Nut-Free Granola

The original recipe included almonds and pecan halves, but we’ve adapted this to eliminate the nuts – they won’t be missed. This is a basic combination of ingredients, but feel free to mix up the add-ins.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking or instant)
  • 1/3 cup hulled, raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 1/3 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt (optional, I usually omit)
  • 3/4 cups raisins or dried cranberries

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Stir together the oats, pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds in a large mixing bowl. Add the maple syrup, oil, cinnamon, and salt; toss well to coat. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 18-22 minutes, rotating front to back halfway through and stirring at about 16 minutes.  Oats should just start turning golden.
  3. Remove from the oven and immediately stir in the dried fruit so the hot granola plumps the fruit.
  4. Cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.

Notes

  • Stays fresh for about a week, or you can freeze it for up to a month.
  • Olive oil can be replaced with grape seed or safflower oil, or melted butter.
  • Maple syrup can be replaced with honey or brown sugar.
  • Experiment with the seeds (quantity and type), add different grains, make it your own.