All the flavour, all of the crunch, none of the nasties.
As I started to write this post I literally started to get excited (is that sad?) because I love granola that much. If there's a way to eat granola I've no doubt tried it - this versatile & delicious recipe will become a house hold staple (I hope). The best part about this recipe is that it allows you to get creative and make it your own with plenty of optional add-ins and flavour combinations plus it's free of dairy, sugar & gluten (as long as you use GF oats).
Ingredients
Dry
1 cup of whole or rolled oats
1 cup of buckwheat (you can sub for puffed buckwheat or rice, or extra oats)
1 1/2 cups of coconut chips
1 1/2 cups of your choice of mixed nuts & seeds (my favourites are pumpkin seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds)
1 heaped tsp cinnamon (optional)
Wet
1 ripe mashed banana (the riper the banana the sweeter it will be)
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice (add more if you're a bit of sweet tooth)
2 heaped Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
Optional Add-ins: (you don't need to add all, pick and choose any that sound good to you)
2 Tbsp cacao or cocoa to make it chocolatey - add this to dry ingredients
3/4 tsp powdered ginger (this is yummy with the cinnamon) - add this to dry ingredients
2 heaped Tbsp Peanut Butter (add this with cacao & it's like a snickers!) - add this to the wet ingredients
Dried fruit - add this after the granola is baked and cooled
Essence of choice (hazelnut, peppermint, almond, orange...) - add this to the wet ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C Bake
Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine
In a pot over a low heat add your wet ingredients and slowly stir until they have melted and combined nicely
Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix until everything is combined (you want to try and get all your dry ingredients coated in the wet ingredients)
Spread out evenly on a baking tray (use baking paper if you like) and pop in the oven for about 25mins (depending on your oven give or take 5 mins)
I like to check on mine about half way through and give it a toss around so that it bakes evenly & once cooked leave it to cool
Ways to Enjoy your Granola
In a bowl with your favourite fruit & yoghurt
Sprinkled on top of a smoothie bowl
Pop in a ziplock bag for a quick snack on the go
Melt some good quality dark chocolate and add granola to make little crunchy cluster treats like this
Let me know what you think and any other great variations you have!
Nicole x