Tahini Granola
Author:Golden, crunchy, very clumpy Tahini Granola with lots of dried fruit and toasty nuts and seeds. Easy to make with an amazing almost cookie-like texture, and perfect for breakfast or snacking by the handful!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (300 grams) rolled or old-fashioned oats (certified GF if necessary)
- 2 cups (170 grams) raw nuts or seeds, such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
- ¾ cup (180 ml) tahini
- ½ cup (120 ml) natural maple syrup, or brown sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) olive oil, or avocado oil
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt (if you use table salt instead, you will need to use less)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ to 2 cups (225 to 300 grams) dried fruit, such as dates, apricots, raisins, sultanas, cranberries, or tart cherries. Chop larger ones into small pieces.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175 °C), and position an oven shelf on the lowest level. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the oats and nuts/seeds. Stir to combine.
- Check your tahini. If it is runny and lump-free, add it to a small mixing bowl along with the maple syrup, oil, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix to combine.
- If your tahini is thicker or lumpy and/or you are using sugar instead of maple syrup, then add the tahini, maple syrup/sugar, oil, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla to a small saucepan. Warm gently over a low heat to melt it all together, stirring frequently. Once it’s smooth, remove from the heat.
- Pour the wet mixture into the oaty mixture and stir until all of the oats and nuts are coated.
- Tip onto the prepared tray. Spread out evenly, then compact it down as hard as you can with a spatula or wooden spoon (the secret to good clumps).
- Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the tray and bake for about another 15 to 20 minutes until golden and toasty (if using a light-coloured baking tray). It will feel soft while hot, but if you lift an edge and check underneath, it should be nicely golden. If using a dark/black tray, it won’t take quite as long, so check a few minutes earlier.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely on the tray undisturbed.
- Once cool, break the granola into big bite-sized pieces. If you break it up and find you accidentally took it out of the oven a little too soon and it isn't quite dry, you can return it to the oven at 350°F (175°C) to crisp up and dry out further. Keep an eye on it and remove it as soon as it's dry and crunchy.
- Sprinkle over the dried fruit and mix gently with clean hands before transferring to airtight containers. I find that granola keeps longest in glass jars (about 2 months).
NUTRITION
Serving: 1serving (½ cup) | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 221mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
