Crunchy Maple Pumpkin Spice Granola
Crunchy Maple Pumpkin Spice Granola
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup almond butter
- 1½ tsp pumpkin spice (OR 1 tsp ground cinnamon + ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg + ⅛ tsp ground cloves + ¼ tsp ground ginger)
- 4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup pepitas OR sunflower seeds
- ½ cup nuts of choice (e.g. pecans, cashews, almonds)
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, almond butter, and spices until smooth and thoroughly combined.
- Add the oats, pepitas or sunflower seeds, nuts, flaxseed, and chia seeds to the pumpkin mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Pour the granola mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and spread it out evenly.
- Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, stirring once at the halfway point of baking, around 10-15 minutes. The granola should be slightly toasty smelling and the spices quite fragrant. It may still be somewhat moist at this point, but that is okay as it will dry out as it cools.
- Remove from oven and top with dried cranberries.
- Allow the granola to cool to room temperature for several hours or even overnight to dry out and get crunchy. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container.
- OPTIONAL: If you like your granola in large clusters, right after removing the granola from the oven and topping it with the dried fruit, take the back of a spatula and press the granola into the pan, making it compact. Allow the granola to cool as stated in step 7 before gently transferring to an airtight container and you should be left with big clusters of granola. If you prefer your granola more separated and don’t want big clusters, omit this step entirely.
Notes
- This is a very lightly sweetened granola. I personally don’t mind the light sweetness as I’m often eating this with fruit and yogurt. However, if you prefer sweeter granola, feel free to bump the ¼ cup of maple syrup up to a ½ cup or add another ½ cup of dried cranberries. The sweetness of the recipe can definitely be adjusted to suit your tastes and whatever way you will be eating the granola (i.e. as a snack on its own or as part of a larger meal).
- If you’re a big pumpkin spice fan, go ahead and up the amount of spice. The amounts listed make for a mild, warmly spiced granola, but always adjust to your personal taste preferences.
- As with most recipes, this granola can be adjusted based on both what you have on hand and your personal taste preferences. Don’t have pumpkin or sunflower seeds? Substitute another type of seed or increase the amount of nuts you add. Don’t have chia seeds, but do have ground flaxseed? Omit the chia and sub in another 2 tbsp of ground flax. Don’t like dried cranberries? Even though they add to the overall fall flavor profile of this granola, feel free to add another type of dried fruit such as apples or raisins.
Crunchy Maple Pumpkin Spice Granola
Makes ~5.5 cups of granola
Ingredients:
½ cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup almond butter
1½ tsp pumpkin spice OR
1 tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup pepitas OR sunflower seeds
½ cup nuts of choice (e.g. pecans, cashews, almonds)
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 tbsp chia seeds
½ cup dried cranberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, almond butter, and spices until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Add the oats, pepitas or sunflower seeds, nuts, flaxseed, and chia seeds to the pumpkin mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated.
Pour the granola mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and spread it out evenly.
Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, stirring once at the halfway point of baking, around 10-15 minutes. The granola should be slightly toasty smelling and the spices quite fragrant. It may still be somewhat moist at this point, but that is okay as it will dry out as it cools.
Remove from oven and top with dried cranberries.
Allow the granola to cool to room temperature for several hours or even overnight to dry out and get crunchy. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container.
OPTIONAL: If you like your granola in large clusters, right after removing the granola from the oven and topping it with the dried fruit, take the back of a spatula and press the granola into the pan, making it compact. Allow the granola to cool as stated in step 7 before gently transferring to an airtight container and you should be left with big clusters of granola. If you prefer your granola more separated and don’t want big clusters, omit this step entirely.
Notes:
This is a very lightly sweetened granola. I personally don’t mind the light sweetness as I’m often eating this with fruit and yogurt. However, if you prefer sweeter granola, feel free to bump the ¼ cup of maple syrup up to a ½ cup or add another ½ cup of dried cranberries. The sweetness of the recipe can definitely be adjusted to suit your tastes and whatever way you will be eating the granola (i.e. as a snack on its own or as part of a larger meal).
If you’re a big pumpkin spice fan, go ahead and up the amount of spice. The amounts listed make for a mild, warmly spiced granola, but always adjust to your personal taste preferences.
As with most recipes, this granola can be adjusted based on both what you have on hand and your personal taste preferences. Don’t have pumpkin or sunflower seeds? Substitute another type of seed or increase the amount of nuts you add. Don’t have chia seeds, but do have ground flaxseed? Omit the chia and sub in another 2 tbsp of ground flax. Don’t like dried cranberries? Even though they add to the overall fall flavor profile of this granola, feel free to add another type of dried fruit such as apples or raisins.
How do you keep granola crispy?
There are a few things you can do to keep your granola crispy. First, you want to make sure your granola cools completely before transferring it to an airtight container. Transferring warm granola can cause moisture to become trapped and you will end up with a soggy mix. Allowing the granola to cool for several hours or even in the (turned off) oven overnight will help to keep it crispy.
Storing your granola in an airtight container is also key to keeping your granola crunchy.
Do you add dried fruit to granola before or after baking?
Dried fruit should always be added to granola after baking it. Dried fruit is already, well, dry, so adding it before baking can lead to burning the fruit before the granola is even done baking. Adding the dried fruit after baking prevents any burning of the fruit from occurring, giving you the best flavor.
How to tell when granola is done baking?
Granola is notoriously easy to overcook in my experience. It is one of those items that if you bake it until you think it's crispy enough, it very well may be overcooked.
The key to crunchy, not over baked granola is a low oven temperature and stopping the baking process when the granola is still somewhat moist and allowing it to dry out as it cools. You are good to take the granola out of the oven when you notice it is lightly fragrant, may smell very lightly toasted, and may be lightly browned or caramelized around the edges and top of the granola. Again, some moisture is ok as it will finish drying out and get crispy as it cools.
What makes granola clump together?
Are you a fan of big clusters of granola? If so, there are a few tricks to getting those chunky clusters.
After stirring your granola once halfway through the baking process, leave it alone and don’t disturb it as it finishes baking. That is often enough to ensure nice chunks of granola, but as a failsafe, when your granola is done baking and you remove it from the oven, while it is still warm, immediately take the back of a spatula and press the granola firmly into the pan. Imagine you are trying to create a compact sheet of granola. Then, don’t stir or disturb the granola as it cools and you should be left with nice clumpy clusters of granola that you can transfer to an airtight container and keep for several weeks.