Breakfast. It’s the one meal of the day that I don’t typically “cook” for my family. At least not on a weekday. Mom and Dad are up early. The kids get up a bit later. Sometimes we’re relaxed. Sometimes we’re rushed.
But that doesn’t mean breakfast isn’t important to me! Quite the contrary. I know that a balanced, nourishing breakfast can completely make or break our day. A starchy breakfast without healthy fats and protein or full of white sugar will make blood sugar go crazy and set my kids up for meltdowns and bad moods.
Nourishing Breakfast Made Simple.
So my goal for breakfast is to have nourishing foods that I can prep one day or even several days before. Of all the breakfasts I make these gluten-free mudballs are one my kids’ favorites. I love them because I can literally make a batch in less than ten minutes. Then in the morning, the kids can grab them. It really doesn’t get any easier.
Unless my kids make them! My oldest two are confident at the stove thanks to Katie’s online kids cooking class. So they can easily measure and pour a few ingredients and mix them in a saucepan. The hard part is keeping them from sampling half of it!
RELATED: Gluten-free bread made with cinnamon and raisins is another favorite breakfast.
Easy Gluten Free Nut Free Breakfast Mudball Recipes
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 15 – 20 1x
Description
Simple gluten, egg, dairy, and nut free breakfast balls.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup unsweetened sunbutter
- 1/4 cup lard, tallow or butter (tallow hardens best)
- 3 Tbsp. chia seeds
- 2 Tbsp. sprouted pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tbsp. organic cocoa (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!) powder (or cacao or carob)
- 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
- 3 Tbsp. grassfed collagen (use the coupon KS10 for 10% off!)
- pinch unrefined sea salt
- 1/2 cup white rice, tapioca or cassava flour
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan melt the honey, sunbutter, tallow and collagen over medium heat, until liquid.
- Remove pan from heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- When cool enough to handle form into 1 1/2″ balls.
- Refrigerate or freeze until cool and firm.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 1 week or the freezer for up to 1 year.
Teach Kids to Cook: Mudballs, Easy Healthy Allergy-Friendly Snack
If you can’t view the video above, click Teach Kids to Cook: Mudballs, Easy Healthy Allergy-Friendly Snack to see it directly on YouTube.
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Always Time To Teach
Always Time To TeachWe call these mudballs because they really look like balls of mud! What kid doesn’t love to start her day with mud?! We are a homeschooling, farming family. So we spend a lot of time outside in the dirt and in the garden. These mudballs look like dirt with seeds. But they are delicious. And they spark conversation about our creation.
Your kids CAN make their own healthy breakfast!
Join the Kids Cook Real Food Weekend Challenge: Kids Master Breakfast and imagine your kids making breakfast independently! This challenge contains pro-filmed video lessons you can do at your own pace and finish in one weekend. Perfect for busy families!!
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I make sure breakfast contains healthy fats and proteins. The mudballs have sunbutter, tallow (or lard or butter), chia seeds (omega-3 fats) and pumpkin seeds which provide lots of vitamins and minerals. I also add collagen (use the coupon KS10 for 10% off!) to give these a more complete protein.
Make it a Complete Meal.
Make it a Complete Meal.Gluten-free mudballs work as an easy breakfast or on-the-go snack. For breakfast, I like to pair them with hard boiled eggs or yogurt and some fruit. More breakfast items that I prepare in advance. Then when the kids get up breakfast is ready! Which is always important for kids like my son that are super high energy and need to eat as soon as they get up.
This is a great way to teach kids how to serve themselves and be independent. Even if mom or dad preps the food. The kids can learn to get it out themselves. They will understand portion sizes (like a toddler that tries taking five mudballs…and then only eats one), listening to their own hunger and fullness signals and not being overly dependent on parents.
Since we just had baby number four, easy breakfasts and snacks like mudballs have been a huge blessing. My oldest can make a big batch and then stick them in the fridge or freeze some. I know my kids are getting delicious, nourishing food even if I’m busy with baby.
Allergy-Friendly Food
Allergy-Friendly FoodWe have a variety of allergies among our kids. So it’s always a challenge to make something everyone can eat. But these mudballs are free of gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, oats and coconut. They can even be grain free, depending on which flour you choose.
They are great for nursing moms too!! A quick snack for calories, nutrients, and energy.
Are you looking for a simple, kid-friendly breakfast? These gluten-free mudballs are perfect. Make a big batch because they’ll go quickly.
Quick and Easy Breakfasts:
- grain free pumpkin spice breakfast cookies
- brain booster milkshakes
- blueberry or cherry yogurt
- oat and nut free chewy granola bars
- grain free sunbutter and jelly bars
- salted chocolate milk
- mason jar fruit salad
- no cook pumpkin yogurt
- healthy, easy granola bowl
More Healthy Breakfast Recipes
- The Healthy Breakfast Book with over 50 recipes!
- Tastes Like Pizza Breakfast Hash
- Autumn Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes – can be made grain-free, gluten-free, sourdough or whole wheat!
- Grain-free Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Porridge
- Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal (pumpkin pie version)
- Instant Pot Apple Cranberry Steel Cut Oats
- Best Homemade Soaked Granola
- Best Pancakes: Whole Wheat or Gluten-free or Sourdough or Paleo Apple Almond
- Veggie Potato Latkes
- Grain-free Pizza Quiche
- Best High Protein Scrambled Eggs Ever
- Candy Cane Smoothie Bowl
- 10 Healthy Brunch Dishes for Potlucks
- Creative Ways to Add Veggies to Breakfast
- Allergen Free Breakfast Hummus
- Lots of Breakfast Ideas for Meal Planning
- Hard Boil Eggs in the Instant Pot
I have Bison tallow in my fridge and think it tastes and smells terrible, and beef tallow also has a strong smell/taste; is there a tallow out there that is less offensive, so to speak?
I read the comment where coconut oil can be substituted for tallow but I WOULD like to use tallow for the health benefits 🙂
Hi Kari,
I would recommend using tallow for cooking only, because likely all grassfed tallow is going to have a strong odor. But once you melt it to cook French fries it just tastes wonderful and not like beef! Hope that helps – Katie
This dish is so delicious. I will definitely try this for my breakfast this weekend.
★★★★★
The sunbutter you link to does added sugar, jfyi
To keep them plant based, could I use coconut oil and protein powder that’s not animal derived? I like to have some plant-based options for friends who prefer that lifestyle.
You definitely can use coconut oil. You will have to be sure to keep them well chilled. They will get messier at room temp since the coconut oil will soften easily. I have never used a plant based protein powder so I can’t say for sure. But I assume that would work fine.
Can you use gelatin instead of collagen?
Thank you
I’d like to know this too please… I’ve never heard of buying or adding collagen, but I do have grass fed gelatin. Would that work also, Katie? Thanks!
You can add gelatin , but keep in mind it gels. So it might change the texture. Collagen is gelatin that does not gel. It just adds extra protein.
Wondering if this would be a good way to use my bacon fat? or any other ideas as well… I buy the uncured bacon and save the grease but not sure what to use it in…
Absolutely, Janet! I love baking with bacon grease. Lard is loaded with vitamin D!!