Oat Free Healthy Granola

September 29, 2022

This granola is simple to make, delicious, nutrient rich, and oat free!

During the cooler months of the year you can catch me eating a good amount of granola or cooked oats for breakfast. It’s warm, cozy, and comforting – all things I want when I’m cold and the days are shorter. However, this past spring and summer one of my goals was to eat less heavy grains, including oats. This is what lead me to creating this simple and delicious oat free granola.

Here in the Northern hempisphere, spring and summer are known as Kapha season in Ayurveda. The earth and water elements are more present in nature, and the qualities of heavy, dense, slow, oily, and wet appear in our environment, as well as our bodies and/or minds. These qualities can show up as dampness or more rain, vegetables with more water in them growing from the earth, humidity in the air, colds, seasonal allergies, congestion in the head and chest, sinus infections, and more.

So, why eat less oats during the warmer months of the year?

In order to balance these qualities and maintain health, Ayurveda says to increase the warm, dry, and light qualities to our diet and lifestyle, focus on eating more foods with the bitter, pungent, and astringent, tastes, and to avoid foods that are too heavy, sweet, salty, and sour. Oats tend to be a heavy grain, which is what lead me to creating this nutrient rich granola which uses nuts and seeds, pungent spices, and a natural sweetener.

This healthy oat free granola is gluten free, vegan, and dairy free. You can easily modify flavor combinations using a variety of seeds and nuts to shift the seasonal focus. This is a great granola during the warmer months of the year, but during the cooler months you might modify by using gluten-free rolled oats, dried fruits, and heavier nuts such as cashews, walnuts, or pecans.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups slivered raw almonds
  • 1 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 2 Tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 3 Tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line one large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed meal, spices, and salt.
  3. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the coconut oil and maple syrup. Heat lightly on low to combine, never letting this reach near a boil. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.
  4. Spread the mixture evenly onto a large baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes.
  5. Increase heat to 340 degrees F and return to oven for another 10 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
  6. Once the granola is visibly browned and done cooking (about 30-35 minutes total for me), remove from the oven and let cool completely.
  7. Store in a container with an air-tight seal, and it should keep for a few weeks.

Recipe makes about 6 cups of granola. Eat with warm milk, over yogurt, or simply as is!