Easy Healthy Granola Recipe with sticky dates

This Healthy Granola Recipe makes the perfect make-ahead breakfast. It’s refined sugar-free and is full of good-for-you oats, naturally sweet dates and protein giving nuts and seeds. It makes a wonderful snack, stores really well, and did I mention it’s delicious? Once you try this homemade granola recipe there’ll be no going back to store-bought… if you truly love granola then this is the recipe for you.

This healthy granola recipe is really easy to make and doesn’t take very much time either. At the end of it, you’ll have a delicious store of granola that is perfect for breakfast, just add your favourite milk and perhaps some fresh fruit. That is the wonderful thing about making your own, you can add in your favourite things and leave out those ingredients that you’re less keen on.

Healthy Granola Ingredients

All the specific amounts are listed in the recipe below.

• Oats – Healthy and filling, I used jumbo rolled oats in this recipe. They tend to have a little more texture than oats that are intended for making porridge with. If you’re following a gluten-free diet, find certified gluten-free oats to make this cereal with.
• Sweeteners – I like to use maple syrup, which is an unrefined sweetener. You could substitute other sweeteners such as agave syrup or honey but I like the flavour that maple syrup adds too.
• Nuts & Seeds – I’ve used pecans in this recipe, which is unusual for me but I like the creamy sweetness of this nut. Feel free to substitute this nut with walnuts, flaked almonds, hazelnuts or cashews. The sunflower seeds are rich in healthy fats and add a lovely nuttiness and texture.
• Spices – I use cinnamon in this mix because it’s one of my favourite spices. If you’re not keen on it, either leave it out or substitute it with a 1/2 teaspoon of cardamon or even ginger. If you’re not keen on any of them then simply leave them out.
• Flaked coconut – I like the taste of toasted coconut in granola but feel free to use desiccated coconut if you prefer.
• Dried fruit – This healthy Granola recipe uses dried dates. They naturally sweeten the cereal and include various vitamins and minerals including calcium. If they’re not a favourite of yours try substituting dried apricots, dried figs or some of the vine fruits such as sultanas or raisins.
• Vegetable Oil – I use neutral-tasting vegetable oil when I make this. However, that does mean that this granola doesn’t make ‘clumps’, clusters or is it nuggets? If you do want granola nuggets in your cereal then substitute the vegetable oil with a larger amount of melted coconut oil. (See details below.)

Making Granola

Making Granola Clumps

Some of us just love granola, clumps, nuggets or is it clusters? I do too… sometimes. Makes it really easy to snack on when you get tasty little nuggets of oaty loveliness. To achieve those with this recipe you will need to use melted coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and increase the amount to 120mls or approximately 1/2 cup. Use this with the maple syrup as described in the recipe.

Mix everything together really well until the oats and the nuts are completely coated and bake in the same way. After 15 minutes of baking, take the tray out of the oven and mix everything around a little bit and add in the coconut flakes. This time, press down on the ingredients as if you were making a kind of flapjack, then pop it back into the oven to finish baking.

Leave this granola to cool completely before moving it into a storage container. Leaving it overnight to cool thoroughly works particularly well.

When you break it apart you’ll have lots of really tasty granola clusters.

Other Delicious Add-ins

This Granola recipe makes a great base for all kinds of other wonderful ingredients. These are just a few of our favourites.

• How about a few banana chips? (I add a 1/2 cup measure to this amount.)n.
• A few pumpkin seeds are quite lovely.
• A few chocolate chips? It works very well in this recipe and it may just be the one thing that gets your family eating breakfast. ( I add about a 1/4 cup to this amount.)
• Add in some fresh fruit, sliced bananas, a few seasonal berries, a dollop or two of yoghurt.

Ways to eat your granola

Serve it in a bowl with milk or yoghurt, creamy greek yoghurt is really good with this cereal. There are vegan-friendly and lactose-intolerant versions of both milk and yoghurt so you don’t have to go without.

Add your favourite fresh, seasonal fruits to the bowl. Most berries go really well with these flavours and you can always slice up a fresh banana.

Another favourite of mine, and I eat this nearly everyday, is to use it as a sprinkle on the top of a bowl of fresh fruit and yogurt. Really love it.

This healthy granola is a little bit like a trail mix, especially if you made it using coconut oil and have clusters. Add it to lunch boxes as a healthy little snack, or take it with you on your next visit to the park. In which case, I would definitely add a few chocolate chips!

Over to you… What’s your favourite kind of granola?

If you like this recipe then maybe you’d like these;

• Homemade Pearnut Butter Granola – all the loveliness of granola with the flavour of peanuts
• Apricot and Almond Granola – nutty, full of fruit flavours and with delicous granola clustery bits.
• Toasted Oat fruit and nut muesli – equally delicious and makes a really satisfying breakfast.

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