Hi Everyone!
I am so excited to be sharing with
you my all-time favourite homemade granola recipe. Anyone who knows me will
know that I love all things oats, whether it’s plain muesli, porridge or
granola. I usually love to start my day with it as it is such a great breakfast
option but it can also make a wonderful snack too. This “basic” granola recipe is a far healthier option
than those you will find in the stores, since it is made with whole grains,
unrefined oil and is not overpoweringly sweet. You really just can’t beat
freshly baked granola which is packed with delicious and nutritious
good-for-you ingredients!
Oats
I use the hearty old-fashioned
oats as they keep their shape during baking. Be sure to use certified
gluten-free oats if you need it to be gluten-free. My go to brand for oats is always
Bob’s Red Mill but you can choose whichever brand you prefer.
Puffed Buckwheat
Puffed
buckwheat has been a recent food discovery for me and I think it’s such a great
addition to homemade cereal options like muesli or granola. You can either buy them
directly from stores (which I did) or you can choose to make your own. It is
wholesome, gluten-free and gives such a delicious nutty flavour. It also adds a beautiful crunch to the granola, which I absolutely love. Some granola
recipes out there can be quite dense so using puffed buckwheat can
help to give it a lighter feel.
Nuts and/or Seeds
I
am a huge fan of nuts and seeds so I used pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds and
sunflower seeds to make this batch. You can also substitute with other nuts
like walnuts (rich in omega-3s), cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, peanuts and
more. I recently discovered this brand called Terrasoul and have been loving
their products.
Unrefined Oil
Oil helps to make the granola more
crispy and crunchy. I personally prefer using unrefined coconut oil as it
produces the perfect texture. And don’t worry about the taste, you can hardly
taste the coconut at all!
You can also try using
extra-virgin olive oil instead if you are looking to have your granola more on
the savoury side. I haven’t yet tried this so let me know how it goes if you
choose this option. This is also more ideal for those who are watching their
saturated fat intake.
Sugar Alternatives/Natural Sweeteners
I love using a combination of real
maple syrup and raw honey in my granola. Agave or date syrup works
well too. I will also sometimes add in some organic coconut sugar to give it that extra
delicious flavour.
Salt and Spice
Make sure you do not skip the salt
as this is the secret ingredient causing the flavours to sing! I generally
prefer using fine-grain sea salt but regular salt is just fine as well.
As for spice, I added cinnamon to
this batch for some subtle warmness. Pumpkin spice is also another favourite of
mine. You can also add a little ground ginger and nutmeg to it for some extra
kick!
Dried Fruit
I am not a huge fan of dried
fruits but adding them will give the granola some extra sweetness and chewy
texture. I used raisins for this batch but you can consider dried cranberries,
blueberries, cherries or apricots.
Optional Mix-Ins
I added unsweetened coconut flakes
to this mix and you should do this halfway through baking for perfectly toasted
results.
For those with an extra sweet
tooth, you can add chocolate chips to the mix only after the
granola has been completely cooled, or else they will melt!
INGREDIENTS
· 1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola)
·
½ cup gluten free puffed buckwheat
· ¾ cup raw nuts (I used
almonds, pecans and cashews)
½ cup seeds (I used pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
1 tablespoon organic coconut sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoon melted coconut oil
4 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A good pinch of salt
¼ cup raisins
½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to
160C. Line a medium sized baking tray with parchment paper and set aside for
later.
2. Toss all dry ingredients
into a large bowl: oats, pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, coconut
sugar, spices and salt.
3. Whisk together all the
wet ingredients: coconut oil (melted), vanilla extract, maple syrup and raw
honey. Drizzle it over the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.
4. Pour mixture onto the
prepared baking tray. Using a spatula, nudge the mixture until loosely and
evenly spread out to let air through. Press down and pack the mixture to create
an even and flat layer, about ½ inch thick.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
Rotate the baking tray and bake for another 10 minutes. Add the raisins and
coconut flakes and bake for a further 5 minutes, until the edges turns a deep
golden brown colour and the granola is just slight soft. Keep an eye on the
coconut as they can get burnt quite quickly. My granola took around 30 minutes
in total. Try not to flip or move the granola too much, they should crisp up
whilst cooling.
6. Remove from the oven and
place baking tray onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 30
minutes, or until completely cooled and firm.
7. Finally, enjoy! You
can either serve the granola right away with some milk/yoghurt and fresh fruits;
or you can transfer it to a sealed container and it should keep for up to one month.
Otherwise, freeze it so that they can be kept for even longer.
Now that you have my base recipe, you can play around with the mix-ins and spices to make it your favorite granola. Believe me, once you try homemade granola, you will find it hard to go back to store-bought granola. My advice for you is to make a big batch so that it can last you a really long time. I usually keep mine in the freezer to make sure that it stays nice and fresh. You just need to let it warm to room temperature for a few minutes and enjoy. For me, I always like to pop it in a pan and warm for a minute or two before serving. I love to either drown mine in almond milk or sprinkle it over a bowl of greek yoghurt or berry smoothie.
Please let me know how this recipe
turns out for you in the comments. I would love to hear from you and I hope this granola recipe
will become your new favourite too!
With love,
MN x**This blog post does
contain the use of affiliate links.
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