The first time I whipped up this paleo gingerbread granola, I walked around with a bag of it excitedly asking friends and acquaintances to please try a handful simply because I was so enthused at how well it had turned out. Those who were brave enough to try my experiment quickly asked for the recipe. And *ding ding ding*, we have a winner!
I don't typically reach for granola as a breakfast or snack food. Even before "turning paleo", I always preferred soft oatmeal over crunchy granola. But I recently took stock of my pantry and realized I was essentially stockpiling various nuts and seeds...and I had recently seen a few paleo granola recipes on Pinterest...and now that it's Fall I have gingerbread on the brain...so paleo gingerbread granola was born!
You'll notice that this recipe calls for a huge variety of nuts and seeds. Don't let that scare you off. Like I mentioned, I used this recipe to clear out my pantry a bit.
You can use your own blend of nuts and seeds (although I recommend pecans, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds at least). The real star here is the spice blend, maple syrup, and molasses. Otherwise you wouldn't have that wonderfully warm gingerbread flavor!
Once you make a batch of this gingerbread granola, you can eat it straight out of the bag as a snack, sprinkle it on paleo n'oatmeal or porridge, mix it in with yogurt (this is what I did - I'm a rebel and eat grass-fed yogurt from time to time), or eat it with a splash of almond milk.
Granola isn't a very nutritious breakfast, and this version is no exception. Calling something "paleo" doesn't grant it a nutrient-dense profile. But living my life also means sweet treats and the occasional breakfast of gingerbread granola. Live your life, peeps - after all, life's a lot better with a smile. Just wanted to get that out of the way before we dive into this recipe!
Paleo Gingerbread Granola
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Snack
- Method: toasted
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup chopped raw walnuts
- ½ cup chopped raw pecans
- ⅓ cup raw sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup chopped raw cashews
- ¾ cup unsweetened banana chips
- ½ cup coconut flakes
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, banana chips, and coconut flakes on the baking sheet. Drizzle on coconut oil and maple syrup, stirring with a spoon to cover the nut and seed mixture in oil.
- Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and add molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves, again stirring with a spoon to cover the entire mixture.
- Bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool, then crumble and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Keywords: Paleo Gingerbread Granola
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