Homemade Granola Recipe

Time:

20 minutes prep

2 hours baking

Servings:

20 servings of 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola)
1 cup each of pumpkin seeds (raw), sliced almonds, sunflower seeds (raw), pecans or other nuts such as walnuts
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, vanilla or other spices of your liking
1 cup light oil (such as grapeseed)
1 cup dates, remove seeds & chop into small pieces
Sweeter option - add ½-1 cup date syrup, maple syrup or agave to dates*

Instructions:

Soak dates in oil (& syrups) for at least 30 min or longer. Using a strong blender, grind into a thick paste.
Mix all ingredients until oats are coated. Bake on rimmed cookie sheets, at 225F for approx 2 hrs, stirring every 30 minutes for even browning. Switch cookie sheets halfway through.

*NOTES:

If you wish it to be sweeter, add date or agave syrup to the dates & oil.
I prefer to blend up dates, syrups &/or spices & salt with the oil to make a “paste” that gets mixed with the oats, seeds & nuts.
After baking, add handful of goji berries or other dry fruits as desired.
*This recipe is high in fiber, Vit C, iron, potassium, magnesium.