Yesterday I promised you quite a few posts…
This one probably whet your appetite the most. And rightfully so.
I’ve already perfected quinoa granola before, so how does this one differ? Well, it’s lighter for one. The ingredients list is shorter, too.
Granola is awesome. You just raid your pantry, throw everything in a bowl, and the rest sorts itself out in the oven. Or you could follow this recipe…
Sweet almond and quinoa granola
Ingredients:
- 2 cup whole rolled oats
- 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 1 cup almonds, slivered
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (I only used honey because I couldn’t find my parents’ syrup) *
- 1/3 cup canola oil (I used Smart Balance canola/soy/olive oil blend)
- 1/4 cup water
Mix dry ingredients (oats, quinoa, cranz, sultanas, almonds, cinnamon, salt) then add in wet ingredients (honey, oil, water, vanilla) and stir until everything is mixed.
Like I mentioned before, my parents’ pantry lacks some hippie favorites (coconut oil, chia seeds, maple syrup, agave nectar), so I was nervous about how this batch would work. But I tasted as I went (obviously) just to make sure it was right and what do you know…it was excellent!
This recipe yields enough to spread on two baking sheets. I would recommend NOT using foil because I regretted it. Way easier to just eat scrape it right off the pan.
Bake it at 225 for 60 minutes.
You’ll start to smell it at the 45 minute mark…and boy oh boy is it a fabulous aroma.
The sweetness of the sultanas and dried cranberries are just enough to delight your taste buds without being too much sugar. Meanwhile, the quinoa brings mega protein to the table as well as a nice crunch. And unlike my previous recipe, the slivers of almonds make the granola lighter (not that there’s anything wrong with nutrient dense granola).
Check out the yield!
I had my first bowl the morning of the wedding, along with Trader Joe’s greek yogurt.
FYI, TJ’s makes really thick greek yogurt! And it was nonfat greek yogurt, too, which isn’t usually as thick. I just realized there’s no adjective for thick. Ok, but really, this granola was awesome…and even more stellar when paired with the tangy yogurt.
Do yourself a favor and make it. Soon.
*This recipe is inherently FODMAPS friendly as long as you follow the vegan guidelines (using maple syrup not honey). If you are exceptionally sensitive to dried fruit, you may consider reducing the dried cranberries and golden raisins (or subbing dark chocolate instead?), but otherwise the amount of fructose in a serving of granola really shouldn’t cause GI distress.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
the granola looks fabulous! glad to hear that it’s fodmaps friendly too! Didn’t know you ate yogurt but I will keep the Tjs suggestion in mind b/c sometimes in recipes, it’s good to have really thick yogurt to work with.
Your trip to Nor Cal sounds awesome!
Ha, again, great minds think alike – I’ve just been experimenting with granola too (using your original quinoa recipe as inspiration!!) Yum, this version looks fantastic- am SO in love with the crunch factor quinoa gives the granola. Genius.
Why, why, WHYYYYY have I never tried making my own granola? I mean, I’ve made your granola (that pan of quinoa granola didn’t stand a chance against me…um, 3 days I think before it was all gone?), but I’ve never tried just throwing things together to see what comes out. I guess I’m afraid I’ll burn it or something. Like seriously, I would never think to decrease the oven temp to the 200′s! I’m definitely trying this!
PS, sorry I’ve been a bad blogger friend and am like 293863 posts behind!! I’ll catch up eventually!
no probs love. i figured such since you are still recapping CA, haha
Touche!
Elise you are the QUEEN of quinoa granola. I definitely need to make your recipe!! I’ve made a buckwheat+quinoa granola that turned out fabulously – i love the crunch.
BTW, i have been researching FODMAPs like crazy on Pub Med (ha, like you!) and have printed out so many articles and am reading through them. would love to chat with you about it sometime! this is the culmination of IBS/stomach discomfort that actually landed me in the hospital last tuesday night, so that’s why i’ve been furiously reading the literature!
definitely feel free to email me. ive consumed every pub med article i can find…
im so sorry you were in the hospital. we will chat for sure.
this looks awesome! love the shorter ingredient list and that it has quinoa in it. can’t wait to try it this weekend. thanks for posting!
YUM! I was just looking up easy granola recipes to make for the music festival we’re traveling to this weekend. I have all those things in my pantry! Thanks!
Love your site!
Looks delicious! I definitely need more granola in my life.
Maybe simple, but looks totally delicious!
I really want to make this!! since you don’t reccommend using foil, what’s the best thing to use?
just use the pan. you can spray it with a non-stick spray first but im pretty sure you dont need to as long as you follow the recipe’s amount of oil
Woohoo I’m totally digging this granola recipe! I love that you included uncooked quinoa as I’m sure it adds a whole lot of crunch and protein. You’ve definitely got a winner with this one. Do you think you could substitute a little bit of applesauce for some of the canola oil, or would that make it too soggy? Or is there another low fat alternative you could use for some of the oil? Just curious.
Thanks again for the recipe! I’ll totally be trying it out ASAP
This reminds me of a Two Moms in the Raw bar, which I tried for the first time last night! So tasty–so pricey! Making this would be such an awesome alternative!
Looks awesome! I’ve never thought to add quinoa, but I bet it adds a nice crunch.
I must not read very carefully because I always assumed your quinoa granola was with COOKED quinoa…which I am too lazy to do. So imagine my bliss when I saw this granola with UNCOOKED quinoa. It’s bookmarked…and I have everything on hand. Super win.
Made a version of this tonight and doubled the batch. I’m now set for the next 3 weeks for breakfast! Delicious!
Just made my second batch. So.dang.good.
My host family has about 7 different types of healthy, expensive, organic, pre-packaged granola in our cereal cabinet, but I still wanted to try making my own. This stuff trumps them all, hands down. It is like crack. Crunchy granola crack. Portion control: difficult. Thanks for the recipe!
haha, portion control: difficult – i love it
OK I am kinda new at this health food stuff, but I don’t know what sultanas are and I don’t see them listed in the ingredients. But the directions say to add the dry ingred. , oats, quinoa, cranz, cinn, sultanas, almonds, salt….just wondering. If I try this I want to do it correctly. Thanks.
tonilea
sultanas are golden raisins.
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