Almond Butter Trail Balls
Five ingredients pressed into balls at home. No stove, no water, no pot.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 2.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 128
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Day hike
- Bikepacking
- Car camping
- Vegetarian
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Almond butter | 1 cup | stir it well before measuring |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 1/2 cup | |
| Almond extract | 1 tsp | |
| Kodiak Cakes buttermilk pancake mix | 1 1/2 cups | the dry mix is the protein and the binder |
| Chia seeds | 3 tbsp |
Method
- At home, stir the almond butter, honey, and almond extract together in a bowl until it is one color.
- Add the pancake mix and chia seeds. Work it with a spoon, then with your hands once it stops taking the spoon.
- If it crumbles, add almond butter a spoonful at a time. If it sticks to everything, add pancake mix the same way.
- Roll into balls about an inch across. A tablespoon measure keeps them even, which matters when you are counting calories per day.
- Chill for an hour so they firm up, then pack. They hold their shape in a pack for four or five days in cool weather, longer in cold.
This started as a kitchen snack and needed almost nothing done to it for the trail. There is no cooking, no fridge step that matters, and no water at camp. The pancake mix is doing double duty: it is the dry protein and it is the thing that turns wet nut butter into something you can hold.
The chia matters more than it looks. It pulls in the free moisture from the honey and almond butter over the first hour, which is why these set up firm instead of staying tacky. Honey is the only reason to leave this off a vegan list, and the pancake mix is wheat, so it is not gluten-free either. Almonds are in here twice, so it is squarely off the nut-free list.
Packing
Two per snack bag, or one long row in a quart bag with a strip of parchment between layers. In heat they soften and merge into one mass, which is still edible, just less dignified. Keep them low in the pack and out of the sun.
Variations
- Swap the honey for brown rice syrup and the pancake mix for a plain oat-and-pea-protein blend if you want them vegan.
- Peanut butter and a little cocoa powder in place of almond butter and almond extract.
- Roll the finished balls in shredded coconut so they stop sticking to each other.
https://homeandkind.com/blogs/food-recipes/almond-butter-protein-balls-recipe