If you can’t already tell, I’m BIG on breakfast. For the longest time, I’ve been in the “breakfast: most important meal of the day” camp. Now that I’m exploring a mix of ketogenic and intermittent-fasting principles, my point-of-view might shift again once I’m done testing those theories, but that’s a different story for a different time. ;)

Since I wrote this post on “What makes a good breakfast?”, some people have asked for what kind of good old, straight-up granola recipes I’ve got. I guess the overnight-soaked muesli texture isn’t for everyone, so let’s bring back the crunch!

You know the kind of cook I am: LAZY. Actually, let me rephrase that: EFFICIENT.

HA!

Give me the easiest/ fastest/ healthiest way to hack Grandma’s traditional recipe! (with whole, unprocessed foods, of course). We’re all busy and managing our time can be challenging - why should that get in the way of putting a good, unprocessed, home-made meal on the table?

Granola Recipe. Paleo. Keto. Vegan. Gluten-free. Grain-free.

Granola ranks as one of the world’s easiest things to make, plus it makes your kitchen/ home smell amazing… Cinnamon and maple syrup, mmmm... Enter my go-to guide to making granola here. What I like is its broad strokes approach - a cup of each main ingredient and use whatever grains/ nuts/ seeds/ spices/ sweeteners/ oils you prefer or have in your pantry at this given moment. PERFECT.

Using this approach, you can pretty much make whatever kind of granola you want, according to whatever dietary approach you’ve got: vegan/ gluten-free/ paleo/ ketogenic (high fat - low carb).

From this one master recipe, you can mix any kind of combo you like, and I've given two different variations below:

#1 is a gluten-free, vegan granola.
#2 is a gluten-free, grain-free, paleo/ keto/ blood-sugar balancing granola.

THE MASTER RECIPE:

3 Cups Raw Grains (you can do a mix, eg. 2 cups oats/ 1 cup quinoa flakes)
1 Cup Chopped Raw Nuts (you can do a mix, eg. almonds/ cashews/ hazelnuts/ walnuts/ hazelnuts/ brazil nuts. Use a food processor, or chop by hand, like me!)
1 Cup Raw Seeds (you can do a mix, eg. sesame/ pumpkin/ sunflower/ poppy/ chia)
1 Cup Coconut Flakes (the thicker flakes are nicer in granola, but dessicated dried coconut can work too)
1 Cup Dried Fruit (add after baking, eg. apricots/ raisins/ figs/ mango/ apple)
1 tsp Spice (eg. cinnamon/ cardamom - ¼ tsp is enough/ vanilla powder/ ginger powder/ nutmeg)
¾ - 1 tsp Salt
¼ - ½ Cup Oil (I like coconut oil for the flavour it gives)
¼ - ½ Cup Sweetener (sweeten according to your taste, eg. maple syrup/ honey/ rice syrup. If you’ve got dried fruit, I find you generally need a lot less sweetener than this.)

Nice to have:

¼ - ½ Cup Raw Cacao Powder (for that chocolatey flavour!)
Orange zest (add after baking - 1 tsp. With fresh orange zest, eat within 2 - 3 days)

With the above in mind, a tried-and-tested recipe I often make is this:

RECIPE #1: Cacao Cinnamon Granola (gluten-free)

Ingredients:

1 Cup Gluten-Free Granola
1 Cup Quinoa Flakes
1 Cup Raw Amaranth
½ Cup Chopped Raw Almonds
½ Cup Chopped Cashews
½ Cup Pumpkin Seeds
½ Cup Sunflower Seeds
1 Cup Coconut Flakes (thick flakes)
¼ Cup Raw Cacao Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Cardamom powder
¾ - 1 tsp Salt
¼ - ½ Cup Coconut Oil (enough to lightly coat all grains + seeds)
¼ Cup Maple Syrup or Honey (sweeten according to your taste)
1 Cup Raisins (added after baking)
1 tsp freshly grated organic orange peel
½ Cup Raw Cacao Nibs

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Line baking tray with baking paper.
Mix all grains, nuts + seeds (but not dried fruit/ cacao nibs/ orange peel) together with cacao powder, sweetener, oil, spices, salt. Ensure all ingredients are lightly coated.
Spread the mixture out flat in a thin layer on the baking tray, pop in the oven and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, depending on your oven settings.
Check at 20min mark and stir it around (if you want granola chunks later, skip this step - and use more honey).
When all grains/ nuts/ seeds are a lovely, toasted colour (your desired “doneness”), take it out and rest it/ let it cool in tray. (if you want granola chunks, let it completely cool down in tray without breaking it up until it’s stone cold).
Add dried fruit/ cacao nibs/ orange peel while granola is cooling down and stir to mix.
Enjoy, and store remainder in an air-tight jar.

RECIPE #2: Paleo - Keto Granola (grain-free, gluten-free)

For a grain-free version of the above, simply swap out the grains for nuts and seeds. Easy.

This is great for people on a paleo/ ketogenic/ blood-sugar balancing protocol, but do be mindful of eating this everyday as depending on the sweeteners and amount used, it’s still quite a bit of sugar you’re hitting up first thing in the morning. Eating this once every 3 days would be ideal.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Hazelnuts
½ Cup Chopped Raw Almonds
½ Cup Chopped Cashews
½ Cup Pumpkin Seeds
½ Cup Sunflower Seeds
1 Cup Coconut Flakes (thick flakes)
¼ Cup Raw Cacao Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Cardamom powder
¾ - 1 tsp Salt
⅛ Cup Coconut Oil (enough to lightly coat all grains + seeds)
10-15 drops liquid stevia (or check conversion of your product equivalent to 1 - 2 Tbsp maple syrup/ honey)
2 Tbsp Raisins (added after baking)
¼ Cup Raw Cacao Nibs (added after baking)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Line baking tray with baking paper.
Mix all nuts + seeds (but not dried fruit/ cacao nibs) together with cacao powder, sweetener, oil, spices, salt. Ensure all ingredients are lightly coated.
Spread the mixture out flat in a thin layer on the baking tray, pop in the oven and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, depending on your oven settings.
Check at 20min mark and stir it around.
When all nuts/ seeds are a lovely, toasted colour (your desired “doneness”), take it out and rest it/ let it cool in tray.
Enjoy, and store remainder in air-tight jar.

Share your granola recipes/ photos here in the comments or on my Facebook or Instagram pages! <3