After making my Chocolate Cherry & Coconut Granola, I passed a lot of time thinking about how good homemade granola is.
This is why last week, while looking in my pantry, I had this idea.
Adding quinoa in a granola.
Then, I passed a lot of time thinking about what kind of granola I would make with quinoa.
Spring is here. Spring means one thing. Sugar maples are giving up sap, which is transformed into maple syrup.
Maple syrup is my favorite sweet. Nothing beats maple syrup. And so this time of years is here. And delicious maple taffy cones are saying my name. And maple spread. And maple ice cream. And then it came to me: make a maple granola!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup brown rice crisp cereal
- 1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 1/4 cup wheat germ
- 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup maple flakes
Directions: Preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix oats, rice cereal, quinoa, wheat germ and pecans. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or on the stove and whisk in maple syrup. Pour on dry ingredients and toss until well coated. Spread on the baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring after 15. Let cool completely on baking sheets, then transfer to a bowl and mix in maple flakes.
Note: depending on your stove, you might need to bake at 300°F.
Makes 5 cups of granola.
This is my favorite granola to date. It is sweet, but not overpowering. It is crunchy, even with milk.
And I really loved the quinoa. The nutty taste goes perfectly with the sweetness of the maple syrup. You really do taste it, so you have to like quinoa ;-).
It also had a lot of fiber & protein. This yummy granola kept me full all morning!
Have a great week!
I am loving this! I've never had quinoa before, but this is one recipe I've go to try!
Mountain Man has been bugging me to make granola for the past few weeks.. this might be the inspiration I need 🙂 I love the idea of using quinoa!
haven't had like this looks good and healthy
I love the addition of quinoa! Great post!
I am such a fan of quinoa, I really need to buy it in bulk. Great combo here, I'm always looking for snacks to make and take with me on my long runs, and this looks like a keeper.
I absolutely love munching on my homemade granola… this recipe is going to be bookmarked because I've never tried it with quinoa!
This looks so good. I LOVE maple, too! Definitely my favorite sweetener. However; I have no idea what maple flakes are?! I can only assume they're similar to maple sugar, except…flakes?
@Jess@HealthyExposures Maple flakes are similar to maple sugar but they are crunchy little flakes ;). http://tinyurl.com/4a2l7u2
If you don't have any, you can make the granola without them.
Looks SOOOO good! I am always looking for new granola recipes! Yey! And this one is pretty low in sugar, great job!
Great idea to add quinoa…it looks yummy!