Grain Free + Granola = too good to be true??
I have got to tell you, this recipe tastes too good to be true, but isn’t. This WILL fill your need for cereal or granola when doing a grain-free diet. It tastes just like regular granola and can be used to top yogurt, top berries and cream/coconut cream or eat plain with coconut milk. I like to add a dash of organic cream to mine to make it extra good.
Granola is one of my top favorite foods. It has also, in the past, been a food that when I started eating it I couldn’t stop eating it. It’s like my version of pringles: Once you pop you can’t stop. So I decided that I wasn’t going have any granola in my house, which was for the better but I still missed it. Plus, most traditional granolas are full of gluten, hydrogenated oils and lots and lots of sugar. Many of them are so far from a health food. They can contain more sugar than some desserts, we just don’t think of granola in that way. We have been trained to think “health food”. I want you to show you a recipe for granola that you can eat whenever you want. I’m so happy to have it back in my house again.
This recipe has a lot of coconut oil (healthy fat) and no grains. It contains almost every nut and seed known to man, hense the name Everything but the Kitchen Sink. When all of the flavors combine, it’s heavenly. No particular nut or seed’s flavor comes to the forefront, the flavors merry perfectly.
If you remember, I have a gluten-free granola recipe on this blog. (You can find the recipe Here). That recipe I still love and consider healthy if your body can handle eating grains. Now you have two options.
First Things First, this recipe looks very overwhelming, but don’t worry. It’s quite easy and very forgiving. Don’t stress about all of the ingredients. Take it one step at a time (double the recipe to make more and get more bang for your buck) and you will realize you’ve got this. If you have any leftovers, freeze in an airtight container or plastic storage bag.
Substitutions:
I want to give a few substitutions before my recipe to help people out who may have other diet restrictions. If you are not doing any forms of unrefined sugar, omit the honey and increase the coconut oil to 3/4 cup and the stevia to 1 1/2 teaspoons. If you eat quinoa, you can add 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa when you add the the sesame seeds and omit 1/2 cup of any of the nuts.
Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3 Tablespoons chia seeds
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Stevita stevia
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2-3/4 cup raisins (optional, and to your taste)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
- In a food processor, add cashews, almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, pecans and walnuts. Pulse until the nuts and seeds combine to the size of a grain, like oatmeal or buckwheat. These are going to act as your “grain” in this recipe. It is your base, so you don’t want big pieces of nuts in this part of the granola
- Add the nut mixture from the food processor into a large bowl. Add the sesame seeds, chia seeds, coconut, salt, stevia and cinnamon and mix together with a spatula
- Heat the coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan on medium until melted and combined
- Pour over the nut and seeds and mix together with a spatula. If you need additional mixing, just use your clean hands. Sometimes they work better. Add the almond and vanilla extract and stir one more time
- Take out two cookie sheets and add 1/2 of the granola to each sheet evenly. It doesn’t work very well on one cookie sheet
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and switching the racks each cookie sheet is on. You want them to bake and brown evenly
- Once the granola is cooled stir in the raisins
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature
Enjoy!
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Joy says
This looks awesome I cant wait to try. Have you considered calculating the calories in your recipes for your blog readers that need to count calories and watch their serving sizes? I bet this would be a very satisfying snack for me. Lots of protein. Thanks for sharing.
Just Enjoy Food says
Hi Joy-
This granola is a really satisfying snack! I honestly don’t know how to figure out calories per recipe or per serving. And I am not one to know the calorie counts of foods or count calories myself, although I know it works well for some.
Jan says
Wow! I just made this recipe for the second time! We love it even more than the almond granola recipe! I always double your recipes too! The food is always a hit! Loved your Thanksgiving e book Dr Meghan!
Rachel @ GrokGrub says
I love grain-free granola, I think it’s even more amazing than the traditional kind! Your version looks great. :)
Meghan Birt says
Thanks so much Rachel!!! Granola is one of my favorite foods.
Rita says
Although my granola doesn’t look brown and toasty like yours, it is absolutely delicious! Are the pieces supposed to clump together like the typical granola? Mine didn’t. I’ll be making this recipe over and over!
Meghan Birt says
Hi Rita-
Here’s a little secret… it shouldn’t be quite as brown as mine anyways. I burned it because I kinda forgot about it for a minute too long. It doesn’t really clump together. My parents make it a lot and they pack it down as it is cooking and it clumps a little bit, but it’s mostly loose granola. I am glad you like it. This is one of my favorite recipes! I think I could eat my body weight in granola… and that’s not a good thing :). Enjoy!
Vini says
Hello, what temperature do you bake at?
Meghan Birt says
350