Try this recipe for big clusters of nutty granola lightly sweetened with date syrup as a healthy snack or crunchy addition to smoothies or yogurt!
Big clusters of slightly sweet, nutty, and fruity granola are one of my favorite all-time snacks. Every time I open a bag of granola, I go straight for those big clusters. The one problem with that? There are never enough of them! So why not make them yourself? I’ve found an easy trick to getting some volume on this granola and that’s by baking the granola in a 8×8 square pan. They will eventually break down, but if you work carefully you’ll be able to get lots of clusters. Chock full of seeds, nuts, puffed brown rice and lightly sweetened with date syrup (I like to use D’vash organics!), these date syrup granola clusters are guaranteed to brighten up your breakfast or afternoon!
Ingredients For Granola Clusters
Here’s what I used:
- Nuts: I used a combo of what I had on hand, which where cashews, pecans, and walnuts. Feel free to add whatever nuts you have in your kitchen. You want to aim for about 2 cups of nuts in total.
- Oats: I use old-fashioned Quaker oats here but gluten-free ones would work, too.
- Brown Rice Puffs: These are optional, but I really like the crunchy texture they provide.
- Shredded Coconut (unsweetened): These shreds of coconut give the granola a really great flavor.
- Pepitas: You can use sunflower seeds or whatever seeds you have on hand.
- Sesame Seeds: I love sesame seeds and add them to so many savory and sweet dishes. These give the granola a nice crunch here.
- Date syrup: Adds just enough sweetness to the ingredients and helps give the granola its structure.
- Butter: Feel free to add olive oil or coconut oil instead. You just want to make sure that it’s heated up with the maple syrup to a gently simmering state.
Process:
Combine all your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. On the stove, heat up in a small saucepan the butter (or oil) and maple syrup with a little vanilla extract. Once it reaches a simmering boil, turn the heat off and pour over the granola mixture.
Mix well and pour it into an 8x 8 square pan. Yes, that’s right, we’re not using a baking tray here. By pouring the mixture into a square pan, we’ll get more volume and height and that will help with the cluster formation.
Bake in the oven for about 35 mins and once done, let them cool for about 45 mins.
I like to pull the granola by the parchment paper in the pan and pour it into a bowl or a tray so that I can easily pick out the pineapple coconut granola clusters.
I place the leftover granola that didn’t form into clusters in a separate container and use for yogurts or cereal later.
PS: Looking for a savory snack idea? Check out my recipe for a roasted veggie dip that can be made with virtually any vegetables you have in the fridge!
Date Syrup Granola
Equipment
- 1 8 in. square pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups nuts cashews, pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc.
- ½ cup oats
- ½ cup brown rice or plain rice puffs
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- ¼ cup pepitas or any seed of your choice
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ cup date syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 8 x 8 square pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325°
- Roughly chop the nuts or leave them whole.
- Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small saucepan, add the butter, date syrup and vanilla extract and heat until simmering. Let it simmer for 2 minutes then turn the heat off and pour over the granola mix.
- Mix well and place inside the square pan, making sure to pat the mixture so the surface is even.
- Bake for about 35 mins. Remove and let cool for about 45 mins.
- Once cool, lift the granola mixture by the parchment paper and place in a tray or large bowl. Pick out the granola clusters or store the clusters and the smaller granola pieces together.