Vegan Granola

This vegan granola recipe is lightly sweetened with maple syrup and made perfectly crispy thanks to homemade granola clusters. You can make it as nutritious as it is delicious by adding ancient grains with sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds.

It’s officially spring and I couldn’t be more excited for another sugaring-off season!! The maple water flows best when the days are warm and the nights are still below zero. Businesses reliant on sugar bushes are already busy collecting the precious sap and boiling it down to maple syrup and other sweet treats.

As soon as snow begins to melt, I start to crave maple syrup and a big sugar shack meal. During my childhood, the extended family would get together to enjoy a hefty, traditional meal in a rustic cabane à sucre. Every dish was lovingly prepared over a wood-burning oven, and every bite was laden with maple syrup. Children would sprint through the woods, dashing over spring creeks to drink maple water right out of the buckets.

I make it my duty to enjoy the heavy bûcheron fare with friends and family once a year. It’s a celebration that marks the changing of the seasons, and I believe that if you’re not bulging and half-asleep after the meal, then you haven’t indulged yourself enough! However, one mustn’t limit themselves to one maple syrup-y meal a year! In order to help you enjoy my favorite spring ingredient more frequently, I’ve developed nutritious recipes that can be had daily; thus, you can forgo moderation or the need for stretchy waistbands!

I love granola and its seemingly infinite varieties, but every good granola recipe needs clusters! The use of maple syrup not only makes this a vegan granola recipe, but it also ensures perfect homemade granola clusters. The addition of ancient grains and seeds makes this quick and easy recipe quite nutritious. It’s perfect for breakfast and for snacking.

Ingredients:

275g ancient grain flakes

200g rolled oats

70g sunflower seeds

115g pumpkin seeds

100g toasted coconut chips

4g salt

100g coconut oil

175g maple syrup

3g vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Weigh all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

2. Weigh maple syrup and coconut oil in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.

3. Whisk the vanilla into the maple mixture and pour it onto the dry ingredients.

4. Mix the ingredients so that it is evenly coated with the wet ingredients.

5. Transfer the oat mix to a lined baking sheet.

6. Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes.

7. Take the tray out of the oven and mix the granola around. Then firmly press down on the mix so that all the granola is compressed (this will ensure great big clusters!)

8. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes.

9. Let the granola cool completely on the tray (this will ensure great big clusters!)

10. Break it up and store it in an airtight container.