I know you’ve had granola, but you haven’t had THIS granola recipe! It’s not too sweet, but sweet enough, toasted, crunchy, healthy, and filled with the perfect combination of warm yummy flavors. It’s high in potassium, as well as other nutrients, and low in saturated fat too!

Brazil Nut and Cranberry Granola Recipe:

As I said, I know you’ve had granola – BUT if you’ve made homemade granola you’ll know how much better it is than many of the store bought ones you’ve had (likely the large majority of them in fact). Those very ones that are labelled as ‘high-protein, sugar-free, healthy’… but are in fact none of the above. Loaded with fillers and preservatives to make their shelf-life infinite compared to the shelf-life of homemade granola.

This is one of those recipes that you question how an ingredient or two will go with everything but trust me! It all fits together like a puzzle.

As I said it’s not too sweet, but it’s sweet enough to enjoy a spoonful of it alone. Its sweet and salty, and although it this granola may not be high protein, it does have its own unique benefits AND it pairs well with fresh fruit and other protein sources. You can meal prep this granola and place it on top of yoghurt, in a cottage cheese bowl, over a protein smoothie bowl, or you can pair it with milk to enjoy it as a healthy cereal. 

Yield:

This recipe yields 15 (40g) servings of granola.

The Macros for each serving (40g) are: 

Calories: 145

Protein: 2.6g

Carbs: 16.5g

Fat: 8.3g

How do you make granola crunchy? 

There are a few factors that can contribute to granola being crunchy: 

1. Baking it at a low temperature with the mixture spread out evenly (and not too thick). This will help it to brown slowly and evenly without it becoming too burnt.
2. Occasionally stirring or flipping the granola while it’s baking.
3. Incorporating ingredients like oil, liquid sweetener, or egg whites will also help to result in a crunchy texture. 
4. Allowing the granola to cool completely one it is removed from the oven will allow it to harden and continue to ‘crisp’ up as it cools.

Is Granola healthy?

We all know that the term ‘healthy’ can mean so many different things to different people! But in a traditional sense, yes granola is healthy (depending on its ingredient profile of course). When considering a typical homemade granola, it will likely be packed with fiber, have some protein in it (amounts dependent), good healthy fats, and a variety of vitamin and mineral sources from its multiple ingredients. 

Another factor that makes homemade granola a healthy choice is that it allows for you to have more control what you want in it (and how much of the ingredients). Enjoying granola in moderation, with other nutrient dense choices such as yogurt, milk, or fruit, can be a great addition to a balanced diet.

What are the best ingredients for granola? 

The best ingredients for granola will typically be based on your personal preferences! But as a guideline, most granolas include a combination of oats, nuts, seeds, a sweetener, oil, and any other ingredients to add flavor. For example: your base could be oats (or nuts if you want your granola to be oat-free); if you ARE using oats then your choice of nuts as well; seeds for their nutritional value, crunch and flavour; some kind of sweetener (preferably in a liquid form); pourable oil; dried fruit for sweetness and chewiness; salt, spices and extracts (if you wish – these enhance the flavour of the granola)

Ingredients needed For This Granola Recipe: 

Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: Try to stay away from using instant oats to make this granola. Rolled oats will yield the best results!

Brazil Nuts: Feel free to substitute these nuts with any other nuts of your choice.

Shredded Coconut: The recipe doesn’t call for a lot of coconut, but enough for it to do the job well. It adds a bit of texture and chewiness to the granola and adds a nice subtle flavour too.

Pumpkin Seeds: These are packed with nutrients like magnesium, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids, which improve the nutritional quality of the granola.

Coconut Oil: You can’t taste any trace of coconut in the oil – so don’t worry about the flavour being too overpowering! You can use olive oil or avocado oil in place of the coconut oil if your prefer.

Honey: Not only sweetens the granola, but also acts as a binder. You can substitute the honey with organic maple syrup if you wish. 

Brown Sugar: Adds additional crunchiness to the granola as not all of it will dissolve. If you would like to use an alternative, you can opt for any other granulated sugar.

Egg White: The egg white adds a little bit of protein to the recipe, but its main function is to allow you to make granola clusters is you so wish. 

Salt: Please don’t skip the salt! It rounds the recipe up perfectly by adding a contrast to and balancing out the sweetness of the recipe.

Dried Cranberries: Chewy, sweet, tasty and a key ingredient to this delicious granola!

Substitutions:

You can substitute the nuts and dried cranberries with any other nuts, seeds and dried fruit of your choice. 

Other great options are: 

• Pecan nuts
• Cashews
• Almonds 
• Chia Seeds
• Flax Seeds
• Sunflower Seeds
• Dried Apricot
• Dried Apple
• Dried Cherries
• Dried Mango
• Dried Banana, etc. 

For additional texture, you could also add puffed rice to your granola (once it has finished baking – or else it will burn).

Nut-Free: To make this recipe nut-free, simply omit the brazil nuts. You can substitute them with any additional seeds if you want extra crunchy goodness or just with spices like cinnamon to add extra flavour. 

Gluten Free: To this recipe gluten-free, make sure you use gluten-free oats.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below!