I’ve been trying to reduce my carb intake, but didn’t want to stop eating granola for breakfast. I had purchased several types of grain-free granolas at the store, and liked them. I decided to make my own, as it tastes better, is probably better for me, and gives me lots of variety by changing up the ingredients.
I’ve tried a few combinations of ingredients, but really haven’t settled on the best. I’ll keep experimenting and likely put in a few of my favorite combinations. But, for now, here is the basic recipe that I work from.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of whole nuts (I use a combination of nuts including walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pecans, cashews, & pistachios)
- 1 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup of seeds (i usually use sunflower seeds, but could use any seed, such as pumpkin)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (could substitute hemp seeds here)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup nut butter (there are lots of varieties here…..peanut butter would have to be smooth, sunflower butter, almond nut butter, etc.)
- 1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, cinnamon and salt into a food processor. Pulse the food processor about 8 times to coarsely chop the nuts and combine these dry ingredients together.
- In a small sauce pan, add the coconut oil, nut butter, monk fruit, and vanilla extract. Heat until melted and stir until smooth.
- Poor the contents of the sauce pan into the food processor and pulse it another 8 to 10 times until all ingredients are combined and damp..
- Scrape the granola onto the baking sheet and pat down to an even 1/2 thick layer on top of the parchment paper.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan and mix up the granola, being sure to move the edges towards the center.
- Bake for 10 more minutes.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and let it cool completely. Break the granola up and store in an air-tight container.
There are lots of combinations on this recipe, so enjoy experimenting (I know I am).