Puffed high protein oat-based food pieces and methods of making

A method of making shelf stable, ready-to-eat (RTE) food pieces, the method comprising:

• a. mixing and heating ingredients with water to form a dough having a moisture content of about 30% to about 38% by weight of the dough, the ingredients consisting of:
• i. oat flour in an amount of about 30% to about 70% by dry weight of the dough;
• ii. a plant-based protein ingredient in an amount of about 20% to about 45% by dry weight of the dough, the protein ingredient having a protein content of at least 60% protein by dry weight of the protein ingredient and comprising pea protein, chickpea protein, fava bean protein, lentil protein, wheat protein, oat protein, rice protein, canola protein, soybean protein, or combinations thereof;
• iii. 0% to about 25% starch ingredient by dry weight of the dough;
• iv. 0% to less than 6% maltodextrin by dry weight of the dough;
• and
• v. up to 15% other ingredients by dry weight of the dough;
• b. forming the dough into dough pieces;
• c. adjusting the moisture content of the dough pieces to form dried pieces having a moisture content of about 12% to about 25% by weight of the dried pieces;
• d. exposing the dried pieces to a pressure of at least 80 psi;
• e. rapidly releasing the pressure to produce puffed pieces having a moisture content of less than 15% by weight of the puffed pieces;
• and
• f. drying the puffed pieces to produce the RTE food pieces having a moisture content of less than 5% by weight of the RTE food pieces, the RTE food pieces having a bulk density of about 100 to about 200 g/100 cu inch and a protein content of at least 27% by dry weight of the RTE food pieces.