Oil free and Vegan, this homemade Blueberry Almond Granola from scratch is one of my favorite healthy, nutritious breakfasts!
Mmm granola. I love granola as a snack, whether they be in bar form, or just loose like this. Granola satisfies the crunch and touch of sweet that I'm often looking for in quick grab and go snack. This granola, unlike the others I've made, is even better. It's totally oil free which means less calories and fat, but still all the flavor.
While I'm adding lbs growing our little one, my studly husband has decided he wants to drop them before she's born. Not that he needs to (in my opinion), but he's recognizing that his current gym schedule is not going to be maintainable once the baby is born, so he's preparing himself now. Plus, if anyone's going to need some gym time post baby, it's going to be me trying to lose the baby weight. So, even though I personally love our Copycat Kashi Go Lean Cereal, my husband still prefers granola like our Maple Pecan Granola and Granola Bars. Both contain either vegetable oil or coconut oil, so I decided to try a granola that was not only lower fat, but also a little beefed up in nutrients.
But also that was super easy to make. So I just a mixed of all the dry ingredients,
then a did separate mix of the natural sweeteners: agave, 100% pure maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
All mixed together really well and onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet,
and finally baked for about 25 minutes until browned and delicious. I've been on a dehydrating fruit kick lately so I added some of blueberries I'd dried recently to give it a little extra deliciousness. Hooray for a tasty, healthy, naturally sweetened, oil free snack / breakfast!
Blueberry Almond Granola
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/8 cup ground flax seed
- 1/4 cup wheat germ or 1/4 more ground flax seed or oat bran for gluten free
- 1/8 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup agave
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of dried blueberries
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together oats, wheat germ, flax, chia seeds, almonds, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a separate small bowl whisk together the maple syrup, agave, and vanilla extract.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix well until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Add granola to parchment lined baking sheet and flatten to a single layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes. At the 10 min mark, take out of oven and flip granola to other side for even browning. Then check again at 20 minutes and turn if necessary and bake until browned.
- Remove from oven and let cool on sheet so it gets crunchy.
- Add dried blueberries or other dried fruit and store in an airtight container.
Yummy! I ADORE homemade granola and make it all the time! We make it nearly the same too. I just finished a batch this afternoon with quinoa. I haven't added dried blueberries to any yet. They look great too! We should do breakfast 🙂
Awesome!! I thought about adding quinoa, too! Great minds think alike 😉
I want this for breakfast with a big bowl of yogurt
That looks so delightful - great combo! I love using dehydrated fruits, so versatile.
I need to make this for myself. Thx for sharing.
So glad that you shared this recipe. So much easier to make than I thought, will have to give it a go.
Thanks, Sara!
Compromising oil with more nutrients dense food is a great idea! I love granola too and also I need to drop my weight as well. This recipe will help me too. Thank you for sharing 😀
Thank you, Shihoko! I was worried it would have a big impact on the texture, but was pleasantly surprised when it didn't!
I've been making granola for as long as I can remember, but my original recipes never included all these great seeds, this recipe seems like it has tons of flavor and texture!
I'll have to go check out your recipes too!
This granola recipe looks great! I am always looking for granola recipes, since my family loves it, and homemade is better than store-bought. Thanks for sharing!
Homemade > store bought for sure! 😀
Mmmmm this granola looks so good! I love the clusters, as well as the addition of flaxseeds, almonds and dried blueberries! Definitely better than store bought!
Thanks, Bethany! 🙂
LOVE your jars!! I'm crazy when it comes to jars, the more the merrier haha.
The granola looks absolutely delicious. I'm a huge fan of homemade granola, and I've never tried an oil free version so keen to give this a go =)
Thanks so much, Teffy! The jars and a total requirement in my tiny tiny kitchen; they're the only way I can keep everything organized and tidy! 🙂