Homemade granola is one of my favorite weekday morning breakfasts that always feels like a treat.
No matter what kind of granola you make, homemade is so much better than anything you can buy at the store, plus, it’s the sort of thing that you just feel healthy eating.
I don’t know about you, but if I start my day off with a healthy meal for breakfast, I’m so much more likely to make healthier choices the rest of the day.
I make so many different kinds of homemade granola that I’ve lost count; this version is grain-free and gluten-free, using almond meal as a base. Chopped almonds add nutty crunch and dried figs add chewy bursts of sweetness.
I usually like some kind of dried fruit in my granola; I went with figs here, so I decided to stick with a Middle Eastern theme and add cardamom. If you’re not familiar with this particular spice, it’s very aromatic with a slightly astringent flavor featuring notes of citrus and pepper. A little bit of cardamom definitely goes a long way, and if you’re not used to the flavor, you may want to decrease the amount to ½ teaspoon.
Of course this granola is great eaten as cereal with fruit and milk or as a topping for yogurt or oatmeal, but another one of my favorite uses for it is sprinkled on a baked sweet potato. It’s almost like sweet potato pie, definitely making it dessert-worthy.
- 1 cup (110 g) almond meal
- 1 cup (110 g) raw, unsalted almonds, chopped
- 1 cup (165 g) good-quality whole dried figs, stems trimmed and chopped
- ¼ cup (25 g) ground flaxseed
- ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons raw local honey
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Stir together the almond meal, almonds, figs, ground flaxseed, cardamom, and sea salt in a large bowl.
- Add the coconut oil and honey to a small saucepan, heat until the coconut oil is melted, and then stir into the almond mixture to coat.
- Spread the granola out onto a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes, then give it a stir and bake until golden, about 10 to 15 minutes more.
- Turn the oven off, leave the oven door ajar, and leave the granola to sit in the warm oven until completely cool, about 2 hours (the granola will firm up as it cools).
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Siobhan
Thoroughly enjoyed this, particularly the cardamom. It gets my thumbs up for adaptability too as I didn't quite have all the ingredients - pecans & cashews worked nicely!