Naked Granola


Naked Granola


Naked Granola, eh? Sounds racy, but fitting in this case, and I am about to tell you why.

It is seemingly difficult to find a granola recipe stripped down of all the ‘extra’s.’ Between the nuts, dried fruits, coconut shreds and the like, most granola recipes rack up some shockingly high calorie values that aren’t even necessary. Aside from the calories, these extra’s also significantly up the fat and sugar content of granola, making this sweet snack more fitting as a dessert, or better yet, a rarity in your diet.

If you’re after the sweet crunch granola provides, this Naked Granola recipe will fit the bill a thousand times over. It’s bare, yet delicious, and capable of making you question why you ever needed the calorie laden extra’s at all. Did I mention it was easy to make? Well, it is. In fact, it is so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you ever bought the store stuff.


Naked Granola


Free of refined sugars, bad fats and ingredients you can’t pronounce, this granola is about as clean as granola can get, without sacrificing the crunch or flavor you know and love. This recipe has 8 ingredients total, and three of those 8 are spices. The other five ingredients include organic brown rice syrup, organic coconut nectar, virgin coconut oil, organic sucanat and rolled oats. Just to make a comparison, take a look at the ingredient list of a very well-known brand’s plain granola:

Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Sugar, Canola Oil, Crisp Rice With Soy Protein (Rice Flour, Soy Protein Concentrate, Sugar, Malt, Salt), Honey, Brown Sugar Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda, Natural Flavor, Peanut Flour, Almond Flour, Hazelnut Flour, Walnut Flour, Pecan Flour.

Sugar, honey, brown sugar syrup AND high fructose corn syrup?? That is a whole lot of refined sweeteners for a simple granola bar, along with other ingredients that I definitely would consider to be far from clean or healthy. When you can make a big batch of your own and know exactly what’s in it, why subject yourself to the unnecessary preservatives and additives that do more harm than good?

If you’ve got an hour to kill, you can make this granola from start to finish, including cooking and cooling times. Simply grab a pan, preheat your oven to 300F and follow the instructions below. This granola tastes great plain, as a topping, as a cereal, or really however you want to eat it.

Granola will save in a sealed container for up to a month in the fridge.

Naked Granola
 
Recipe Type: snack
Cuisine: american
Author: The Lean Clean Eating Machine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Granola stripped from refined sweeteners, preservatives and other calorie dense add-in’s.
Ingredients
  • 4 Tbsp. organic brown rice syrup
  • 1 Tbsp. organic coconut nectar
  • 1 Tbsp. virgin, unrefined coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup organic sucanat (whole, unrefined sugar cane)
  • 2 cups gluten free rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. himalayan salt
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300F. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add coconut oil, coconut nectar and brown rice syrup. Stir well until it begins to get runny. Add in your sucanat and bring to a boil, then simmer on low until sucanat is dissolved, stirring frequently.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, dump your 2.5 cups of oats in and season with Himalayan salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  3. Pour the wet mixture (while it is still warm) into the dry mixture and stir well. It will be thick to the point of being hard to stir, so you may want to use clean hands to really fold it together. Continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined.
  4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick mat and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes to ensure even baking.
  5. When finished, remove granola from oven (it will seem really soft at this point), and allow to cool for 20 minutes on the pan before serving. The granola will firm up as it cools.
  6. This recipe will make 2.5 cups of granola, but can easily be doubled should you want more.
  7. Granola will save for up to 1 month if kept in an air-tight container in the fridge.
 

2 comments on Naked Granola

  1. Cheri
    December 14, 2014 at 4:19 pm (9 years ago)

    Sounds great, but 1 question. Under ingredients you list 2 cups of oats. Under instructions you say 2.5 cups of oats. Which is correct?

    Reply
    • Danielle
      December 15, 2014 at 12:45 pm (9 years ago)

      Thank you for pointing that out to me, Cheri! It’s supposed to be 2 cups :)

      Reply

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