Vegan Granola
Vegan granola – this easy granola recipe can be customized to suit you! You can add nuts, seeds, dried fruit, spices, chocolate chips, coconut flakes etc etc. Use this base recipe as a blueprint to create all sorts of flavour combinations!
Servings 8 people
Ingredients
Granola:
- 300 g (3 cups) rolled oats (jumbo is best; you ideally don't want to use quick cook oats)
- ½ tsp salt
- 120 ml (½ cup) maple syrup
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) melted refined coconut oil (or another neutral oil)
Optional Mix Ins:
- 1 ½ tsp mixed spice (pumpkin spice)
- 150 g (1 cup) mixed seeds (I used pumpkin, sunflower and flax)
- 150 g (1 cup) roughly chopped nuts
- a couple of handfuls of coconut flakes
- 35 g (¼ cup) cacao nibs
- 150 g (1 cup) dried fruit, chopped if large
- 100 g (⅔ cup) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°fan/320F/gas mark 3. Line a large roasting tin with baking parchment.
- Place the oats in a large bowl and add the salt. If you are adding spices, nuts and/or seeds add them now. Mix everything together well.
- Add the maple syrup and melted coconut oil and give it a good stir so that everything is well coated.
- Spread the mixture out on the prepared tray. If you like larger clusters of granola then you can pack it down firmly with a spatula.
- Bake the granola for 20 minutes then remove from the oven and give it a stir. If you want large clumps then skip this step.
- Return to the oven for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and give it a stir if it starts to darken around the edges. If you want large clusters be very gentle and try not to break the granola up too much.
- After the 20 minutes is up, if you are adding coconut flakes or cacao nibs, stir them through now then return the granola to the oven for 5-10 minutes until it is golden and the coconut is lightly toasted. The granola won't feel crisp yet, it will firm up as it cools.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray. If you are adding dried fruit or chocolate chips stir them through once the granola has cooled completely then transfer it to an airtight container.
Notes
- Use jumbo or regular rolled oats, not quick cooking ones for the best texture.
- If you want large clusters of granola, spread the mixture out on the baking tray and pack it down with a spatula. Don’t stir it during baking or when it comes out of the oven. Leave it to cool then break it up with your hands.
- For flakier granola, don’t pack the mixture down and give it a stir a couple of times while it bakes.
- Don’t turn the oven up too high, a lower temperature is best to ensure that the granola cooks properly without burning.
- Add your mix-ins at the right time – nuts, seeds and spices before baking, coconut and cacao nibs partway through and dried fruit and chocolate chips once the granola has cooled.
- If you add loads of mix-ins you may need to add a little bit more maple syrup and coconut oil to ensure that everything gets an even coating.
- You can swap the coconut oil for another oil if you like – canola, grapeseed or olive oil would be good options.
- The maple syrup can be swapped for agave if you prefer.
- Do not reduce the quantities of syrup and oil or you won’t get crisp, delicious granola.
- As all ovens vary it is impossible to give an exact baking time so just keep an eye on the granola. It is ready when it looks lightly toasted with a pale golden colour and smells toasty.