This homemade Aussie bites recipe is a copycat of the Aussie bites you can purchase at Costco. They are a lovely snack bite like an oatmeal cookie with superfoods like dried fruit, seeds and more. Moreover, this version is gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free.
How to Make Aussie Bites
Starts by preheating the oven to 350° F. Next, you have two options for how you would like to bake these bites. The first is a 24-cup mini muffin tin which you can grease lightly for easy removal of the bites.
The other is on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Not everyone has a mini muffin pan, so the baking sheet method makes this recipe extra versatile for those with limited kitchen equipment.
Making the Oatmeal Bites Mix
The first step to making the Aussie bites mix is to pulse 1 cup of the rolled oats in a food processor until finely ground. Next, you add the remaining oats to the food processor along with the apricots, raisins, coconut sugar, shredded coconut, puffed amaranth, sunflower seeds, flax meal, chia seeds, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda (see below for some ingredient substitution suggestions).
You should pulse this mixture until the dried fruit is cut up into small pieces, but it shouldn’t become finely ground.
The final ingredients that go into the mix are coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. At this point, you can pulse the food processor just until the wet ingredients are combined with the dried fruit, oat, and seed mixture.
Shaping the Aussie Bites
If you chose to use a mini muffin pan, you can simply press even quantities of the oat mixture between the cups. I recommend that you use a tablespoon-sized scoop as you divide them to ensure you get an equal amount into each cup.
Alternatively, if you chose to use the baking sheet for baking the bites, you can divide the oat mixture into 24 even-sized mounds. A 1 tablespoon cookie scoop (or rounded measuring spoon) is an excellent way to do this. See my Instagram pic below
The next step is baking the bites until they become golden and set. The bake time should only be a total of 10 to 12 minutes. Once baked, the best way to ensure that the bites stay intact is to allow them to cool in the pan or on the baking sheet before removing and storing. However, if you think they may have stuck to the tin a little, feel free to run an offset spatula or knife around the edges to gently loosen them.
These will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week. They make wonderful snacks throughout the day but you could even enjoy them as an on-the-go breakfast.
Ingredient Replacements
The wonderful thing about this Aussie bites recipe is that similar to homemade granola or granola bars, there is some versatility in the ingredient list.
- If you don’t have dried apricots, you can feel free to replace them with dates, figs, or prunes instead.
- You can replace the raisins with dried cranberries if desired.
Almost any dried fruit will work in this recipe as long as it is sticky as it helps the bites mixture hold together. This is a great place to use up some leftover dried fruit from holiday baking.
The sweeteners are replaceable too. For example:
- if you don’t bake with coconut sugar often, brown sugar or cane sugar will both work just as well and add a similar caramel finish.
- Additionally, if you aren’t concerned about the bites being vegan, feel free to use honey in place of the maple syrup. However, agave nectar will work well here as well.
Some of the dry ingredients can be replaced also. I’ve replaced the quinoa from the original bites with puffed amaranth. Amaranth was a prominent part of the Aztec diet and is commonly used in Mexican snacks. It has become more widely available in recent years due to its health benefits. It is high in protein and fiber, also containing important nutrients like iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus.
While amaranth is becoming easier to find, it can sometimes be difficult to purchase in its puffed form at the grocery store. You can find it online or check out my friend Lorena’s tutorial for popping amaranth at home.
- Alternatively, you can use puffed, cooked, or raw quinoa instead. Quinoa is similarly high in protein and fiber and is gluten-free.
Finally, if you don’t have sunflower seeds or chia seeds, here are some other seed options:
- pumpkin seeds for a pop of green colour and crunch
- hemp hearts
- whole flax
- or sesame seeds.
Other Bites Recipes You’ll Love:
Aussie Bites Recipe
This homemade Aussie bites recipe is a copycat of the Aussie bites you can purchase at Costco. They are a lovely breakfast-type snack with dried fruit, shredded coconut, oats, puffed amaranth or quinoa, chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla, and more. Moreover, they are gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free making them suitable for a variety of diets.
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 cups rolled oats *
- 1/4 cup dried apricots prunes, figs or dates can be substituted
- 1/4 cup raisins or cranberries
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar or brown/cane sugar
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- 1/4 cup puffed amaranth or puffed, cooked, or raw quinoa
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup flax meal
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup honey or agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 24-count mini muffin pan or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add 1 cup of the rolled oats to your food processor. Let it run until the oats are turned into a fine flour.
To that add the remaining 3/4 cup of rolled oats, 1/4 cup dried apricots, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup coconut sugar, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 1/4 cup puffed amaranth, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup flax meal, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda.
Close the lid and pulse the food processor repeatedly until the dried fruit is cut up into small bits.
To the dry mix add 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pulse again until everything is evenly moistened and combined.
Divide the mixture into the prepared mini muffin cavities and press down to compress the Aussie bites. Alternatively, use a small cookie scoop (1 tbsp size) and form 24 mounds on a lined baking sheet.
Bake the Aussie bites for 10-12 minutes until golden. Let them cool in the pan (or on it) before removing and storing.
Keep the Aussie bites in an airtight container at room temperature for about 1 week.
Recipe Notes
*be sure to use certified gluten free oats if required
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