Vegan granola makes a brilliant healthy breakfast. This homemade granola recipe is made with cherries, maple and pecans and it tastes out of this world.
What do you like to eat for breakfast? In the winter months I often make porridge, or oatmeal. It’s lovely to have something warming first thing in the morning. And in the summer I might make overnight oats or have fruit and yoghurt. Coconut yoghurt is usually my choice. I could eat granola all year round however. Crunchy oats and nuts with dried fruit served with blueberries and more of that coconut yoghurt is just heaven.
Why make homemade granola?
For me it comes down to two main reasons – taste and sugar. The taste of homemade vegan granola is just a world away from anything shop-bought that I’ve tried. Take this nut granola recipe for example. It’s literally packed full of massive chunks of pecan nuts – you won’t see that in any reasonably priced processed granola.
When you make your own homemade granola you’re in charge of the ingredients. Shop bought granola is waaaaay too sweet for my liking so I like to sweeten my granola with a more natural sweetener like maple syrup. You can reduce or increase the amount of sugar depending on your own personal taste.
I’ve made many different homemade granola recipes over the years but this one – cherry, maple and pecan granola is always my go-to. The combination of flavours just works perfectly. It’s very adaptable though. Coconut flakes are a good addition. Chopped or flaked almonds work well in place of the pecans if you prefer. And dried cranberries are a good substitute for the cherries. If you love cinnamon then a tsp of this, added before cooking, makes a lovely autumnal cinnamon granola.
If you’re looking for a nut free granola try this recipe from my other site Sneaky Veg.
How to eat granola
Um, straight out of the jar? I’ve often found myself, spoon in hand, eating granola homemade straight from the jar.
Some people like to eat granola with milk – just like breakfast cereal. I prefer it with coconut yoghurt and fruit.
It also makes a great porridge topping, lunchbox filler or snack. You can use it to make homemade granola bars or sprinkle it onto a parfait. I’ve even seen it blended with dates to make a healthy base for peanut butter cups. Those are definitely on my must-try list.
Other vegan breakfast ideas
Vegan pumpkin waffles
Nasi lemak (Malaysian breakfast)
Vegan crepes
Scrambled tofu
Cranberry, almond and cinnamon granola
How to make vegan granola
Vegan granola with cherries, maple and pecans
Ingredients
- 300 g jumbo rolled oats
- 100 g pecans nuts roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp flaxseeds 30g
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100 ml sunflower vegetable or melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 ml maple syrup
- 75 g dried cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 100°C (fan)/120°C/gas mark 1.
- Line a baking tray with paper.
- Mix all the ingredients apart from the cherries together in a mixing bowl and spread out over the baking tray.
- Bake for 20 minutes, stir and put back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the tray. Add the cherries and mix well.
- Store in an airtight container.
Pin vegan granola with cherries, maple and pecans for later
Lovely granola recipe, I adore maple pecans in absolutely anything especially when they are baked or roasted! Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare
Thanks Monika – maple pecans really are incredible aren’t they!
This sounds gorgeous. Totally agree with you about the waaay too sweet thing. I don’t eat much sugar these days and so consequently most commercial granolas are just too sweet for me, but homemade is great! And I love your recipe. 😀 Eb x
It’s funny how they less sugar you eat the less you want – got to be a good thing I think! Thanks so much for your comment x
LOVE LOVE granola! I usually make a huge batch at the weekends for the week but it never quite lasts that long!! love the idea of putting cherries & granola in it!
I know, it never lasts long does it! Cherries in granola are the best – hope you try it Midge!
This looks delicious! I love the sound of the combination of cherries and pecans so I will definitely have to give this a try. I love granola because it’s so versatile – you can have it for breakfast with milk, yogurt or fresh fruit, you can eat it as a snack or you can even use it to bake with. Great post!
Thanks Sophie – you’re so right about granola being versatile!