Honey-Ginger Toasted Granola
Have oats, will travel.
My mother always taught me to never go anywhere empty handed. I love this rule and those little tokens of appreciation always bring a smile to my hosts faces. However, when you are traveling (especially overseas!) it can create a little problem of packaging, what will last, what is safe to bring it, etc.
One of my favorite solutions (and selfishly as well b/c I make extra to keep for myself!) is homemade granola! Pretty much everyone loves granola and it is so much better from your kitchen than from a bag purchased at the store. Crunchy almonds, lightly ginger spiced honey, nutty toasted oats and sweet gems of dried fruit…..yum!
So whether you are traveling or not, gluten free or not, try this out. It is such an easy recipe that is super flexible. Don’t have almonds? Use hazelnuts! Can’t eat sesame seeds? Add some sesame seeds instead! The substitutions are endless, so use this recipe as a template and let your creativity flavor the granola with delicious possibilities.
Honey-Ginger Toasted Granola
Makes approximately 4 cups granola, or 8 servings
- 1/3 c. honey
- 4 T. sunflower oil or grapeseed oil
- 1 T. ground ginger
- 1 ½ c. certified gluten free uncooked oats (not instant but not steel cut, just good old regular oats)
- 1 c. whole raw almonds
- ¼ c. untoasted sesame seeds
- ¼ c. raw pumpkin seeds
- ½ c. dried cherries, cranberries or blueberries
- ¼ c. finely chopped candied ginger
- ½ c. sliced dried apricots or figs
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325 and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix together the honey, oil and ginger in a small bowl, set aside.
- Pour the oats, almonds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds into a large bowl and drizzle the honey-oil mixture over the top. Mix together with spoon until everything is coated and then pour onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes at 325 then stir and put back in the oven. Do this 2 more times until the oats are nicely browned. (depending on your oven your total baking time may be 30 minutes, it may be 40 minutes so just keep checking!)
- Remove from the oven and immediately stir the dried fruits and candied ginger into the oats. Set aside to cool.
- Stir again to break up some of the larger chunks, if any, and package for storage.
happy, healthy eating! ~kendra
