This skinny pumpkin spice granola tastes like fall and is a perfect addition to any dish! I promise this recipe will quickly become one of your go-to “pumpkin spice” favorites. I love adding this to greek yogurt, ice cream, cereal, or eating it alone as a snack. The options are endless!
I prefer making homemade granola as opposed to buying the store bought stuff. Not only do you get alot more bang for your buck but you can also control the ingredients (especially the sugars) you’re putting into it.
If you’ve ever read the ingredients list on the package of your favorite store bought granola you’ll likely see a list of various items such as cane syrup, brown rice syrup, corn syrup, cane sugar, canola oil, vegetable oil, fructose, natural and articfical flavoring, and soy lecithin to name a few. To translate… sugar, sugar, and more sugar! Ingredients on food labels are listed by quantity from highest to lowest. Anytime you see sugary ingredients like the ones listed above ahead of “real” ingredients you should think twice before buying! Store bought granola may taste delicious but you are much better off making your own.
Don’t believe me? I bet you’ll have a different opinion after making this Skinny Pumpkin Spice Granola.
I love this recipe because its packed full of healthy grains, heart healthy fats, and natural sugars. Not to mention its delicious and super easy to make! You’ll be out of the kitchen, start to finish, in about 35 minutes with only a few dishes to wash!
You’ll start by toasting your old fashioned rolled oats and uncooked quinoa. To do this simply spread the oats and quinoa across a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes. Note: There is no need to spray the baking sheet or parchment paper with cooking spray.
After 10 minutes remove toasted quinoa and old fashioned rolled oats from oven and pour into a large bowl along with the rest of your dry ingredients which include flaxseed meal, chia seeds, slivered almonds, walnut pieces, and pumpkin seeds. If you’re not a fan of almonds, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds you can swap them out for a nut or seed that better suits your preferance. I’ve personally made this recipe using various combinations of sunflower seeds, pecans, cashews, and whole almonds and the result is delicious every time! Just make sure you stay true to the measurements in the recipe.
Stir all of your dry ingredients together and reduce the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a microwave safe bowl combine your wet ingredients: maple syrup, honey, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, a dash of salt, and vanilla extract. Mix well and microwave for one minute. Your wet ingredient mixture should be thick and gooey. Warning- it will smell delicious! Since there are no raw eggs its okay to sneak a taste or two!
Give your wet ingredients one more stir and pour over dry ingredients. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the wet ingredients bowl to make sure you’re able to transfer as much as possible to your dry ingredients.
Now its time to combine your wet and dry ingredients. Its important to make sure that all dry ingredients are evenly coated. I find best results come from applying a folding technique using a spatula to combine.
Next, use your spatula to transfer all ingredients to a parchment lined baking sheet. Again, do not spray parchment paper or baking sheet with cooking spray.
Make sure ingredients are tighly packed and evenly spread across the baking sheet. Place the goods in a 300 degree F oven for 20 – 22 minutes. Toss ingredients about 10 minutes in and sprinkle dried cranberries over the top. Bake for 10 – 12 more minutes until granola is golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle dark chocolate chips (optional) across cooked granola. Its important to do this as soon as you remove the granola from the oven to enable the dark choclate chips to melt and spread across granola before it cools.
I know this will take alot of willpower, but let granola cool completely before digging in. Once granola has competely cooled you’re free to break granola into smaller chunks as desired and remove from the parchment paper lined baking sheet.
There are a couple of options for how to store your granola. You can store this yummy treat in an airtight container (mason jar, tupperware, etc.) on your countertop or pantry or in the freezer. Granola will keep for at least one month if stored on your countertop and at least three months in your freezer. I’ve stored ganola for up to six months in the freezer. If storing granola in the freezer make sure you’re using a sturdy, well sealed container to avoid freezer burn.
- • 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- • 1.5 cups of old fashioned rolled oats
- • 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
- • 1/4 cup chia seeds
- • 1/4 cup raw, unsalted slivered almonds
- • 1/2 cup raw, unsalted walnuts halves & pieces
- • 1/4 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
- • 1/4 cup + 1 tsp real maple syrup
- • 2 tsp honey
- • 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- • 2 tsp coconut oil
- • 1 TBS pumpkin pie spice
- • 1 TBS nutmeg
- • 1 TBS cinnamon
- • Dash of salt
- • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
- • Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F
- • Spread uncooked quinoa and old fashioned rolled oats on a baking sheet with parchment paper & place in the oven to toast for 10 minutes (do NOT spray any cooking spray on the parchment paper)
- • Remove quinoa and old fashioned rolled oats from oven and pour into a large bowl along with flaxseed meal, chia seeds, slivered almonds, walnut pieces, and pumpkin seeds. Stir to combine. These are your dry ingredients.
- • Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F
- • In a microwave safe bowl combine maple syrup, honey, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract. These are your wet ingredients.
- • Mix wet ingredients well and heat in microwave for 1 minute.
- • Stir wet ingredients one more time and pour over dry ingredients using a spatula to combine until dry ingredients are completely coated.
- • Spread combined ingredients on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (again, do NOT spray any cooking spray on parchment paper). Pack ingredients tightly by pressing down on them with a spatula to form a thin, evenly dispersed layer.
- • Place baking sheet in 300 degree F oven for 20 - 22 minutes. Toss ingredients with a spatula about halfway through and sprinkle dried cranberries on top.
- When golden, remove from oven and sprinkle dark chocolate chips (optional) on top. Let ingredients cool completely and break larger chunks into smaller pieces as desired and enjoy!
- Store in an air-tight container on counter-top or freezer. Granola will keep for at least one month when stored on counter and at least three months when stored in freezer.
- Use any combination of nuts and seeds (cashews, sunflower seeds, whole almonds, pecans, etc.) as preferred. For best results keep measurements listed above true.
