Gingerbread Granola, an easily prepped breakfast or snack for the holiday season. I love making my own granola because I am able to control the sweetness & the flavour. It is also so easy to make at home!
Homemade VS. Store-Bought
There are benefits to both, and it depends what your goals are.
The case for homemade:
When you make your own granola at home, it is actually less expensive than buying the packaged kind. This is because most of the ingredients, except for the nuts really, are very inexpensive on their own.
Additionally, you can better control the sweetness and sugar content when you are making it at home. Store-bought granola typically contains more sugar than I’d like. I often see granola recipes containing both table/brown sugar and a liquid sweetener. In my Gingerbread Granola recipe, I choose to just use a liquid sweetener for the function of binding everything together. I left out regular table sugar, as I felt it was sweet enough as is.
The case for store-bought:
Convenience! I am definitely not against store-bought granola. It is a great way to reduce our time spent cooking each week, and helps us to get a whole grain source in a pinch. One of my favourite store-bought brands is by Kind Snacks! This brand tends to have lower sugar options, and taste delicious! I know that a lot of us may not want to add granola to their meal prep roster- I am all about cutting corners to help us save time and energy.
Ingredients in Gingerbread Granola:
- rolled oats- I love the large flake type
- spices to get that great gingerbread flavour
- coconut oil- helps to bind everything together & to get nice and crispy!
- sweeteners- I used a combination of molasses and maple syrup for the classic gingerbread flavour
- vanilla extract
- nuts- I love using a mix of whatever I have on hand! Pecans are a great seasonal choice here.
Other oat recipe on the blog:
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Overnight Oats
Vanilla Cherry Almond Baked Oatmeal
Let me know what you think about Gingerbread Granola by leaving a star rating and review in the comments below. Enjoy!
Gingerbread Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 ½ -2 tsp ground dried ginger (use 2 tsp if you like a stronger ginger flavour)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups nuts (I used a mix of pecans, almonds and walnuts)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, spices, and salt.
- Next, add in the melted coconut oil, molasses, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix well then fold in the mixed nuts.
- Add the granola to the lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove and mix around the granola in order to cook evenly. Return to the oven for an additional 8-10 minutes until the granola is slightly golden and the nuts look toasted.
- Let cool completely on the baking tray. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!
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