Gluten Free Granola – Vanilla-Maple Granola

Gluten Free Granola –, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.

So we are snowbound. Something rather unusual for where I live in the Pacific Northwest. A few years ago when we moved here from Chicago, we lived with my sister and her family until we found our own place to be. One morning (on a school day) I woke to find a light sprinkling of snow in her yard – maybe 1/2 inch. The grass was still poking out from under the light snowfall. Let’s just say, that I clearly remember the yard being more green than white when she told me that school had been canceled for the day. I was dumbfounded. What? School was canceled? How could this even be possible with such little snowfall?

Now I know a little better. It’s canceled because (1) the city has no plows because snow usually just sticks around one day and is gone within the next two and (2) it rarely snows here – maybe 1 or 2 days. More often than not, school is delayed a few hours because of icy roads or flooding, not snowfall. We don’t even have “snow days” built in to our school calendar which just means that we have to make up the three days of school that were canceled last week due to snow.  We got a bit more than the 1/2″.  Right now, I think our yard has about a foot and a half of snow.  Here we are, buried but happy:

Snow Days - Day 4

I think I’m going to hate that come June, to be honest, but right now? I love being snowbound. It’s giving me time to do a few things I normally wouldn’t do – like start sewing project for the baby. I’m going to attempt my first, super-simple quilt. Give me strength, people, I can’t cut nor sew a straight line to save my soul. But hey, it’s totally the love/thought that counts, right? One day, our daughter will look at this quilt I will have labored over and either think that I was crazy to attempt such a thing or love me for even trying, right?

Anyway, while preparing to be snowbound, we did a little grocery shopping on Saturday afternoon. We wandered about the store picking up things that we knew we could cook if the electricity went out (we have a gas range… but electric everything else). I decided I wanted to get some cereal for easy breakfasts or snacks. We ventured down the cereal aisle in search of the gluten-free goodies, but my heart sank when I realized that I would have to buy a cereal targeting kids.

I don’t know about you all, but sometimes I don’t want a cartoon face staring back at me on the breakfast table. I really wanted the box of granola that sat nearby. I knew I couldn’t buy it – first, the oats weren’t GF and the little warning label about “possibly containing wheat”, was all I needed to see. I just had to read the ingredients list though, just in case. (I was hopeful, anyway.)

And then it hit me, granola is NOT hard to make. I was done whining or feeling down about the “lack of convenience or adult gluten-free cereal” that was available at this market. (My poor husband had to listening to me whining….) I knew I could just make my own granola and that FRESH granola always tastes better too!

Even my kid-cereal lovin’ spouse thinks this granola beats out any others. I can tell by the way he has been sneaking handfuls every time he passes through the kitchen.

Before I give you the recipe, please note that you need Certified Gluten Free Rolls Oats for this. While some people use quinoa flakes as they don’t tolerate oats, I have only tried this with GF oats.

It’s worth the whole 8 minutes it will take you to assemble the ingredients and the 25 minutes of baking. Really. It’s easy. And it really is great tasting, if I don’t say so myself.

Gluten Free Granola -

GF Vanilla-Maple Granola with Pepitas and Almonds
Ingredients:
3 cups GF rolled oats
1 cup pepitas (raw, hulled pumpkin seeds)
2/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup flax seed meal
2 teaspoons +/- cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter, melted (or a CF option to make this recipe CF too)
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 325F
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Melt the butter in a large bowl or glass measuring cup in the microwave.
  4. Add the maple syrup and brown sugar to the melted butter. Return to the microwave for 20 seconds or so to help the brown sugar melt. Add the vanilla extract. Stir together well and set aside.
  5. Combine the dry ingredients (oats, pepitas, almonds, flax seed meal and cinnamon) in a large bowl.
  6. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix together to coat everything evenly.
  7. Pour the mixture on to the parchment lined cooking sheet.
  8. Bake for a total of 25-30 minutes, stirring every 8 – 10 minutes to avoid burning. Bake until toasted brown.
  9. Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  Serving Size 2/3 cup
Calories 290
Total Fat 17g, Saturated fat 2g, Trans fat 9g
Cholesterol 2mg
Sodium 9mg
Total Carbohydrates 31g, Dietary Fiber 6g, Sugars 14g
Protein 10g

Enjoy your granola for breakfast as cereal or on yogurt – or by the handful!
Even use it as an apple crisp topping.
Oh! It’s good!

Happy Snowy Days!
-Kate

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