Oil-Free Crunchy Granola

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Oil-Free Crunchy Granola
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Oil-Free Crunchy Granola

Servings

20-30

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Baking time

2

hours

Ingredients

  • 1 cup roughly chopped pitted dates (any variety)

  • ½ cup sweet potato puree

  • 1 cup water

  • 8 cups old fashioned rolled oats

  • 1 cup chopped nuts (mix of walnuts and pecans)*

  • ¼ cup ground flaxseed

  • 1½ tablespoons cinnamon*

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder*

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • ½ teaspoon cloves

  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the dates, sweet potato, and water to a high speed blender and set aside to soak while you prepare the remaining ingredients. If you do not have a high speed blender, you can use a food processor instead.
  • Add all the remaining ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to evenly distribute the spices.
  • Blend the liquid ingredients until you have a smooth paste. If it doesn’t blend easily, you can add a little more water as needed. But only add about a tablespoon or two at a time until is just blends, because you want a paste rather than a liquid.
  • Add the date/sweet potato paste to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Because the paste is thick, you will need to be patient with stirring to make sure all the oats and nuts are evenly coated. I prefer to mix with my hands to make this easier.
  • Spread the mixture out evenly between two silicone or parchment-lined baking sheets.
  • Put the trays in the 250 degree oven for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring the granola and rotating the trays every 30 minutes.
  • Once the granola is evenly dried out and golden, turn the oven off, and leave the granola in the warm oven for another 1 to 2 hours until it is fully cooled. This will help to completely dry it out and crisp it up.
  • Serve over your favorite plant-based yogurt, on a smoothie bowl, with nice cream, or with your favorite plant-based milk as a cold cereal. The granola can be stored at room temperature (mine is usually gone in a week, so I’ve never tested it longer), or you can keep it in the fridge or freezer for longer storage.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • I’ve used a mix of walnuts and pecans, but you can feel free to use a mixture of any nuts and/or seeds that you like. You can also adjust the ratio of nuts and seeds to oats. If you want to reduce the fat content, you can omit the 1 cup of nuts/seeds and replace it with another cup of oats. Or you can reduce the amount of oats, and add additional nuts and seeds.
  • You can use the suggested spices or swap them out to make different granola flavors. Some ideas might be to use cinnamon alone, a pumpkin pie spice blend, an apple pie spice blend, or a couple tablespoons of cocoa, cacao, or carob powder for a chocolate flavored granola.
  • I’ve used vanilla bean powder, but you could use a liquid vanilla if you prefer. If using liquid vanilla, add it to the blender with the dates, sweet potato, and water, rather than with the dry ingredients.