I think it’s time for granola to get a makeover. Most granola is very high in sugar and is lacking in protein, which in my opinion, makes it only slightly better than a candy bar. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy granola, crunchy and sweet but I’d prefer that it had more protein and less sugar. This makeover unveils a gluten-free granola, that is a more balanced snack or breakfast, packed with nutrients and still tastes great! With the use of an egg replacer and agave in place of honey, this granola is easily made vegan.
About the Ingredients
So how exactly is this gluten-free granola different from your average granola?
- Protein – I’ve added an egg white (also helps granola to clump), soy nuts and garbanzo beans. You can start with canned garbanzos and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes before baking the granola. Or you can use dried chickpea snacks like these Good Bean.
- Vegan – An egg replacer can be used to make it vegan. There’s already flax meal in the recipe so using a flax egg (1 Tbsp flax seed meal with 3 Tbsps warm water) as an egg replacement works very well.
- Sweetener – I’ve used a combination of coconut sugar* and agave (or honey) for sweetener and just a little oil. Ease up on the dried fruit and use one that is naturally sweet with no sugar added. I used tart, dried cherries. If you prefer your granola sweeter I suggest using brown sugar and increase the amount to 1/3 cup.
This gluten-free granola also has several good sources of fiber in the soy nuts, garbanzo beans, flax seed meal and teff grain. Eat it dry, in a bowl with milk or yogurt, or sprinkle it over ice cream or sorbet, take it on a hike as a portable snack or on top of a smoothie bowl.
Granola Variations
- Ginger Granola – Add 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger to the liquid ingredients and 1/3 cup crystallized ginger in place of the dried fruit.
- Tropical Granola – Use unsweetened dried pineapple for the dried fruit and when the granola is out of the oven, stir in 1/3 c toasted shredded coconut.
*Coconut sugar is made from the nectar of the flower on coconut palm trees so it tastes nothing like coconut. It looks like a drier brown sugar and has a wonderful caramel flavor.
Gluten-Free Granola
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Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans*
- 1¼ c gluten-free rolled oats
- ¾ cup roasted edamame or soy nuts*
- ⅓ c raw pumpkin seeds
- ⅓ c chopped cashews or slivered almonds
- ⅓ c chopped unsweetened dried fruit
- 3 Tbsp whole teff grain
- 1 egg white or egg replacer
- 2 Tbsp flax seed meal
- 3 Tbsp brown or coconut sugar
- 2 Tbsp agave or raw honey
- 2 Tbsp safflower oil
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°
- Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Spread them out on a kitchen towel to absorb any excess moisture. Remove any loose shells.
- Lay them on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. They will not be completely dry at this point but will dry out when the granola bakes.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, edamame, pumpkin seeds, nuts, dried fruit and teff grain.
- In a small mixing bowl thoroughly whisk the egg white, coconut sugar, agave or honey oil and cinnamon.
- When the garbanzo beans are done, add them to the oat mixture and turn the oven down to 250.° Then add the egg mixture to the oat mixture and stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the granola in an even layer.
- Place in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.
- When the 15 minutes are up give the granola a stir to turn it over a bit. Continue baking for another hour and stir every 15 minutes. It will seem a little moist and chewy right out of the oven but will become crispy once cooled.
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