Pear and Apple Oat Balls

2014-06-10
  • Yield : 20 balls
  • Prep Time : 5m
  • Cook Time : 5m
  • Ready In : 10m

Pear & Apple Oat Balls

A healthy homemade snack that contains the goodness of fruit, oats and nuts that takes no time at all to prepare.  Great for lunchboxes and kids parties. The nuts are optional, so please adhere to school policies when choosing to include them.

The Thermomix version of our Pear & Apple Oat Balls is  featured in the Thermomix eBook Simply Sweet and Savoury

Nutrition Note: Long lasting carbohydrates, protein, fibre, vitamin C and omega-3 and heart healthy fatty acids all rolled into one tasty little snack.

 

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups oats
  • 50g macadamia nuts, or almond meal (optional)
  • 1 tsp chia seeds (optional)
  • 3 tsp water
  • 1 cup dried organic apples, chopped
  • 1 pear, peeled and diced
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut + extra for rolling
  • 1 tsp maple syrup

Method

Step 1

Heat a frying pan over medium. Add the oats and toast for a few minutes, stirring continually. Once lightly toasted, remove from the pan and set aside. -

Step 2

In a small bowl combine the chia seeds and water and leave to soak. -

Step 3

Place the macadamia nuts into a food processor and blend until it resembles a fine consistency. -

Step 4

Add the dried apple and coconut and mix to combine. -

Step 5

Add the toasted oats, chopped pear, chia seeds and maple syrup and process until well combined. -

Step 6

Roll the mixture into teaspoon sized balls and then roll in extra coconut. -

Step 7

Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for a great snack on the go. -

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Recipe Comments

  1. posted by Caspette on June 11, 2014

    What can you substitute for the nuts? My child’s school is nut free.

      Reply
    • posted by Jess on June 11, 2014

      Hi Caspette, the nuts are optional so you can simply omit them from the recipe. Jx

        Reply
      • posted by Caspette on June 11, 2014

        Thanks! (Sorry for submitting the same question twice I thought my previous comment had disappeared).

          Reply
  2. posted by Leila on June 23, 2014

    These didn’t work for me! Didn’t seem to be enough liquid? (1 teaspoon maple syrup) to stick all ingredients together? Ended up looking/feeling just like muesli… anyone else have this trouble?

      Reply
    • posted by Allie on June 23, 2014

      Hi Leila,
      The thermomix chops everything so finely that the consistency is slightly different when using a regular processor. These are drier than regular bliss balls but shouldn’t fall apart. You don’t need much liquid because the dried fruit and chia seeds act as a glue, but you might have to just add a little more “stick” so some honey, water or more maple syrup until you have a consistency you can roll. I hope that helps? Ax

        Reply
  3. posted by Kat on June 27, 2014

    Would fresh apples work instead of dried? I’ve got apples in fridge and I’d live to get my son too eat them. I’ll be using a food processor not a thermomix

      Reply
    • posted by Eunice on August 11, 2014

      Love to know if I can use fresh apples too..

        Reply
  4. posted by Belinda on July 1, 2014

    Hi, I’ve been unable to find sulphite free dried apples, could I use a “dark” dried fruit instead?

      Reply
    • posted by Jess on July 2, 2014

      Hi Belinda, yes I’m sure you could easily substitute the dried apple for an alternative dried fruit. Enjoy, Jx

        Reply
  5. posted by Haylee on July 7, 2014

    These were an absolute winner! I could not roll them quick enough for my 3yr and 16 month old boys.. Delicious little snack. I added a handful of chopped dates, only because my boys love them and omitted the chia seeds- because I didn’t have any. Worked perfectly! Thanks 🙂

      Reply
  6. posted by Brenda on July 10, 2014

    Hi there! I just found your website and I am thrilled with the different recipes! I am a mom that loves to cook from scratch and makes sure my kids get a healthy diet. These would be a wonderful addition in our household…the only problem is that I am allergic to coconut. Is there anything I could substitute for that?

      Reply
    • posted by Jess on July 15, 2014

      Hi Brenda, thank you for your lovely feedback 🙂 You could try substituting the coconut with more oats or nuts or even unprocessed bran. I hope that helps. We’d love to hear what you use and how you go. Enjoy, Jx

        Reply
  7. posted by leigh on July 16, 2014

    Hi, was wondering if you could use dried pear and fresh apple? Wasnt able to find organic dried apple but found organic dried pear.

