If you think about it, rice bubbles, aka puffed rice are amazing. They are big bubbles of rice with way more volume in same number of calories. They are created by heating rice kernels under high pressure, causing them to expand and become light and airy.
I’m using the rice bubbles with rolled oats to make these Crispy Chocolate Rice Bubble Bites. They are crunchy and tasty snacks for your fun afternoon.
Protein and calories in these rice bubble bites
These snack bars look big because of the puffed rice, but they are still relatively low in calories. In one serve of these snack bars, there are 315 calories and 10g of protein.Â
I have also used the protein powder to make the protein content higher. If you are not using the protein powder, you will still get some protein from the oats and peanut butter, but it will be a little lower.
Ingredient notes
Rice bubbles / puffed rice
It’s the main ingredient that brings the crunchiness and a natural sweet kind of flavour to these rice bubble bites. They are generally consumed as cereal so you might already have them at your home.
If you have a previously open bag of puffed rice, make sure you check if they are still crunchy enough. If they are not as crunchy, you can lightly roast them on a large pan and let them cool to make them crunchy again before using them in the recipe.
Rolled oats
Rolled oats provide the complex carbs to these snack bars healthy. Oats are also rich in protein, which is essential as we are basically making the protein bars.Â
As we are not baking these protein bars on heat, remember to roast them first. Also, to bring the crunchiness to the grains, let them cool for 10 minutes after roasting.
Protein powder
Protein powder not only helps to drive the protein content higher, it also gives the tasty flavour to this recipe. Although it’s an optional ingredient, I highly recommend adding it.
You can use whey, casein, or any plant-based protein powder. I used vanilla flavoured casein protein powder in this recipe.
Chocolate
It is important to use a dark chocolate bar instead of a regular chocolate bar to keep the sugar content lower. Dark chocolate is also healthier because of the higher amount of cocoa.
You can get 70% to 90% cocoa chocolate bars. If you prefer sweeter flavour, choose 70% cocoa one and if you don’t mind a bit stronger flavour, you can choose 90% one.Â
Storage
You can store these Crispy Chocolate Rice Bubble Bites in the fridge in a lid tight container and safely consume for 5 days. The crunchiness in the bars will also stay intact, which is amazing.
Recipe
Crispy Chocolate Rice Bubble Bites
Ingredients
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 20 g coconut oil
- 200 g peanut butter
- 1/4 cup protein powder
- 80 g rice bubbles
- 50 g rolled oats
Instructions
- Dry roast the oats on a pan over a medium heat and put it in bowl to cool down.50 g rolled oats
- Take a large bowl and break the dark chocolate into smaller pieces. Then, add coconut oil.200 g dark chocolate, 20 g coconut oil
- Microwave it for about 30 seconds or until the chocolate and coconut oil melts well. Then add the peanut butter.200 g peanut butter
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt and mix well.
- Add the protein powder and stir nicely.1/4 cup protein powder
- Pour in the roasted oats and rice bubbles.80 g rice bubbles
- Mix them well until it becomes a consistent mix.
- Get a silicon baking mat and fill in the pockets firmly. Then, put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Take the crunchy bites out of the baking mat and serve them chilled.
