Amazing Italian Bread Sticks | Raw | Gluten-Free | Oil-Free
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Let’s talk about these breadsticks. They turned out so incredibly delicious — and honestly, the shape alone made them extra fun to eat. There’s something about holding a crispy, savory stick of goodness that just feels… right.
Today, my mom tried them alongside a raw basil pesto noodle dish and was completely wowed. She couldn’t believe how they looked, felt, and tasted. The texture was especially impressive — light, crispy, and flavorful. Safe to say: I’ll be making these again. And again.
Even our friend Craiger (who still furrows his brow at some of my “creative” raw food ideas) gave them a nod of approval. He said these would easily fool anyone — “You’d never know they’re raw.” High praise from a skeptic!
Recipe Update – November 1, 2014
A quick heads-up: I’ve made a few changes to this recipe since it was first posted back in May 2011. The original version used ½ cup of Irish moss and no additional water. But since Irish moss can be tricky to find — and I’ve mostly phased it out of my kitchen — I’ve updated the recipe to use psyllium husks instead.
I now use about 1 ½ cups of water. That said, I recommend starting with just 1 cup and adding more only if needed. The exact amount will depend on how much moisture is left in your almond pulp. Oh, and one more tweak: I added a little garlic powder to punch up the flavor. Because, let’s be honest — garlic makes everything better.
A Quick Note on Almond Pulp
I often get asked if almond pulp can be swapped for ground almonds. My answer? Not really.
Here’s why: almond pulp (the byproduct of homemade almond milk) is lighter in both weight and texture compared to ground almonds. It gives these breadsticks a unique, airy texture that just doesn’t translate the same with heavier nut flours.
That’s not to say you can’t experiment with ground almonds or oat flour. But just know it’ll change the final result — in both texture and taste. My suggestion? Try the original version first, then tweak as you go.
Dehydrated or Baked — Your Choice
I know not everyone has a dehydrator (yet!) and plenty of you still enjoy cooked foods. So I’ve included both dehydrating and baking instructions in the recipe. Whether you go raw or roasted, I’ve got you covered. 😊
Stay tuned for the full recipe and instructions below! And as always, let me know if you try them — I love hearing your kitchen stories.
With crunchy, breadstick-y joy, amie sue
Ingredients:
20 (5″) breadsticks
Dry ingredients:
Wet ingredients:
- 2 cups (400 g) packed, moist almond pulp
- 1 cup (200 g) water
- 1/4 cup (70 g) date paste
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) lemon juice
- 2 tsp (11 g) maple syrup
Coating:
- Sesame seeds (for rolling the breadsticks in)
- Coarse sea salt
Preparation
- In a food processor fitted with the “S” blade, combine the oats, flax, psyllium, coconut flour, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and Himalayan pink salt. Pulse until evenly mixed.
- Note: Oats are naturally gluten-free but can be cross-contaminated during processing. If you’re sensitive to gluten, make sure to use oats labeled “gluten-free.”
- Add the almond pulp, 1 cup water, date paste, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Blend until fully incorporated.
- If the dough feels too dry to hold together, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until it sticks nicely.
- Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes. This gives the flax and psyllium time to activate and bind the dough.
- Using a ¼ cup measuring cup or cookie scoop, portion the dough evenly. Roll each portion into a ball with your hands. On a clean surface, roll each ball into a breadstick about 5 inches long, gently rolling it back and forth with the palms of your hands.
- If the dough isn’t sticking together, add a little more water to fix it.
- Spread sesame seeds on your work surface (mixing white and black if you like). Roll each breadstick in the seeds to coat.
- For an extra burst of flavor and texture, sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top of the coated breadsticks before dehydrating or baking.
- Place the breadsticks on mesh sheets in your dehydrator.
- Dehydrate at 145°F (63°C) for 1 hour. This sets a nice crust on the outside.
- Reduce the temperature to 115°F (46°C) and continue dehydrating for approximately 6 hours, or until the desired level of dryness is achieved.
Tip: Touch the center of a breadstick to check for doneness. It should be dry but not completely brittle—unless that’s what you’re going for. You control the crunch factor!
Oven Method (Not Raw)
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place breadsticks on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 30–40 minutes, checking for doneness at the 30-minute mark.
