11.21.2011

Grain Free Granola

grain free granola

Or "bird seed" as my brother called it. He and I grew up on cereal for breakfast, mainly Honey Nut Cheerios. It seemed only natural that I would continue the tradition with my kids, right? So I stocked my pantry with Honey Bunches of Oats. I thought I was doing my kids right serving up wholesome whole grain. Who knew? Now I know better. No grain, no pain. (For more information, read this.)

But cereal for breakfast is a hard habit to kick, and shortly after eliminating grain from our diet, I knew I needed a replacement for those granola clusters we had learned to know and love. I googled "paleo granola" and spliced a few recipes together to find the right combination of crunch, texture, and sweetness. It's perfect on top of plain yogurt or with some raw milk (if you do dairy), nut milk, or coconut milk. I've even put it on top of mashed sweet potatoes. Much better than marshmallows.

grain free granola

Grain Free Granola

2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup each sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds (raw and unsalted)
3/4 cup each unsweetened coconut and raisins
1/2 cup each sesame seeds and ground flax meal
1/4 cup each honey and butter or coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine nuts, seeds, flax meal, coconut and raisins. In a small saucepan, combine butter and honey and heat until melted. Add vanilla and almond extract to the butter and honey, and pour over the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Spread granola onto a large baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes. Let the granola cool, then break into small clusters. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Enjoy!

28 comments:

  1. great! i have everything i need to whip this up today. thanks chica.

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  2. This looks absolutely delicious! I will definitely make this!

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  3. thank you for this recipe; can't wait to try it!

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  4. Woo woo! I already made it! I didnt have flax meal or enough almonds so I put in some super finely chopped hazelnuts , poppyseeds, and a good dose of molasses too. Deeeeeelish! Thank you!

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  5. Yum! Thanks for sharing! Do you know if it's possible to follow paleo as a vegetarian (who is soy free and temporarily dairy free due to nursing a baby with allergies)?

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  6. My youngest loves cereal and would eat it every day. Since going Paleo myself, I have stopped giving it to him most days. On some days I give him the kind I made in the past which has oats. This will be a great replacement.

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  7. whoa.
    that is a crazy article you linked to.
    so much to absorb.

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  8. YES. That is all.

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  9. Why didn't I know this? Regardless, I have been looking for a granola without oats for a while and will definitely try this.

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  10. I have to admit to not knowing much about the whole grain thing. I will have to read that article. Having said that, your granola looks like one kick arse granola. Thanks for the recipe, Molly.

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  11. I just wanted to say, I love your new header!! After Thanksgiving is usually when the puzzles come out here. My mom retired a few years ago and there is always one going at her house all winter and the kids love to work on it together.

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  12. That looks really good! ~m

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  13. I like to want Grain Free Granola. It such a lovely and delicious. I am so excited of that.

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  14. Quick question: Do you soak your nuts first? I never have, but recently have stumbled upon a plethora of info about the negative health effects of unsoaked nuts. Well, I've got a batch in the dehydrator right now - will use your recipe after they're dried out and let you know how it works. Looking forward to it! Thanks!!

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  15. i read this and realized i had all of these things in my pantry. whipped up a batch and it is delicious!
    (i used agave/butter/coconut oil)

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  16. Oh that IS birdseed but it is good! I just found out I'm allergic to oats so I might give it a whirl.

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  17. This is great. Thank you! My only problem was that the raisins turned to small lumps of charcoal in the oven, so I'm going to add them after baking from now on. Also, I suggest stirring the granola every 5 minutes while baking.

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  18. This looks delicious! Will definitely be trying this soon. :)

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  19. I make something similar and call it seed-ola. Bird seed seems fitting too. :)

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  20. I made it twice! Once in the oven and the second time in my dehydrator. I reviewed it over at my blog. Thanks for the great recipe!!

    http://www.rawlawyer.com/2012/03/raw-grain-free-granola-recipe-review.html

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  21. This looks really good! I'm looking forward to trying it!

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  22. I pulled it out at 25 minutes because it was starting to burn. Still pretty tasty though!

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  23. Delicious looking. And I love the idea of it being grain free. I'll definitely be trying this and sharing it with my blog readers. Thanks!

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  24. Yay! We are on a similar dietary path...for breakfast weve been doing egg, bacon, sausage patties, paleo pancakes, etc...but this will totally fit in the occassional "whats missing" cereal craving!

    :)Lisa

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  25. Thank you Molly. After a brief search ... I stuck with this recipe and it has become my regular bake once every few weeks. (I bake two batches.) I have been "Grain Free" for about 4 months and I am below 180 Lbs (without exercise) for the first time in years. I was previously a whole grain freak. This recipe is delicious. I have substituted raisins for cranberries, but otherwise I have been loyal to the original. I also kept the "raisins" out until after baking otherwise they turn out like hard stones. Thank you, thank you. You have managed to alter stubborn habits for great improvement.

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  26. Thank you for the recipe, I just tried it and it's delicious. I never made any kind of granola but this is great. I'm not really trying to eat "grain-free" either, but I'm French and we eat plenty of (great) bread ^^ and not so many nuts so... this is a good way to make our diet more balanced.

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