Pumpkin Spice Granola
Wow, it feels like summer just got here. I can’t believe how fast it came… and went. This summer – where do I begin? Well we celebrated Clodagh turning one in May, then the business of June hit – end of the school year, trying to get the house in shape and ready for the summer business with four little munchkins… then Hazel turned three at the end of August, and we did all of this while planning our wedding that we celebrated on September 8th.
Needless to say… I need a nap. LOL.
A.Long.Nap.
Ha! But in all seriousness, back to school is in full swing in our home. So that means we are back on the school-year schedule with easy breakfasts in the morning. And with the cooler days of fall here, well of course I dove into pumpkin spice right away.
This healthy pumpkin spice granola gains its sweetness from natural maple syrup and the dried cranberries. There is just a hint of pumpkin spice, so if you’re not a full on committed pumpkin spice fan, this would be a dabble into that!
I love making this for breakfast, grab and go snacks, toppers on my yogurt or as a cereal with fresh fruit – heck it’s amazing on top of ice-cream!
Pumpkin Spice Granola
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup Quick Cooking Oats
- 1/4 cup Quinoa
- 1/2 cup Almonds slivered
- 2 tbsp Flax seeds
- 2 tbsp Chia seeds
- 1 tbsp Hemp hearts
- 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries preferably unsweeetened
- 1/3 cup Pepitas
- 1/3 cup Pumpkin Puré (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tso Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven o 350 degrees. On a parchment lined sheet pan, spread the oatmeal, quinoa, and almond evenly. Toast in the oven for 15 minutes, shaking the pan once half way through. Once toasted, remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Reduce the heat in the oven to 300 degrees.
- Meanwhile in a large bowl stir together pumpkin puré, maple syrup, pumpkin spice, canola oil, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract. Add in the flax seeds, chia seeds, pepitas, hemp seeds, cranberries, and cooled oatmeal mixture.
- Spread the pumpkin oatmeal mixture evenly over the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until a toasty golden colour, shaking the pan once half way through.
- Storing this at room temperature in an air sealed container somewhere handy… say on the counter, ready to top your favourite dish!
Unfortunately for us, this version is not school-friendly since we have a strict “no tree nuts” policy at our school. If I wanted this to be school friendly, I would skip the almonds, and add in more pepitas and cranberries (from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup each). For now, we will enjoy for breakfast with yogurt and some fresh fruit, but I will mostly likely make a version the girls can pack for school with them.
What is your favourite way to enjoy granola?
This is a nutritional powerhouse! Love the addition of quinoa, flax, chia and hemp. What a great way to start a healthy day! Pinning.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I love how you mainly use pumpkin seeds and that the almonds could easily be replaced with more pumpkin seeds for those with nut allergies. Can’t wait to try this!
Corinna | Friendly Pantry
We have a nut-free policy at my daughters school, so I often make it nut-free and send along with yogurt as a morning snack 🙂