These healthy no bake “Nutella” cookie dough breakfast bites are soft, chewy and are perfect for breakfast! High in protein and completely refined sugar free, these quick and easy no bake bites are naturally gluten free, vegan, grain free, paleo and dairy free!
It was high time I gave my sister’s favorite recipe a grain-free makeover.
Long-term readers may recall that my sister would always take sleep instead of breakfast any day. It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy breakfast, it’s just that she is lazy she is smart.
No, you didn’t read that incorrectly.
Before I started the Whole30, I had developed a bad habit of skipping breakfast in favor of sleep. To compensate, I’d be having a couple of energy drinks (for those who follow on Instagram stories, it’s the large 500 ml cans). Granted, it served two purposes- It gave me a huge sugar rush, along with a hefty dose of caffeine too.
Since energy drinks were the first thing to be eliminated from my diet on January first, I’ve had to get back into the habit of having breakfast. Although these breakfast cookie dough bites are not whole30 compliant, I will be whipping them up come February the 1st.
WHY?
I’m not sure what is in the air (or if perhaps my memories of Italy have dawned upon me), but (pre-whole30) I’ve become a little addicted to all things Nutella. I’m not talking about the ones found in jars (which I do love too!), but the homemade version I always have on standby. The beauty of making your own is that you can completely control the ingredients list. Let’s be real here- The classic Nutella ingredients are just a little bit misleading.
Making your own homemade ‘Nutella’ is easy, and all you need is a solid high-speed blender or food processor. You add your unsalted hazelnuts (you can peel the skins off or leave them on!), cocoa powder and then you follow your taste buds path-
For a sweeter more classic ‘Nutella’- You can add some pure maple syrup, light agave syrup or even some granulated sweetener (I don’t really like this one, as it becomes gritty, but it still comes out!).
For those you just want a cocoa/hazelnut spread, simply omit it! You’ll need a little coconut oil and water to make it creamier/smoother.
Okay, enough rambling- Let’s get into these healthy No Bake Nutella Cookie Dough Breakfast Bites!
These healthy no bake “Nutella” Cookie Dough Breakfast Bites are a quick, easy and delicious recipe which takes minutes to whip up! Using just a handful of ingredients, they require minimal prep and can even be made in big batches for a quick grab and go breakfast! In fact, I love whipping up double the amount and placing them in baggies in the freezer and just whip one out a few minutes before breakfast! The ingredients themselves are healthy, wholesome and easy to adapt. They are also packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats! These breakfast bites are also naturally paleo, vegan, gluten free, grain free, dairy free and refined sugar free!
When it comes to their texture, it’s easy to adapt it to your preferences! For soft, doughy, fudge-like no bake bites, enjoy at room temperature. For firmer, ‘cookie-dough’ like textures, enjoy straight from the fridge or thawed slightly from the freezer.
HACK! Not a fan of hazelnuts? Feel free to swap out the ‘Nutella’ in this recipe for chocolate almond butter, classic almond butter or even cashew butter. For a nut-free alternative, you can use soy nut butter or sunflower seed butter. If you do use one without any cocoa/chocolate in it, feel free to add an extra tablespoon or two of cocoa powder.
For those of you who want a protein hit, this tastes delicious with Growing Natural’s Brown Rice Chocolate Power protein powder- Several readers have even said it’s been the best tasting plant based protein powder FOR NO BAKE RECIPES!
Make these healthy No Bake Nutella Cookie Dough Breakfast Bites and T-minus 22 days until I can polish these off.
No Bake Nutella Cookie Dough Breakfast Bites (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour can sub for gluten free oat flour, if not strictly paleo
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder optional
- pinch sea salt
- 1/4 cup hazelnuts roughly chopped
- Granulated sweetener of choice*
- 1/2 cup homemade paleo ‘nutella’ can sub for any nut or seed or soy nut butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup OR brown rice syrup brown syrup is not paleo friendly
- Milk of choice**
- 1/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour(s), protein powder (if using it), cocoa powder, salt, crumbled hazelnuts, granulated sweetener of choice and set aside.
- Add your paleo friendly nutella and mix into the dry mixture- It should be incredibly crumbly. Add your maple syrup/brown rice syrup and mix until fully incorporated.
- Using a tablespoon, add milk of choice until a thick batter is formed.. If batter is too thin, add an extra spoonful of flour. If it’s too thick, add a dash more milk. If using chocolate chips too, add them in now
- Using your hands, form into small balls and place on a large plate or cookie sheet. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes, or until firm.
Notes
** Adjust accordingly- Depending on what protein powder/coconut flour you use, you may need considerably more than you think!
These breakfast bites are best kept refrigerated, but taste amazing slightly thawed from the freezer. For a super fudgy bite, enjoy at room temperature.
More delicious paleo friendly breakfasts with a sweet note? Gotcha covered!
Who here loves cookie dough? This is literally like polishing off an entire bowlful of cookie dough….but guilt-free!
Are you a muffin lover? Muffins are always a must, especially when they are bursting with blueberries!
Do you want Cake for breakfast? This is becoming commonplace here, especially with this beauty!
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Good thing I’m not doing the whole30 right now because these pictures would make me cheat and then I would have to start over lol. I would choose breakfast over sleep if I had these for breakfast because…. NUTELLA!
That is what I like to hear, buddy!
I used to skip breakfast back when I was a much younger version of myself. In my head, that was a way to be healthy since it was just less calories. Oh, I was so confused back then when it came to eating right. Speaking of eating right, I need to eat these Nutella bites right now! Nutella (and hazelnuts) are dangerous around our house…they’re so darned good! (Why do hazelnuts get the shaft when compared to other nuts??) Anyways, love these bites, mate. And since you can’t eat them right now, just send ’em my way. I’ll eat ’em all for you!
Right? Hazelnuts are the ugly stepchild of nuts…but shouldn’t be! Oh man, how much poor knowledge we had growing up!!
The big thing for me was giving up Diet Coke. Whaaat did I get myself into? (It actually hasn’t been that bad. Thank goodness.)
Oh geebuz! I forgot about no diet coke on whole30. You single-handedly probably have made them bankrupt 😉
This sounds amazing!! I made my own Nutella once and it was terrible because I ate the whole batch in two days. I haven’t dared to make it since!
LOL!!!! Omg, Aldi have this chocolate spread and it makes nutella taste like kale.
As much as I love my sleep, I almost never skip breakfast! It’s way too important to me. I don’t usually go for the sweet breakfasts, but these would make an awesome snack!
You have the best of both worlds 😀 PS- You’ve got me craving grapefruits!
Nutella is unfortunately not vegan, but I haven’t had the time to find a chocolate hazelnut butter spread, either! Definitely will be on the lookout for one! 😀
I know, right? Luckily there are options which are all used in this one!
Could I use all purpose flour in place of the coconut and almond flour?
Not that I’ve tried!