recommend eating very modest amounts of nuts if you are looking for weight control/loss.
Collin, thanks so much for these awesome gluten-free recipes! My 3-yr old was diagnosed with Celiac last week, so I am scrambling… but you are helping me to do my couponing and recipe research in one stop!
Those look so YUMMY! I can’t wait to have my 11 yr old daughter make them. We have found out on our own that part of her JIBS comes from too much gluten. We are always on the look out for yummy and easy reciepes. She could make this one herself. THat is a plus for me. 🙂 Thank you so very much Collin for sharing.
So I just made it, ended up having everything on hand. Licked the spoon to try it and oh my goodness. I am putting it an my recipe book.
I love your Paleo recipes!!! How do you manage to create such yummy “from scratch” recipes, move cross country, have such a positive attitude and have the time to find some of the best couponing deals on the web? I want your secret on how you can accomplish so much! Love, love LOVE your couponing deals!!!!
My oh my Collin…Yum-O!!!!! My hubby is gonna LOVE this.
Can’t wait to try these!
For Collin and those of you on this diet, how do you deal with eating out at restaurants and going to get togethers with friends? I just started a diet similar to this recently and I feel like I’m the only one I know eating this way — It’s a struggle when everyone else is eating normally. (I’m doing it for health reasons.)
I am not a full on paleo, as I do eat dairy & such, but in moderation. When I go out to restaurants with family or friends (usually spur of the moment, maybe 1-2 times a month), I let it be my “off day” and don’t get hard on myself for choosing a pasta dish! I tell the server to bring me a go box right away and put half aside. Sometimes though, I’ll split a dish with someone.
If its a get together/family function that I know about ahead of time, I eat before I go so I’m not starving and woofing down food left & right. I get a small plate so that forces me to be selective when choosing appetizers. I like to fill up on fruits/veggies first if those are an option. Try to keep it light on the fried foods or pasta/rice items and allow myself something sweet. I’ll sip on a glass of wine if water isn’t available.
I don’t find it a struggle b/c eating this way is MY normal!
My family (myself, my husband and our two girls 2 and 12 weeks) are whats called Primal. It is very similar to Paleo, but slightly less restrictive. When we go out to restaurants we try to go to places that are meat based – so we’ll pick a steak place over an Italian restaurant for example. If veggies are scarce we’ll choose a battered veggie – although it generally tears up my stomach when I eat battered food! As for general day-to-day outings, we pack a lunch box with snacks and food for everyone – beef jerky, string cheese, nuts, apple sauce squeeze packs, juice, water, fruit leather etc. At family functions we don’t have an issue because our family knows we eat this way and will either cook to suit or we’ll bring dishes with us!
I love this website! Not only do I save money on lots of things, but I learn about so many things that I wouldn’t otherwise. Thank you Collin and everyone who posts your thoughts and ideas.
These look delicious! 🙂 My husband is not a big fan of nuts, but is a big fan of chocolate. Do you think these would be delicious without the nuts? Or do you have another paleo recipe for chocolate!
I don’t see where Collin says to add the chocolate. Can someone please direct me to where it says this in the steps? Thank you!
Oh nevermind. I read it for a 3rd time and finally found it this time =) Thanks!
Collin – you’re paleo?! I’ve been trying to change my diet recently to it, but I’m having terrible success lately. I gained a lot of weight the last year in the Army due to prepping my unit for deployment, and now I’m stuck trying to lose 70lbs! I’ve never had to lose so much weight in my life. It’s a little depressing!
really good. Just made it.
Do you have the nutritional information on these? i.e. calories, fat, protein?
Made these today and they are Amazing! I really needed a sweet treat and these hit the spot. I am a week into giving up wheat and these are going to help a lot. Thanks so much.
mlflash, dreesip,
gaia2009 https://www.gaia2009.com/