Granola

Making my own granola is such a game changer and incredibly satisfying. It’s all about personalising your cereal – you can add all your favourite cereal ingredients into the mix, and leave out all the things you don’t like. Personally, I don’t like shredded coconut, but love freeze dried fruits, such as Fresh As’s raspberries. Love walnuts but not so much pecans. There’s always something in each of the prepacked options that I dont want to eat and so I’ve never been fully happy with the choices of packaged granola in the supermarket.

I also love buckwheat and recently it’s a much more commonly stocked item in the supermarkets and bulk bin shops. Amongst all the likes and dislikes in our family, it’s so much easier to make our own to tailor to our preferences. You can swap out any nuts or seeds from the recipe below, even the quantities listed are only a general guide, there’s no issue with changing them, so long as you add sufficient oil and sweetener to bind it. This is a good starting point as a base recipe for making granola. I will likely change it up by adding different freeze dried fruits to the mix.

To make this gluten free, omit oats and use more of other ingredients.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups raw buckwheat groats
2 cups rolled oats (I used Harraways)
1 cup chopped nuts or seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flaked almonds)
3 Tbsp linseeds
3 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey (I used Noble’s)
1/4 cup grapeseed, olive or avocado oil
3 Tbsp nut butter (I used Nut Brothers peanut butter)
1/3 cup dried fruit (I used Fresh As freeze dried raspberries)

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160C. To a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients, except the fruit. Stir to combine.
In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the maple syrup, oil and nut butter. Stir till homogenous and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix well to ensure even coating.
Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking paper-lined tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until fragrant and deep golden brown, stirring halfway.
Let the granola cool before adding the dried fruit and chocolate (if using) . Place cooled granola in an air tight container. Serve with your favourite thick unsweetened yoghurt.