Berry Granola

Let’s get real: granola is a top-tier food. It can be eaten for breakfast with yogurt, milk, fruit, it can be munched on as a midday snack, you can sprinkle it over the top of a smoothie bowl; there really are endless possibilities for what you can do with this tasty Berry Granola recipe. Sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy, what’s not to love?? 

The grocery list.

• Old fashioned oats – The two different types of oats in this granola recipe provide different textures. 
• Steel cut oats
• Pumpkin seeds – When buying nuts and seeds for your granola, opt for raw nuts, not ones that are roasted or salted. You want to be able to flavor the granola on your own, previously salted nuts will likely clash with the flavors in your homemade granola. 
• Hazelnuts, chopped – Hazelnuts are in every granola batch I make. 
• Almonds, chopped
• Cardamom – Sometimes I like to add other spices to granola like cinnamon or ground ginger but I don’t think this Berry Granola needs too much added flavor. Cardamom has a lovely taste that doesn’t overpower the other flavors in this granola and it goes well with the freeze-dried berries. 
• Maple syrup – Just a bit of sweetness, it also acts as a binding agent for the dry ingredients. 
• olive oil – This may seem like a strange ingredient but it helps bind together the dry ingredients and also adds a very subtle flavor that I think tastes amazing! You can also use coconut oil, it has the same binding effect. 
• Coconut sugar (or light brown sugar) – 
• Pure vanilla extract
• Egg whites – The inclusion of egg whites in granola recipes allows clusters to form so it is easier to snack on! 
• Flaky salt – Granola should be a perfect mix of sweet and salty. Flaky salt is also great for bringing out the other flavors in the granola. 
• Freeze-dried berries – Use your favorite freeze-dried berries – it could be one fruit or a mix of multiple, your choice! I prefer to use a mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries.

The bake.

First, preheat the oven. You don’t want the oven to be too hot because it’ll burn the top layer of granola. 300°F is a good temperature for this Berry Granola and any other granola recipe. 

Combine the old fashioned oats, steel cut oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, hazelnuts and cardamom in a large bowl. 

In a separate smaller bowl whisk together the maple syrup, olive oil, coconut sugar, vanilla extract and egg whites. Pour this bowl of wet ingredients into the larger bowl of dry ingredients. Mix well to fully coat the oats with the wet mixture so there are no dry sections. 

Place parchment on a baking sheet to prevent the granola from sticking to the pan. Spread the oat mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat it down using a rubber spatula and make sure it is spread evenly along the baking sheet so it will bake evenly. 

Put your baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the granola from the oven and toss the oat mixture using a spatula or spoon. This will ensure evenly-baked granola. Pat down the granola to compact it again and return it to the oven. Bake the granola for an additional 20 minutes.

The finishing touches.

Depending on what you want the texture of your freeze-dried berries to be, you will add them at different times. If you would prefer to have your berries be soft and chewy, add them to the granola as soon as it comes out of the oven while it is still hot. The heat will soften the berries. If you would rather have crunchy freeze-dried berries, top the granola with them once the sheet pan has completely cooled. 

Once the granola is out of the oven, allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before touching it. This will allow clusters to form. Top your granola with berries as instructed above. 

Store your delicious Berry Granola in an airtight container once it is completely cooled. Enjoy with yogurt, cold milk, fresh berries or all by itself straight out of the container! 

Make ahead.

Granola is the perfect meal prep food! You can make it in bulk and it’ll last for weeks (though in my house, there usually isn’t any left after one week). This recipe serves 12, but if you’re feeding an army – or the fittest man on earth – you can double all the ingredient measurements. 

Storing.

Make sure you allow your Berry Granola to cool completely once it’s out of the oven before putting it into airtight storage containers. If it’s still hot when you store it, condensation will form on the inside of the container you use and the granola will become damp or even moldy (yuck!) if the moisture is trapped in there for too long. 

Looking for more breakfast recipes?

Here are a few to try:

Healthy Homemade Granola

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Boiled & Baked Everything Bagels

Lastly, if you make this Berry Granola recipe, be sure to leave a comment! Above all, I love to hear from ya’ll and do my best to respond to every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of your dayyyummm good recreations is my favorite!

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