      Reply
  8. posted by Jolie on July 18, 2014

    These were delicious! I had trouble finding sulphite free apples so I made my own dried apples using your recipe “Dried Apple Chips”. 🙂

      Reply
  9. posted by Hayley on September 24, 2014

    Winner! My 9 month old baby is loving these which is new as he’s only been tolerating having finger foods. I didn’t use chia or nuts and my ripe pear was quite small so also added one cube of puréed pear I had. I also added dates-these are delicious. Will be making them next week with apricots for hubby. Thankyou 🙂

      Reply
  10. posted by brie on October 1, 2014

    Hi 🙂
    Just made these n my lil man loves them! Tho I swapped the dried apple for apricots and didnt have any maple syrup so I used golden syrup lol but they worked out great 🙂

      Reply
  11. posted by Lauren on October 13, 2014

    Would they freeze ok?

      Reply
    • posted by Allie on October 13, 2014

      Yep, absolutely.

        Reply
  12. posted by Kestrel on November 11, 2014

    Could not roll these fast enough for my Mr 2!! Thanks for another great recipe!!

      Reply
  13. posted by Jackie on November 24, 2014

    What a great recipe for school snacks! Just wondering if the pear browns at all? Most likely going to omit the chia and nuts (but free school and no chia in the pantry)

      Reply
  14. posted by Tammy on December 14, 2014

    Can you use fresh Apple? A couple of people asked this question but I can’t see that it has been answered

      Reply
    • posted by Allie on December 14, 2014

      Hi Tammy, it’s tricky to answer because I haven’t tried it. The only thing is that the dried apple gives it a ‘stickiness’ which helps to bind, so the only problem I can see is that the balls might not roll together as well. But, you can always try and see how you go? Perhaps adding another dried fruit would help too. Let us know how you go, feedback is always good. Ax

        Reply
  15. posted by Julia on February 12, 2015

    I enjoyed making these for my baby. I just have a normal food processor and it chopped everything perfectly. I used dried apple and canned pear because I didn’t have a fresh pear. I used a few spoonfuls of the juice from the canned pear instead of maple syrup because I didn’t have any. They are delish and very wholesome!

      Reply
  16. posted by Michelle on February 23, 2015

    Do you have an alternative to Chia seeds? I’m in the Uk and have never heard of these. I’m baby led weaning my son and have to say your site is fantastic. So many great recipes for us to try and no UK site comes anywhere close 🙂 x

      Reply
    • posted by Allie on February 24, 2015

      Thank you Michelle, what lovely feedback. We are so glad you found us. You can simply omit the seeds 🙂 Ax

        Reply
    • posted by Sarah on April 9, 2015

      They have them in big sainsburys if you’d like to try them

        Reply
    • posted by Angela on April 18, 2015

      You can get Chia seeds at Holland and Barratt in the UK. Bit pricey so stock up when they have their Penny sales on 🙂

        Reply
  17. posted by Georgia on August 17, 2015

    Another fab recipe! I used half the quantity of dried fruit (substituted for cranberries and a few dates as these were what I had in my pantry), but still worked out perfectly. I hope my boy enjoys them as much as I do!!!

      Reply
  18. posted by Kylie on October 1, 2015

    Going to make these later for my kids’ lunches. I bet pumpkin puree would be yummy to add moisture for those (like me) who don’t have a Thermo-thingie mixer. Love this site! x

      Reply
    • posted by Allie on October 2, 2015

      Love to you, Kylie. Ax

        Reply
  19. posted by Michelle on March 14, 2016

    Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe. I needed a nut free version so I left out the nuts and put in 10 grams of wheat germ and I used dried apricots instead of dries Apple. Will definitely make these again. Great snack for kinder/school.

      Reply
  20. posted by Fiona on July 31, 2016

    I’ve just made these and they’re so delicious! I used almond meal and a mix of dates and cranberries instead of the dried apple, and added a teaspoon of vanilla, otherwise I followed the recipe as written. I hope I can manage to save some for the toddler to try out tomorrow…

      Reply

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