Since I’m on a pumpkin kick (and hoping you are too), I wanted to share my recent granola concoction featuring the inclusion of pumpkin puree and spice. This recipe isn’t too pumpkin-y for those who palate isn’t as pumpkin-forward.
And oh hey, did you hear what the pumpkin’s favorite sport is?
SQUASH! (hardy har har 🤣🤣) Alrighty, you can stop rolling your eyes at me….
I adapted the recipe from this site by adding in more oats and pumpkin, a touch less added sugar, and adjusting the other ingredients slightly. It’s a goodie!
Ingredients:
1/3 c (80 g) pumpkin puree (can be canned, just be sure it’s pure pumpkin and not the pie mix)
1/4 c (60 ml) pure maple syrup (you can omit or reduce this if desired)
1/3 c (~85 gm) natural almond butter (you can substitute with nut butter of choice)
2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
1.5 Tbsp (~20 gm) coconut oil, melted
1 tsp sea salt (I used coarse sea salt and a heaping tsp because I love salt, but you can opt for less)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 c (300 gm) old-fashioned rolled oats, dry (I used Bob’s Red Mill extra thick rolled oats)
1/3 c (~80 gm) chopped pecans (you can use other nuts or seeds)
Preparation Steps:
Heat oven to 325F.
Mix together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla extract, coconut oil, sea salt, and spice in a large mixing bowl.
Add in the oats and pecans and stir well to combine.
Grab a baking sheet and lightly oil or use parchment paper to cover. Spread out the granola evenly.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove and give it some stirs with a spatula. You should start to see some light browning. Pop it in the oven for another 10-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Check the mix after 10 minutes to see how it’s doing - we don’t want to get it too brown or burnt.
Remove from the oven when the mix is evenly browned and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Store in a container of choice.
Wish you could smell this fresh out of the oven!
Basic nutritional info (yield of 17 servings at 1/4 cup each or ~25 grams):
154 calories
17 grams carbohydrate
(3 grams fiber, 3 gm added sugar)
3.5 grams protein
8 grams fat
about a 5:1 carb to protein ratio so you’ll want to pair this with a protein source such as a protein-fortified milk or yogurt to help balance blood sugar.
Yum-o, pumpkin-o. And if you’re really not into pumpkin but you made it this far into the blog, I’ve got a couple other granola recipes you can check out.
Enjoy,
-Dina