Sweet + Salty Tahini-Miso Granola

There are few things I love more than a bowl of granola, friends.  I adore it sprinkled over hot porridge in the winter for texture, and on top of overnight porridge in the summer. I love it with yogurt, or a simple splash of milk, and I love love LOVE making it myself at home. In fact, having a fat jar of homemade granola in our pantry is a sign to me that I’m nested + settled – that all is right in the world.

I made a big batch before we left for Italy last week – so that when we returned, there wouldn’t need to be a scramble for what to have for breakfast; no need to run to the store to pick up a “stand-in” for my own favorite recipes. There isn’t single granola that stands in for mine – not even close.

Because the smells created from a tray of granola baking can’t be replicated by a nasty scented candle. And the trust of knowing that there aren’t any stabilizers, extra unnecessary sweeteners, and only the best nuts and no icky seeds or hydrogenated oils used to cut down on costs. No, my granola is a no-corners-cut sort of situation.

Because I was running our pantry pretty thin before our European departure, I had the invitation to get a bit creative + to use up a few scrapings of ingredients before we left. The last of a jar of tahini, the final scoop of miso, a few handfuls of nuts left in jars in the back of the dry goods shelf. I enjoyed a bowl as a little snack right before leaving for the airport, and I’m already craving a bowl when we get home (that is, after I exhaust all of the pasta, pizza, pasticicotto options here in Puglia.) It’s a fresh twist that was too good to share, my favorite new granola from a granola aficionado, and I hope that it turns you on ( + encourages you to start your own homemade-granola rituals too!)

Why being a homemade granola addict is a great thing

There are a few reasons to NOT make your own homemade granola. Perhaps you:

• don’t have an oven
• literally don’t have 10 minutes to dump the ingredients into a bowl
• don’t want to fill your home with granola smells

But these are really, the only reasons.
And if the lack of 10 minutes you’ll need to prep your pan, and stir your ingredients are intimidating, let me tell you that I’ve done this process in 3 minutes before. So.

Granola is SO EASY. In fact, once its mixed you don’t need to do anything but be in a general vicinity to pull the pan from the oven 45 minutes after putting it in, and have some counter space to let it cool overnight. You will have to spend 5 minutes storing it in the container of your choice, but really – that’s it.

There are more reasons TO MAKE your own homemade granola. So many more, actually.

• No hydrogenated oils or fats: yes, these easily slip into even the most virtuous granolas at the grocery store because they’re cheap, easy, and consistent, and making money selling a food product is all about PROFIT. This means anywhere you can cut corners, you do. But you wouldn’t cut corners in your own home. This granola recipe uses coconut oil or olive oil, neither of which is hydrogenated or heated to a point of denaturation. So the goodness of the oil stays intact.
• No unnecessary refined sweeteners: ya know how you overcome the issue of granola starting to taste stale after it’s traveled from your production facility to the grocery store shelves, then lived there for a month (or more?) You add sugar. More than necessary. And from sources that you probably wouldn’t choose otherwise. Granola on the grocery store shelves is practically a bag of cookies masquerading as a healthy breakfast. But not when you use an easy recipe + make it at home! This recipe is sweetened exclusively with maple syrup; a light sweetener that has a lower glycemic index than granulated sugar BUT, also has insoluble fiber, minerals, and nutrients that help our bodies to process that glucose and use it properly (instead of storing it in excess.) When you make your own granola, you get that good sweet.
• The option to use sprouted nuts: I’m sure I’ve gone on a rant about sprouting nuts and seeds at some point, right? Nuts – like all legumes, pulses, seeds, and grains – have a single job to do in the world: to sprout new life, and they contain all the nutrients necessary to do so! To make sure this job gets done, they coat themselves in a natural biotoxin called “phytic acid” that produces gas, indigestion, and renders nutrients biologically unavailable….until the acid is removed. The best news is that, by sprouting these foods, we can soak away the phytic acid, encouraging these nutrients to become bioavailable to us (ie: available for use by our bodies instead of passed straight through,) and we can increase the digestibility. (Ever wondered why it’s a good idea to soak your beans before cooking them? This is why. It’s also why sprouted beans will make you fart far less!) Sprouted nuts are widely available and, while yes, more expensive than the ordinary varieties, they’re also incredibly beneficial to our bodies. You can use them here if you wish, as available. (No pre-packaged granola on the grocery store shelves will have sprouted nuts — the expense at scale is far too great!)
• All the feels: making your own food is part of the nourishment process. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the soul-satisfying that happens when you know you’ve made something special, that you sourced yourself, to fuel your body – your life. This is a “health benefit” that cannot be overlooked and is certainly something to consider the next time you rip open a package of anything.

This granola….

Is sweet, and salty, but not too much of either. It’s delicious in all the typical ways that granola is amazing, but it’s also going to be great sprinkled on top of grain bowls, roasted squashes, creamy soups, salads and so much more.

If you’re going to eat it in the morning for breakfast, I suggest enjoying it with yogurt + a sprinkle of cinnamon and cardamom (the spices warm the yogurt and improve digestion.) A bit of warm almond milk is also recommended. I don’t recommend enjoying cold milk with this granola first thing in the morning; cold milk cools and stalls digestion in a time of day when the body is just trying to get going. If you’re going to enjoy dairy milk with your granola, wait until midday when digestion is highest, or in the evening to ground as a light dinner. And, always enjoy your dairy milk slightly warm.