Heads up: These won’t brown like traditional breadsticks, so don’t rely on color as your cue.
Storage Tips & Shelf Life
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–5 days.
- The more moisture left in the breadsticks, the shorter the shelf life—so if you prefer them on the softer side, plan to enjoy them sooner rather than later. Raw food is meant to be eaten fresh and vibrant, so don’t expect these to last forever (not that they’ll stick around long enough to find out).
The Institute of Culinary Ingredients
- To learn more about maple syrup by clicking (here).
- What is Himalayan pink salt, and does it matter? Click (here) to read more about it.
- Are oats gluten-free? Yes, read more about that (here).
- Are oats raw? Yes, they can be found. Click (here) to learn more.
- Do I need to soak and dehydrate oats? Not required but recommended. Click (here) to see why.
- Learn how to grind your own flaxseeds for ultimate freshness and nutrition. Click (here).
- How does psyllium work in a recipe? Learn more (here).
Culinary Explanations:
- Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F)? Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
- When working with fresh ingredients, it is essential to taste test as you build a recipe. Learn why (here).
- Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do, however, honestly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Oil-Free, Soy Free, Vegan
Hi. Thank you for the recipes. I have trouble digesting flax seeds – would chia work as a substitute?
Hello Sue, yes you can do an equal substitution across the board with Chia seeds. :) amie sue
Hello Amie-Sue,
Oh how I do love your site and your recipies! The raison bread turned out amazing, the hamburger buns are FUNctional and next will be these bread sticks.
I am just wondering why you use coconut flour? I am having trouble seeing the function or taste to the use of. I used it in the raison bread and although it is amazing I am wondering if the small bit of flour taste is from the coconut flour. I left it out of the buns and it seems better. Both of them were made without Irish Moss (i didn’t have any) so perhaps the batch of bread sticks I make today will loose the floury taste altogether….
Thoughts and words of wisdom, please? :)
Good evening Robyn,
The raisin bread is my favorite, I think, haha… I love them all. The coconut flour is more for the texture than the flavor. If you like the recipe without it, then so be it…as long as it comes out in the end is all that matters. :) It’s all about experimenting. This form of cooking isn’t found in Betty Crocker cookbooks from 40 years ago…we have to create our own!!
Excellent recipe!
I wondered if you could make this nut free-sans almonds
Barb, can you clarify by what you mean,”nut free-sans almonds”?
how to make this nut-free??
Hello Ari,
Almond pulp really gives this breadstick a great texture. You can always play around with oat flour, buckwheat flour and / or perhaps sunflower seeds. Merry Christmas, amie sue :)
Yeah, a use for my raw coconut flour!
when a recipe call for just Irish Moss, like this one, I am assuming I can use the Irish Moss Paste I have in the freezer?
Yes Sharon, just thaw it first. :) amie sue
Could I use buckwheat flour in place of the most flour?
Sorry, that was supposed to say oat flour.
Yes Gwyneth, buckwheat will substitute just fine and dandy :) Let me know if you try the recipe. Have a wonderful day, amie sue
Amie-Sue, I have to say yours is truly a wonderful and mouth-watering site!! I am curious if the Irish moss can be substituted with agar-agar power instead? I’ve been using agar-agar for a thickening agent for years and I’m curious if you have tried it. Irish moss is not available here and I do not purchase online (too many mishaps). Thanks in advance! :)
Hello Charmaine,
Thank you very much for the kind words. I am quite passionate about food.. healthy food! hehe
To be honest, I haven’t tried agar in the bread recipes. These days I don’t use Irish moss much, only because I get too lazy to order it. hehe You can omit the Irish moss and use 1-2 Tbsp of psyllium husks that have been powdered in its place. That will give it the spongy bread feel. Can you get that? Have a great day, amie sue
Thank you for replying!! Psyllium husks are available here. I’ll give it a try. Again, your information and recipes are absolutely wonderful. :)
My pleasure Charmaine, I hope you enjoy them. Keep me posted and have a blessed day! amie sue
I came back to this recipe (again!) and I see you’ve made changes to avoid the Irish Moss. I still have Irish Moss to use, so could you please remind me how much? Thanks- I love these!
