BAKE: Blueberry Pumpkin Seed Nutty Homemade Granola
- Homemade Blueberry Nut Granola Ingredients
- Equipment & Method for Homemade Granola
- Storage & Serving Ideas
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This sweet and crunchy homemade blueberry nut granola is great as a healthy homemade breakfast cereal with milk (or your favorite milk alternative), but you can do a lot more with it!
Try this whole grain snack layered in yogurt parfaits or sprinkled on your smoothie bowls or as a garnish on cold fruit soups for a sweet brunch treat or healthy dessert. Add it to your next batch of oatmeal or peanut butter cookie dough to make monster trail mix cookies. Or, just eat it by the handful as a simple snack or trail food for your next hike or camping trip!
Homemade Blueberry Nut Granola Ingredients
Rolled Oats:
For best results, use old-fashioned rolled oats, which have large flakes and make the best textured crunchy granola. In a pinch, you can substitute quick rolled oats, though the granola will have a smaller crumb and different texture.
Nuts and Seeds:
We’re using whole or chopped raw walnuts, and raw or toasted hulled pepitas. If you use raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds) you can add them before baking or after. If you use toasted pepitas, add them with the dried fruit after baking so that they don’t burn.
Dried Fruit:
This recipe uses dried blueberries, although you can adjust or change the dried fruit to vary the recipe. Add the dried fruit to your baked granola. If you add it before, the sugars in the dried fruit can burn or dry out too much.
Sweeteners:
We use a blend of brown sugar and honey for both flavor and as a binder to keep the granola together. You could also substitute agave or maple syrup for the honey to make a vegan granola or change the flavor profile.
Fats/Oils/Egg:
These, coupled with the sugar, are what makes your granola crunchy and flavorful. I like to use either melted butter or coconut oil for the best flavor. You could also substitute a neutrally flavored light oil like canola or grapeseed. Don’t use olive oil or other strongly flavored oils or your granola will taste weird! We also use the whites of one egg, which adds protein, but more importantly, helps form those delicious crunchy clusters of oats and nuts that make this snack so fun to snack on!
Spices:
This is another way you can personalize your granola to your personal tastes, but it’s hard to go wrong with a bit of cinnamon, ground coriander, ginger, vanilla, and salt.
Equipment & Method for Homemade Granola
Mixing Bowl:
Any medium to large size mixing bowl will do, as long as it’s large enough to hold all of your ingredients while you stir them together.
Saucepan:
You’ll need a small to medium sized sauce pan if you are melting your butter or coconut oil and honey on the stove top. You can also use a two to four cup Pyrex glass measuring cup and carefully melt your butter or coconut oil and honey in the microwave.
Sheet Pan & Liners:
I like to use half-sheet pans with a lip. You can use non-stick silicone liners or line your pans with parchment paper for easier clean-up, but you can also bake your granola directly on the sheet pan.
Storage & Serving Ideas
Your homemade granola should keep well for at least a month in a tightly sealed jar, or you can vacuum seal and freeze it for longer storage. Pack it in regular or reusable zip-seal bags or small containers to take it with you on the go to fuel your next hike or gym session!
I like to use recycled screw-top gelato containers to pack up portions of this for granola on the go- you can even make your own yogurt parfaits to go in these, or wide-mouth mason jars, to take to work with you or stash in your cooler for car camping breakfasts or road trip snacks.
Blueberry Pumpkin Seed Nutty Granola
Ingredients
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups walnuts (whole or pieces)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup melted butter or coconut oil (can sub MCT oil for up to half, or another light neutral oil like canola or sunflower seed)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ tsp ground coriander seed
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground dried ginger
Add after baking:
- 1 cup dried blueberries
- ½ cup toasted salted hulled pepitas (pumpkin seeds) you can use raw pepitas, but add them with the oats to bake them for better flavor and shelf life
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300℉ and line two half-sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking liners (you can also butter the pans lightly if you don't have those). Put the baking racks as close to the center of the oven as you can.
- In a small to medium saucepan, gently melt the butter or coconut oil along with the honey and brown sugar. Stir as the butter melts, and add the spices and salt. Let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg white lightly until frothy, and fold in the rolled oats and nuts. Mix well, then pour the melted butter or oil and honey mixture over the top. Keep folding and mixing this until it is uniformly distributed and all the oats and nuts are coated.
- Divide the mix between two pans and spread it out in a uniform layer so that it will bake evenly, and place in the preheated oven. Set a timer for 15 minutes to rotate the pans on the oven racks so that they bake evenly (you can also stir the granola in the pans if the outside is browning faster).
- Bake at 300℉ for 30-35 minutes total. The granola should be lightly golden and relatively dry and not sticky (though it will set up more as it cools). If it hasn't set up yet, bake it a little longer, but watch to make sure it doesn't burn!
- Sprinkle the dried berries and toasted pumpkin seeds evenly over the pans of toasted granola, and once the mixture has cooled completely, transfer it to airtight containers for storage.