Chunky-Sticky Homemade Granola

I am not the biggest fan or consumer of granola because I find it quite dry and boring most of the time. However, I wanted to try and see if making my own granola would change my mind and… it kinda did. ;D This definitely is the best granola I have ever had, but then again, I am very biased.

The best thing about homemade granola is the fact that you can adjust it to whatever you have in the pantry. You can use all kinds of nuts, seeds and dried fruit you have on hand, so be creative.

Let’s talk about the wet ingredients.

Oil: so I would probably prefer coconut oil in this but I used olive as that’s what I normally have at home. I don’t mind it but I know it can sometimes have a specific overwhelming flavour not to everyone’s liking. Also, if this seems like a lot of oil, by all means add less. My main goal was to get it crunchy and chunky, so I added quite a bit.

Sweetener: you can definitely use only honey, maple syrup or agave syrup. I wanted to add some maple syrup for a bit of extra flavour and then honey for the rest as it’s simply much cheaper. Alternatively, you can go with agave syrup too.

This recipe yields 600 g of chunky granola.

Ingredients

• 180 g // 2 cups rolled oats
• 80 g // 2 cups coconut flakes
• 45 g // ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• 60 g // ½ cup hemp seeds
• 45 g // ¼ cup chia seeds
• 120 g // 1 cup almonds
• 3 dates (optional)
• 80 g // ½ cup oil
• 60 g // ¼ cup maple syrup
• 80 g // ¼ cup honey (substitute for maple syrup or agave syrup if making a vegan version)
• pinch of salt

For serving:

• greek yogurt
• banana
• pomegranate seeds
• extra drizzle of agave syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 165 C // 330 F degrees.
2. Roughly chop up almonds. You can leave some whole as well. Cut up the dates into small pieces.
3. To a large bowl add all the dry ingredients and dates and mix together.
4. In a jar or a small bowl combine oil, honey and maple syrup and shake to combine.
5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, so that everything is covered and becomes slightly sticky. Feel free to use your hands for this to better incorporate everything.
6. On a lined baking sheet, spread the mixture evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, then try to flip it upside down with a spatula (it will break into smaller pieces but that’s okay) and bake for another 7 minutes or until the top has browned a bit.
7. Let cool completely before transferring to an air-tight container.
8. Serve however you would eat your granola. I had mine with some yogurt, banana slices and pomegranate seeds.