Granola with a Hemp Power Boost
Have you ever taken a closer look at the nutrition facts on your granola? Breakfast is supposed to be healthy! Somewhere along the way we lost this concept, at least in grocery stores, and now all of the cereals, granola, “breakfast bars” (whatever that is!), are packed full of empty carbs and sugars. And a lot of times they really aren’t even that good. Making granola at home is incredibly simple and fast, and if you make it fresh in the morning for breakfast, you’ll fill you kitchen with delicious smells of wafting cinnamon and vanilla throughout the air.
If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right, so our at home granola recipe makes sure to give you a healthy and nutritious edge on your store alternatives. Adding hemp seeds and hemp seed oil to our granola recipe really tilts the scales back towards being healthy with a strong protein boost. Factor in the fiber and antioxidants from the honey and cinnamon, and you have for yourself or your family a much healthier breakfast option, or even eat is as a snack!
Besides the health benefits, the great thing about this recipe is its versatility. Below you will be walked through the base recipe for making granola with hemp seeds, and it has space reserved for a half a cup of your personal preference. You can power boost it even more with nuts, make it extra sweet with dried fruit, or turn it into a semi healthy snack with chocolate or yogurt covered raisins.
You can also serve it many different ways. The healthiest route for me, as pictured above, is with low fat Greek yogurt and berries. Berries and melons usually have the lowest sugar content of your fruit options at the store, so I like to rotate between strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. If you ever find fresh raspberries, those are the best option for low sugar, and absolutely delicious with granola and yogurt. You can also eat this in milk just like cereal, or use it as a topping on baked fruits such as apple crisp or peach cobbler.
Ingredients
First Mixing Group
- 0.25 Cup Hemp Seed Oil
A nice boost of your Omega 3 Fatty acids from the hemp seed oil to make your body healthy.
- 0.25 Cup Honey
This is the spot right here where I am guilty of a bit of indulgence. I love honey, and have a sweet tooth, so this amount really makes the recipe deliciously perfect for me. Honey is also tricky for “healthy” as things like calories and sugars that we pay close attention to it is high in, but it is also really high in antioxidants, which don’t show up on the nutrition fact sheet. If you are really trying to go the health route when making this, you can surely drop this down to 1/8th a cup without a huge different in the overall quality. But if you do that and decide chocolate chips are a great idea too, well then that’s your choice!
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
I LOVE cinnamon and put it in many other things like my afternoon tea. Cinnamon has a lot of health benefits on your digestive system and potentially weight loss. This amount is just enough to give the granola a balance of flavors. If you love cinnamon and/or are look for every healthy edge to this recipe, you can double it up toe 2 Tbsp. Want to really go bold? Stick to 1 Tbsp of cinnamon, and add 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper.
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
Vanilla measurements are always tricky in recipes. If you have a quality vanilla extract, this measurement is based on that. If you vanilla extract if a value brand bottle, you will want to double this up. If you are a fancy gourmet chef and have real vanilla beans, well then mail me some!
- 1 tsp Salt
Second Mixing Group
- 1.5 Cup Oats
- 0.5 Cup Hemp Seeds
The star of the recipe, adding half a cup of hemp seeds to your granola gives a huge protein boost for healthy energy throughout the day.
- 0.5 Cup Shredded Coconut
Try to go for unsweetened if possible. If you aren’t a huge fan of coconut, don’t worry, the flavor does not come out too strongly here, but it helps a lot with the crunch.
Optional
- 0.5 Cup Fruit/Nuts/Sweets
The world is your oyster here. The recipe pictures are with the base ingredients, but there is so much more you can do with this. Sliced almonds make it even healthier, or walnuts are another great option. Dried fruits add some delicious sweetness, but watch out for the sugar content. My favorite would be chopping up some dried apricots. Banana chips are another fun option.
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Combine Hemp Seed Oil, Honey, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix it well.
- It’s going to look like a thick darn brown glaze from the cinnamon, but don’t let it fool you! Everything you are mixing it into is a light color, so the final result will still be beautiful.
- Fold in Oats, Hemp Seeds, Shredded Coconut, and optional fruit or nuts.
- If you are doing nuts such as my personal favorite sliced almonds, now is the time to add them. Dried fruit can be added here but has the potential to burn, so you may consider adding it during the mid bake mix. Anything melty like chocolate chips or yogurt raisins should be saved for the very end.
- Evenly spread mixture on 9 x 13 or larger non-stick baking sheet.
- You can certainly use something larger, or even glass, just try not to use anything smaller. The smaller the tray the thicker the mixture will be, and you won’t get nearly the satisfying crunch out of it. If you decide to double up this recipe, make sure to double up the pans too to keep it crispy!
- Bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Required – Completely mix around and turn over mixture to ensure even cooking.
- If you skip this, you will have burnt edges!
- Bake for additional 8 minutes
- Check – If not golden brown, continue baking at 3 minute increments for desired color
- Keep a close eye on this. If your oven isn’t the strongest, you could switch to broiler for the last 3 minutes, but 30 seconds under broiler can burn it easily, so be careful! The color that the granola finishes will be two shades darker than what you take it out of the oven at, so don’t leave it in too long.
- Take out of oven, mix / fold over one additional time, and then let cool.
- Your pan is still going to be quite hot, so while a last spread after taking it out of the oven may not seem necessary, it will certainly help prevent the edges and bottom side from getting an uneven browning. This will also help start forming into granola chunks, rather than one giant granola sheet you would have to break apart later.
Recipe:
Hemp Seed Granola
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Baking Sheet
- Oven
Ingredients
First Mixing Group
- 0.25 Cup Hemp Seed Oil
- 0.25 Cup Honey
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Salt
Second Mixing Group
- 1.5 Cup Oats
- 0.5 Cup Hemp Seeds
- 0.5 Cup Shredded Coconut
Optional
- 0.5 Cup Fruit/Nuts/Sweets
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Combine Hemp Seed Oil, Honey, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix it well.
- Fold in Oats, Hemp Seeds, Shredded Coconut, and optional fruit or nuts.
- Evenly spread mixture on 9 x 13 or larger non-stick baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Required - Completely mix around and turn over mixture to ensure even cooking.
- Bake for additional 8 minutes
- Check - If not golden brown, continue baking at 3 minute increments for desired color
- Take out of oven, mix / fold over one additional time, and then let cool.
Nutrition
If you have success making this at home, please feel free to comment and rate below. We would love to see your pictures with some great variation options! Somewhere down the road we will revisit the recipe and add a whole list of variations with the optional ingredients, and we’d love to highlight yours!
Looking to try this recipe at home? The first step is of course making sure you have all of the necessary ingredients! We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t suggest you consider purchasing the Hemp Seeds or Hemp Oil from us. And while you’re at it, feel free to browse our entire line of Hemp Foods available.
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