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Maple Nut Granola (Oat-Free)

maple nut (oatless) granola--Vegan Gluten-Free Allyson Kramer

As a kid, I always thought of granola as the crème de la crème of cereal—something only very health conscious folks would dare to serve up at breakfast time. I really enjoyed it, honestly preferring it to the sweeter “staple” cereals of my childhood like Apple Jacks® or Cookie Crisp® (yep, I ate a lot of crap cereal as a kid of the late eighties/early nineties). Looking back, it’s no wonder I loved granola, as most of the brands that were available at the time were easily as packed full of sugar/corn syrup/filler as the candy coated breakfast cereals–just with more added dried fruit and nuts.

Once I gained a little more knowledge about food, say around 14 years old or so, I became somewhat of a “granola snob”—gravitating toward the more wholesome brands at the local health food store and eventually went on to making my own. I relished my homemade granola for years, and it provided me with easy morningtime nourishment and effortless snack food throughout my college career and beyond. Until one day, not too long after I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I discovered I also had an intolerance to oats. Even the “certified gluten-free” kind does major damage on my belly/neurons. Bah.

No more granola for me.

Or so I thought. I had been making granola with oats for years and considered it to be a staple in my life. Naturally, I was quite upset by the revelation that I also had to avoid oats on top of gluten. I sulked for quite some time over my loss, until one day I realized how silly I was being. Just because I had to live without oats, didn’t mean I had to live without granola. I merely had to utilize my other favorite breakfast grain, buckwheat, to create something just as tasty. Perfect for those who love granola, but can’t tolerate oats; buckwheat groats make the absolute perfect crunchy, munchy, base for a hearty start to your day. Add in a touch of sweetener, a little binder, and your back in granola business.

 

Maple Nut Granola (Oat-Free)

  • 1 1/4 cups buckwheat groats (seek out pre-toasted/Kasha)
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons runny natural peanut butter (salt and peanuts only)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup whole raw almonds
  • 2 teaspoons whole chia seed

Preheat your oven to 300 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the groats into a medium sized bowl and add just enough water to cover. Let rest about 45 minutes, or until most of the water has been absorbed. Drain any excess by tossing into a strainer. Place the groats into a larger bowl and toss with the rest of the ingredients until well combined, but do not overmix.

Spread gently onto the parchment lined paper in a layer about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 60 minutes, break into smaller chunks (or cut into bars), gently flip over and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until fragrant and crunchy. Let cool completely before serving.

Toss into a bowl along with some berries or cacao nibs and top with unsweetened almond milk for a hearty and healthy start to your day.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups granola

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15 Responses to Maple Nut Granola (Oat-Free)

  1. Melissa says:

    When you say kasha, do you mean the toasted and cut-up kasha, or do you mean whole buckwheat groats that have been toasted (i.e. not raw)?

    • admin says:

      Yes whole buckwheat groats that have been toasted (so not greenish, but brownish from toasting). Hope that’s not too confusing! :)

  2. Oooh, I like this idea. I do love my oats but I’ve been super into buckwheat lately, plus it looks so clumpy and crunchy, nom!

    Congrats on your new book!! Can’t wait to pick up a copy and re-make some of those recipes :)

  3. Though I do love oats, I like to change it up once in a while. And who can resist the perfection of maple syrup? I know I can’t. I think I’d have to try this with pecan butter, as maple and pecan is quite possibly my favorite flavor combination ever. Thanks for a great recipe!

  4. Seconded – I love the ingredient list here! Definitely a bit of a granola snob myself but I think this passes the test ;) Thanks for sharing!

  5. Bella says:

    Granola without oats!!! Great work! My hubby will be excited about this. I never knew about buckwheat groats. Will have to find them. Thanks for the inspiration :)
    ~Bella fr/ SweetnSavoryLife.com

  6. Becky says:

    This looks great! I like that you can do big pieces instead of cereal or bars. I’ve been doing a lot of finger food lately, since I’ve had to sometimes eat breakfast while holding and rocking DH!

  7. Alexandra says:

    Delicious! I love granola AND groats. I’ve been trying to eat more groats as of late, they are so, so good. This granola sounds perfect!

  8. Yum, I love granola as cereal, but am trying to avoid oats as well. This looks like a great sub!

    And… I made your hot sauce from a few entries back last night and it is FANTASTIC. Thank you SO much for that recipe, I’ll be making it often now :)

  9. Elizabete says:

    I am not allergic to gluten, but to both wheat&oats and it is incredibly hard to find oat free granola!
    I want to try this, only without almond flour, do you think it will still be nice?

  10. Chris says:

    This looks great! Is there a way to use stevia instead of maple syrup?

  11. Maria Tadic says:

    This is a great recipe – glad you shared it. Also glad you shared your experience with oats and gluten. It’s interesting that you have reactions to gluten free oats – many ppl don’t realize that. You must be super super sensitive to gluten though! Thanks for the recipe!

  12. RootedVegan says:

    I could kiss you on the mouth right now. Thank you for this recipe!

  13. Delicious! I make a batch of granola every single week!

  14. Christa says:

    Ooohhh, oat-free granola! This looks delightfully hearty too, love the ingredient list.