Spiced Pecan Aval Balls
These Spiced Pecan Aval Balls are a twist on a favorite childhood snack my Mother and Grandmother would make me, using simple “aval” (rice flakes), a mashed banana, cashews, and jaggery. However, my version uses flavorings like cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, along with coconut flour, pecans, and coconut flakes for texture and taste.
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Traditional Sri Lankan Aval is a sweet flattened rice dish, often made with rice flakes (referred to as aval), ghee, jaggery, cashews, raisins, and cardamom. However, I have a flavorful spin on aval that makes it a delicious portable treat.
My version of Aval is based on the aval balls my mom would make for my sister and me during our early years in Sri Lanka. She would often use aval (rice flakes) with mashed banana, cashews, and jaggery. Just 4 ingredients that resulted in a treat that always tasted so good. We enjoyed them for dessert as well as a snack.
In my version, I’ve added cinnamon, cardamom, and vanilla as flavorings. I also swapped the cashews for pecans and added coconut flakes for extra texture. I also shaped the aval into balls, much like my mom used to do. These aval balls taste like a cross between a tropical snack and a cozy autumn cookie! And, they take less than 15 minutes to make!
Why You’ll Love These Spiced Pecan Aval Balls
- No-Cook & Fast: Ready in less than 15 minutes, and you do not need to turn on your stovetop.
- Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free: And, vegan-friendly too.
- Energy Boosting: The perfect pre-workout snack or after-school treat.
- Clean Ingredients: No refined white sugar or heavy fats.
The Secret to the Perfect Texture
These aval balls are a delicious blend of spices, banana, and caramel-tasting jaggery. I like to use red rice flakes (available at most South Asian grocery stores) because they have a deeper, nuttier flavor and more fiber than white rice flakes.
Pro Tip:
If you want your bites to have a smoother, “fudgy” texture, add 2 tablespoons of coconut flour. It helps bind everything together and adds a subtle sweetness!
Ingredients
- Aval (Red Rice Flakes): The heart of the recipe.
- Mashed Banana: Acts as the natural binder and sweetener.
- Sweetener: Jaggery (also available at South Asian stores) is my sweetener of choice. However, it can be replaced with coconut sugar or maple syrup.
- Spices: A trio of cinnamon, cardamom, and vanilla.
- Crunch: Pecans and unsweetened coconut flakes.
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Instructions (Step-by-Step)
- Mash: In a large bowl, mash your banana until smooth.
- Mix: Stir in your spices, jaggery, and vanilla.
- Combine: Fold in the rice flakes, pecans, and coconut.
- Roll: Using your hands (the traditional way), roll the mixture into small, bite-sized balls.
- Chill: This is the hard part—let them chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. They taste so much better when the flavors have had time to mingle!
I had a batch of these aval balls in my fridge when my daughter and I got back from a nine-day trip to NYC. We spent our time sampling Cronuts, Chocolate Cake, Levain Bakery cookies, Amorino Gelato roses, Don Antonio’s pizza, and eating all the pistachio treats at our favorite Brooklyn cafe and bakery, Fabiane’s!
We were also very fortunate to be able to spend time with some of my favorite New York Bloggers. Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking and Suzanne @ Pug In The Kitchen, who shared with us some cheek-hurting laughs and gave us so much food for thought. And, David @ Spiced, his wife, and his little son.
When we got back home in Atlanta, I was so glad to be able to snack on some of these Spiced Pecan Banana Aval Balls with some hot coffee.
Storage Tips
These Spiced Pecan Aval Balls balls stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. I actually love grabbing one cold straight from the refrigerator for a quick morning energy boost with my coffee.
Looking for more easy snack ideas?
No bake Date and Nut Energy Bites
Easy No-Bake Chocolate Pistachio Bites
Easy Almond Chocolate Coconut Bars
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup aval flaked red rice available at most South Asian Stores
- 1 mashed banana
- 2 tablespoons powdered jaggery (or maple syrup or 1/4 cup brown sugar)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup pecan bits
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together using a spoon.
- Then, using your hands, form each bite in a ball
- Chill for a couple of hours and enjoy
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Nutrition
Ingredients
- 1 cup aval flaked red rice available at most South Asian Stores
- 1 mashed banana
- 2 tablespoons powdered jaggery (or maple syrup or 1/4 cup brown sugar)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup pecan bits
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together using a spoon.
- Then, using your hands, form each bite in a ball
- Chill for a couple of hours and enjoy
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Enter your email and I’ll send you this recipe to you. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Nutrition
It’s so tempting and I feel like gobbling up everyone of those pieces that I see. Great share Shashi!!!
It sounds like you had so much fun in NY!! I’m way over due for a trip north!
These balls look like a great treat! I have to hunt down these special ingredients 🙂
It sounds like a fantastic time was had by all. I love visiting and walking around places we visit and getting in with the people who live there and it sounds like you did all that and more. NYC is so fun! I recently came across Lindsey’s site and am so glad I did. Happy to hear you met up with David and the family. Isn’t the food blogging world so fun and when you meet others in person it’s icing on the cake. Loving the favors in this and the spices, too Shashi.
