Rice Cakes with Toppings

A low FODMAP rice cake snack with three toppings: peanut butter and banana, cream cheese with cucumber and smoked salmon, and avocado with cherry tomatoes.

Prep 10 min

Cook 5 min

Serves 3

Gluten-free

Ingredients

Each serving is 2 plain rice cakes with one topping. The amounts below make one serving of each topping.

Base

• 6 plain rice cakes (lightly salted or unsalted, with no onion, garlic, or inulin on the label)

Peanut butter and banana (1 serving)

• 2 tablespoons (32 g) natural peanut butter
• 1/2 small firm banana (50 g), sliced (yellow, no brown spots)
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• Pinch of cinnamon

Cream cheese, cucumber, and smoked salmon (1 serving)

• 2 tablespoons (30 g) lactose-free cream cheese
• 1/4 small cucumber (40 g), thinly sliced
• 1 oz (30 g) plain smoked salmon (with no onion or garlic on the label)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill or chives

Avocado and cherry tomato (1 serving)

• 1/3 small avocado (60 g), mashed
• 3 cherry tomatoes (45 g), halved
• 1 teaspoon garlic-infused olive oil
• Pinch of salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes

Instructions

Peanut butter and banana

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on each of 2 rice cakes.
2. Lay the banana slices on top, drizzle with the maple syrup, and dust with cinnamon.

Cream cheese and smoked salmon

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of cream cheese on each of 2 rice cakes.
2. Top with the cucumber, then the smoked salmon, and finish with the dill or chives.

Avocado and tomato

1. Mash the avocado with the salt and pepper and spread it over 2 rice cakes.
2. Top with the cherry tomato halves, drizzle with the garlic-infused oil, and add the pepper flakes.

Tips & Substitutions

• Top them just before eating. Rice cakes soften within about 15 minutes under wet toppings.
• Keep to 2 rice cakes per serving. That is the Monash low FODMAP serve for plain rice cakes; larger stacks move into the moderate range for fructans.
• Skip flavored rice cakes. Savory flavors often use onion or garlic powder, and some sweet ones use inulin or honey.
• Swap the nut butter. Almond butter works at 1 tablespoon per serving.
• Make it heartier. Egg salad or tuna salad spread over the rice cakes turns this into lunch.

Why This Works

Portioned toppings. Each topping is sized to its own serve: 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 60 g of avocado, and 3 cherry tomatoes.

Firm banana. A yellow banana without brown spots is low FODMAP at a full 100 g, so half a small banana is well within range.

Lactose-free cream cheese. It keeps the smoked salmon topping low in lactose without changing the taste.

Storage

These are best assembled and eaten right away. Store opened rice cakes in a sealed bag at room temperature for up to a week. Mashed avocado can be covered and chilled for a few hours, pressed with plastic wrap to limit browning.