I love granola. Well, I love a lot of things, brussel sprouts, lentils, guacamole… you get the point. But my love for granola is wrapped up in the fact that it’s a component of my favorite meal of the day. Breakfast. I adore breakfast. I never, ever skip breakfast. Why would you want to? Some of the best food (best weekend food) can be had at breakfast time. Waffles, delicious. Pancakes, never met a flapjack I didn’t like. Sweet potato hash, yes please. I cherish those few moments of zen every morning, enjoying my breakfast with a cup of coffee. And, if you’re easing yourself into the whole vegan thing, breakfast is a great place to start.
Back to granola. I’ve been on a quest (a quest!) to perfect my homemade granola recipe. First lesson learned, add meltables – chocolate chips, dried fruit – after the granola is baked. Always after. Rookie mistake.
If you’re going for granola with clusters, forgot the oil and up the sugar and fruit puree content. For years, cluster filled granola was my thing, but it often goes straight from under cooked to burned. Here trash can, have some oats.
Out of concern for my own kitchen sanity, I switched up my approach and decided to go for crunch over clump. The result, damn tasty. I use coconut oil – just a bit – and the result is toasty oat perfection. Plus, coconut oil is totally good for you. A little healthy fat never hurt nobody.
I know there are those of you out there who don’t like coconut, but don’t fret. The coconut flavor is totally subtle. It adds that little something extra that puts this granola over the top. But if you really hate it, feel free to sub canola oil or any other neutral vegetable oil. In fact, sub to your heart’s content. Don’t love dried cranberries? Toss in chopped dates. No warm and fuzzies for almonds? Macadamia nuts could be really interesting thrown into the mix.
Customize to your heart’s content. Quest over.
- 3 cups oats
- ⅓ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- ½ cup banana puree (or substitute unsweetened applesauce)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil plus extra for greasing pan
- ½ cup each chopped apricots, cranberries (or substitute raisins, dates)
- 1-2 drops vanilla extract (optional)
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- Preheat oven to 300 F. Combine oats, flaxseed, almonds, coconut, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in a large bowl. In a small saucepan melt coconut oil with maple syrup, banana, vanilla, and salt over low heat, stirring. Pour maple mixture over oats and stir until oats are well coated.
- Spread the oats onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake, stirring often until dry and golden brown, 40 - 45 minutes.
- Remove granola from oven and stir in dried fruits. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Granola will stay fresh for about a week.
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