Shashi, this trip sounds like full of fun (And apparently, delicious food haha.) But welcome back and thanks for bringing these delicious balls! Did you manage to put all my favorite things in them? Cardamom, cinnamon, bananas, pecans, maple syrup…well I’m tired of counting:) Stop, you didn’t put any lavender! Disappointed:) Well done, indeed. When you have your next trip, I hope you’ll be flying above Canada and be able to drop a food parcel for me:)
Oh yayyyy! So glad you guys had a fabulous time in NYC!!! The more I learn about your daughter, the more I think her I and would definitely get along, because going to NYC would have been my suggestion too! (plus you know I love vampire diaries!) Anyways, I’ve never heard of aval or aval laddu, but these balls of deliciousness are something I NEED to try! I mean, Pecan Banana Rice Balls with coconut and all those other delish spices?! YES! These would be the perfect snack! And no need to worry about me keeping these more than 4-5 days in the fridge… they probably wouldn’t last past day 1. 😉 Cheers, dear friend! xo
It sounds like you had such a wonderful trip!! And how fun to get to meet up with some bloggers while there! These little balls sound fantastic – I love all the warming spices!
Hey girl – I’m SO glad you got to spend this precious time with your daughter. Lifetime memories. You can’t go back in time and I’m so glad you got to stop and enjoy life together for a week before her big senior year starts. So many great places you visited and wonderful people you spent time with!!! My only wish is that you had come just a little further north…..like a few hours. 🙂 Maybe next time. So these rice balls look amazing, so delicious and easy. I can imagine you as a little kid devouring them from your mom and grandma. Little Sashi! 🙂 You know I love the maple syrup so much — sounds delicious in this recipe. Another great no-bake recipe! Have a great week Sashi, and welcome home, hope you can eas back into life slowly…. XO
Love NYC, and used to work there when I was younger. Loved it, and always enjoy going back. But it’s gotten crazy! SO expensive and crowded. It was back when I was there, too, of course. But nothing like now. Anyway, fun recipe — thanks so much.
What a delicious trip you had!
I’ve been collecting recipes for little “energy balls” to pack with me for work. Definitely going hunting for that flaked rice so I can make these. Thanks!
Thanks so much Jordan!
Btw, I found aval at a local South Asian Store – with puffed rice and other rice products – fingers crossed you find some.
Summer time off is fabulous! What a lovely trip to the city!!
And I must get my hands on those rice flakes :O They would be so fun to work with!
Yes – our time in NYC was pretty fabulous! And yes, Rebecca – these rice flakes sure were fun to work with! Thanks so much BTW.
My Canadian heart loves that you cracked into the maple syrup, because that’s probably my all-time favourite sweetener. And those spices! I’ve only ever used cardamon in snack bites -once-, but it was seriously amazing. I’m glad you had such a great time in NYC 🙂 I was there when I was really tiny, but I barely remember anything about it. I’d love to go again one day!
Amanda – my mom and sis brought me back some Canadian maple syrup a few years ago after they visited Canada and I don’t think I’ve had maple syrup that good since I taste this one! Liquid Gold it is! 🙂
I sure hope you get to go back to NYC – there’s no place quite like it – I am not a fan of driving so it’s one of my favorite places – and ooh the food!
I am so glad you took some time off to enjoy your sweet girl. It looks like NYC was incredible! Even though it meant you missed my visit to GA–I am planning on coming back–don’t you worry!
PS–I think I could snack on these all day long!
Thanks Kristen – I never regret time spent with my daughter! Yes, NYC was fabulous – though I am so sorry I missed ya – but – yayyy for next time!
Yay! I’m so glad you cracked into that maple syrup already. Real maple syrup is like nature’s candy…and it’s so darned delicious! It was wonderful meeting you and Geri, and I’m already looking forward to our next visit. I also loved just looking at all of those photos from NYC. Talk about fun times and good memories! Oh, and before I forget, I’m gonna need some of these energy snacks ASAP. It’s raining here this morning, and I kinda want to just go back to bed. Hah! Glad you guys made it some safe and sound…cheers to good friends and good food! 🙂
Duuuude – you aren’t kidding – maple syrup – the good maple syrup (like what y’all gave me) is like nature’s candy indeed – liquid gold even! The last time I had the good maple syrup is when my mom and sister brought me some back after visiting family in Canada! I’m gonna have to ration this out big time!
Sunny mornings here and angry, thundery afternoons – I forget if I’m in Atlanta or Florida sometimes!
BTW – Thanks so much for everything, David! So looking forward to next time, my Upstate NYC friend!
Shashi, it sounds like that you had a GREAT time in NY with your daughter and fellow food bloggers. Awesome!
These energy balls look very healthy and wonderfully delicious.
Thanks so much Angie – my daughter and I sure did – NYC with it’s good food and great friends is one of my favorite places!