Hello Cheyenne, I made note of this in the second paragraph just in case someone still wanted to use Irish Moss. :)
“Update (11/01/14). I made a few revisions to the recipe that I had originally posted on May of 2011. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of irish moss and no additional water. Since irish moss is difficult to find for most and I tend not to use it anymore, I made this recipe with psyllium husks instead. I ended up adding 1 1/2 cups of water but I suggest starting with just 1 cup and only adding more if needed. The moisture left in the almond pulp will determine this. Oh, and I also added the garlic powder.”
Enjoy and have a wonderful up and coming week! amie sue
So you did! Boy do I feel silly. Thanks! :)
No need to feel silly :) Have a great evening, amie sue
Hi! I would love to try making these yummy sounding breadsticks. I have an almond allergy however. Do you think it is possible to replace that ingredient with something else? Suggestions??
Thanks a bunch!
Gabrielle
Hello Gabrielle,
Sorry that it took me a few days to get back to you. I am sorry to hear that you have an almond allergy. Can you enjoy cashews? That would be a good replacement. You could use about any nut but they will all impart a different flavor. Outside of nuts, you could try buckwheat or oats… or a combination of the two. I hope this helps. amie sue
Made these last night. Wow! So delicious! Thank you for sharing your creative skills. It’s a blessing to many. Your talents never cease to amaze me ;) You think this would work as a pizza cruse also?
Good evening Kelly,
So thrilled to hear that you are enjoying the recipe. It’s my pleasure to share. Thank you for trying it. :) And gosh, yes, it would be perfect for a pizza crust. That’s the true beauty of raw recipes. You can take this batter and create a bread loaf, bread sticks, crackers, crust… you name it. Have a blessed weekend, amie sue
Hello
Does coconut flour here refer to ground coconut flakes, ground dried coconut pulp, or the light dry powdery defatted coconut flour now appearing in the stores!?
Many thanks
Hx
Good morning Helen,
I used a raw coconut flour by Coconut Secrets. I provided a link in the ingredient list for you. :) Have a blessed weekend! amie sue
Not sure how far I want to go with the dehydration on these babies. Setting them on low for another three hours or so…Live and learn! I made 8 inch long slender stinks perfectly straight which came to 10 of them. Fun to make and easy. If one of the balls got a little hard to roll I just added a bit more water. The only change I would make next time is to include a little more coarse salt with the sesame seed mixture for a bit more pizzazz.
For Thanksgiving (which as far as I’m concerned is every day with Nouveauraw) my house smelled so homey as i’m making onion bread and corn bread so the white onions were in the dehydrator). And today the cute little musubi sushi mold for making bars came in the mail! I want to make something chocolatey very soon…
Good morning Judy,
Yes, I have learned with raw breads that you can really tailor the texture to your liking through the drying process. You can go from soft and moist to dry and crunchy and every where in between. :)
Isn’t it amazing the wonderful aromas that omit from the dehydrator? When I first started raw I went 100% for a year without owning a dehydrator. I always joked with Bob and that I was going to make room fresheners that smelled like foods because I missed the air filling up with mouth watering smells. But once I go a dehydrator, everything changed. :) So I can completely envision and smell what you were experiencing. hehe Thanks so much for sharing this.
I hope you have fun with the bar shaper. I use mine all the time now. Have a blessed and wonderful day, amie sue
Hi Amie-Sue,
Another great recipe,you’re a champion at having great recipes.But you have a sweeter tooth than me, so for this recipe a put a bit less date paste and half the maple syrup and it’s still a bit to sweet for us (my husband and I ). So I wondering if I could skip the maple syrup or does it has a specific use in the recipe.
Thanks a million
Have a great day.😀
Hello Jacinte. Thank you for the kind words. :) You could skip the sweetener if you feel the need to. It’s added to balance the flavors. Thanks for the feedback and great question. blessings, amie sue
Hola querida amiesue saludos desde Venezuela GRS por compartir tus conocimientos quería saber por q puedo reemplazar la avena ya q aquí no se consigue libre de gluten
Good afternoon Christopher,
I haven’t tested it, but I were to try something else, I would try raw buckwheat kernels. Do you have access to those? blessings, amie sue