Sweet and Salty Granola

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Vegan/Gluten-Free

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: About 6 cups of granola

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50-60 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Large mixing bowl 

• Wooden spoon or rubber/silicone spatula

• Parchment paper 

• Baking sheet 

The Recipe:

This recipe is from the book Salt Fat Acid Heat and I've made very few tweaks here because it's so delicious.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

• 1 cup raw pepitas

• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds (hulled)

• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

• 1/4 cup chia seeds

• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 cup dried cherries

• Flaked sea salt (such as Maldon) or additional salt, optional

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Add the oats, pecan halves, pepitas, sunflower seeds, coconut, chia seeds, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon sea salt to a large bowl. Mix everything together until it is well combined.

3. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in as even of a layer as possible.

4. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the granola is toasted and crisped, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure even baking.

5. Remove from the oven to cool on the sheet. At this point, you can season with flaked sea salt or additional sea salt, if desired.

6. Once the granola is completely cool, transfer it to a large bowl and stir in the dried cherries.

7. Store in an airtight container or gallon-sized Ziploc bag for up to 1 month.

To Serve: I love eating this granola on top of yogurt (Greek Gods Black Cherry Greek Yogurt is my all time fav), but I also love snacking on it by itself. It would also be delicious served in a bowl with your favorite kind of milk, or as a crunchy topping for overnight oats.

Tips:

• Be sure to use old-fashioned oats here and not quick oats. Quick oats are cooked completely and then dried, while old-fashioned rolled oats are steamed/partially cooked and then rolled; through this process the shape of rolled oats is better retained. Rolled oats are better for baking because of their shape and the fact that they retain their texture much better than quick oats.

• Oats are naturally gluten-free, but look for the "gluten-free" label on your oats if you cannot consume gluten, because there is a possibility of cross-contamination with grains that contain gluten during farming, transportation, storage, and processing. If a product is labeled as gluten-free, it must pass the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's requirement of an ingredient containing less than 20 parts per million of gluten overall.

• If you are not a fan of pecans, this granola would still be yummy without them. You could also substitute another type of nut you have on hand, such as walnuts.

• Pepitas are pumpkin seeds that are harvested from specific pumpkin varieties and are more tender and less fibrous than pumpkin seeds that are not considered pepitas. Pepitas are green in color and never had a hull (shell). They come from oilseed or Styrian pumpkin varieties. Other varieties of pumpkin seeds are generally white in color and have a hull.

• If you have salted pepitas or hulled sunflower seeds, feel free to still use them but you may want to cut down on the amount of additional salt used so your granola is not too salty.

• I like adding chia seeds to this recipe because they are packed with fiber, antioxidants, omega-3 fat (the good stuff), and minerals. However, you could easily leave them out. I do tend to lose a fair amount of them as they are so tiny that it's nearly impossible to scrape every last one out of the bowl/off the pan.

• Be sure to use pure maple syrup in this recipe and not "pancake syrup." Pancake syrups do not actually come from the sap of maple trees and have a very different flavor than pure maple syrup.

• I use sweetened dried cherries in my granola, but you could certainly use an unsweetened tart variety as well. You could also substitute a different dried fruit such as craisins, dried blueberries, or dried apricots if you prefer. You could leave the dried fruit out all together, but I think it adds a nice little punch of flavor.

The Story:

A common question I get when friends are eating something I've made that they really like, is what all is in it? I would have to say 9 times out 10, my first response is, "you don't want to know." In my cooking, I do not shy away from ingredients such as butter, heavy cream, buttermilk, cheese, sugar...you get the picture. I really love really good food, and you know what's really good? All of the ingredients I just mentioned.

That said, I love to cook with whole grains and seasonal produce whenever I can, because it's so fun to take humble ingredients and make them shine.

Mixing up some whole grain goodness

I found this recipe in one of my all-time favorite books, Salt Fat Acid Heat. Although I've never really craved granola and hadn't ever attempted making it, this one sounded so simple and special. It was definitely a love-at-first-bite situation, for me and my kids. I love that this granola is simple but the flavors are incredibly balanced. Slightly salty, crunchy, a pleasant tartness from the dried cherries, and the subtle sweetness of the pecans, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Every bite is SO good. Added bonuses include: it's unbelievably easy to prepare, it makes a hearty amount of granola, and you don't need a lot of equipment to make it.

The tweaks I've made to this sweet and salty granola recipe are very minimal; among them the addition of the chia seeds that don't add flavor but are little powerhouses of nutrition that I try to sneak into whatever I can. The oats, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and pepitas are all great sources of fiber, and oats and chia seeds are both known to lower cholesterol. I could go on and on about all of the amazing health benefits of the different ingredients in this granola, but I think I'd need a whole other post ;) As I mentioned in the recipe, I love to eat this granola with black cherry yogurt; the flavors go together so beautifully and my kids absolutely love this combo too! I'm not a big "snacker," but this is one thing I will keep on my desk at work that I can dip into and know I'll be getting big and satisfying flavors with plenty of health and benefits and very little guilt.

What's your favorite way to eat granola? Let me know in the comments!

Happy tasting!