Ingredients
- 1 TBS chia seeds* + 3 TBS water
- 2 cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats**
- 2/3 cup gluten-free quick oats
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 TBS ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup all natural almond butter (or favorite nut/seed butter)
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 TBS coconut oil
- 1/2 TBS vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees and line large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, combine chia seeds with water. Set aside for a few minutes so “gel” can form while preparing rest of ingredients.
- In a large bowl add rolled oats, quick oats, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and ground cinnamon. Stir until combined and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. (If almond butter is very thick, microwave with maple syrup and coconut oil for about 15-20 seconds.) Add almond butter mixture and chia seed gel to large bowl of dry ingredients, stir with large spoon until the dry mixture is well coated. Then, use your hands to fully mix and get the clusters ready.
- Spread/sprinkle the mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet. You should have clusters of granola already from working the mixture with your hands.
- Bake granola in increments for a total of 35-40 minutes, flipping the granola gently at 15 minutes, then again at 12 minutes, then again at 12-15 minutes***
- Remove granola from oven and allow to cool completely, do NOT stir again. While the granola cools, the air will help set the crunchy texture.
- Store in airtight container. Granola should stay fresh up to 3 weeks.
Recipes Notes:
–Granola will make roughly 6-8 servings, about ½ cup each.
*You can also use one large egg white as binder, or same ratio for milled flaxseed + water if you don’t have chia seeds.
**Using a mixture of old fashioned oats and quick oats helps create the clusters. But feel free to use all old-fashioned if you prefer.
***Not stirring the granola as much will get you more clusters. I use a big spatula to “flip” the granola, rather than stirring. I also “sprinkled” the mixture on the pan, which resulted in more clumps from the beginning, then only flipped the granola gently to maintain the clusters. Watch granola after each time flipping to make sure it is not getting too dark, adjust time accordingly, as every oven is different!
Nutrition Information:
- Serving Size: 1/8th
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 10
- Sodium: 52
- Fat: 23
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 14
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 36
- Fiber: 7
- Protein: 9
- Cholesterol: 0
Find it online: https://www.fitmittenkitchen.com/maple-walnut-cinnamon-granola/