I adapted this recipe from one of my new favorite cookbooks, Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming. I made many changes to the recipe including tripling the amount of quinoa.
Her version uses 1/3 cup but I really wanted to see how far I could push the recipe, especially if I was going to call it “quinoa” granola. Using one cup works perfectly fine but I will note that you can just slightly taste the uncooked quinoa, which can sometimes have a bit of an iron aftertaste before thoroughly washing and cooking. But it was barely noticeable to me. The maple, agave, vanilla and cinnamon really overpower that flavor. If you want to avoid this I would recommend trying 1/2 – 3/4 cup of quinoa instead.
I really enjoyed having this quinoa granola with milk or yogurt. It’s just the right amount of sweet and the quinoa offers a nice crunch!
Quinoa Granola
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups regular or gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 3/4 cup whole raw almonds
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup hulled hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup raw pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup light agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup dried cherries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, quinoa, almonds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, coconut and pecans. Mix well. In a smaller bowl combine the maple syrup, light agave nectar and vanilla. Add the liquids into the dry ingredients and stir well to make sure everything is evenly combined.
- Spread the mix in an even, thin layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly on top. Bake for one hour.
- Remove from the oven and allow the granola to cool down. The granola will stick just slightly to the parchment but should be easy to remove with a spatula. Once cool, stir in the dried cranberries and cherries.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Jackie says
Completely gorgeous! Recipes, photos, all of it!
Chung-Ah says
Oooohh I could munch of these all day, especially during the 10-2AM time frame.
Grubarazzi ( says
In the words of my two year old self: gimme gimme.
Jennifer says
What a fabulous granola! Once I get through my granola hump, meaning I have eaten to much of it this week, I’m making yours! Your recipe is absolutely perfect!! I LOVE it!! I can’t wait to make it!!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Wonderful :) I love using quinoa in the kitchen, I’d love to make this!
Debra says
Just a little different! I love quinoa. This is nice. :-)
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
I made a regular quinoa so many times already, also a regular granola, but this is something I simply have to try.
Meg @ Sweet Twist says
This awesome. Love all the ingredients. I am going to make this for sure. Pinned for reference.
Laura Dembowski says
I love quinoa and would love to give this recipe a try! It sounfs so unique and yummy!
Healthy Granola says
Adding quinoa to granola seems like it would give it a nice crunch, along with the flavor. Thanks for sharing.
Kerry says
Hi There, Just curious if the agave nectar can be substituted for anything else like more maple syrup or honey?
Jennifer Farley says
sure, you can use either