This salty, crunchy, sweet-but-bordering-on-savory granola never lasts very long around our house. Store-bought granola doesn’t even come close to it, and people love receiving it as a gift. It begs to be used on a sophisticated salad, but you also should try it with yogurt and fruit for breakfast or just on its own as a quick, portable snack. Sometimes we add chocolate chunks to it when it’s still warm since the only thing better than granola is chocolate-covered granola.
¼ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup brown rice syrup*
⅓ cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
2 cups rolled oats
⅓ cup sliced almonds, raw and unsalted
⅓ cup pecans, raw and unsalted
⅓ cup pumpkin seeds, raw and unsalted
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the sugar, syrup, oil, vanilla, and salt. Add the oats, almonds, pecans, and pumpkin seeds, and combine. Spread it all out on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, stir it up, and then bake it for 10 more minutes. Let it cool on a parchment-lined plate. It’ll keep for up to a week in a sealed container.
Makes 3 ½ cups.
*Brown rice syrup is a key ingredient here, so make the effort to find it. It is available at natural foods stores.