This cherry and almond granola is easy, versatile, and is a great addition to any pantry.
This granola is full of delicious and nutritious ingredients. It takes about 30 minutes to make and can be customized to your taste. Don't have dried cherries? No worries! Use cranberries instead, or maybe raisins. No almonds? Use walnuts or pumpkin seeds instead, or add them along with the almonds. This is really just a blueprint for a great granola that you can customize however you would like.
I've tried other granola recipes that were loaded with oil and honey. I've lowered the amount of oil and added nut butter to still get some good fat, but not all the processed oils. I prefer the taste of maple syrup in this granola, but if you prefer, you could absolutely use honey.
The steps
When making this granola there are a few things to keep in mind.
Don't overcook it. Burnt granola is like burnt popcorn or burnt toast. There's really no coming back from it. In order to prevent burning, make sure you stay close to the oven when it's cooking. You don't have to stand right over it, but stay close to the kitchen. It can easily go from delicious to burnt in just a few minutes.
Next, you can use any type of nut butter you would like. I used a Trader Joe's salted creamy peanut butter, but feel free to use almond butter if you would like, or sunflower seed butter. Really, any nut butter will work in this recipe.
Finally, don't use instant oats. It's really important that you use old fashioned rolled oats to get the texture of granola. Instant oats will fall apart and you won't get the nice crunchy texture of the granola we are all used to.
Please let me know if you make this recipe! I would love to hear from you! Also, don't forget to check out my other delicious vegan recipes like this roasted cherry tomato soup.
Cherry and Almond Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup uncooked quinoa
- ½ cup chopped almonds
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 3 tbsp nut butter of your choice
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ½ cup dried cherries, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, combine oats, quinoa, chopped almonds, and coconut flakes. Stir to combine and set that aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup, nut butter of your choice, coconut oil, cinnamon, and vanilla. Cook that on low for a few minutes until everything is melted together and combined.
- Add the maple syrup mixture into the oat mixture and toss to combine.
- Pour the granola onto a cookie sheet and place it in the oven for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes is up, stir the granola. Place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, stir the granola again. At this point stay close to the oven. Put it back in for 5 minutes, and stir again. When the granola is done, it will smell nutty and look lightly browned.
- When the granola is done, pour it into a large bowl. Add the chopped cherries and toss to combine. Allow the granola to cool and then store in an airtight container. This granola can be kept for up to 2 weeks in an air tight container.
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