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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This looks seriously wonderful! Sending along to a friend of mine who is a quinoa nut!
I love quinoa in my granola! Makes me feel like I’m being super super healthy, especially when tossed in my some yogurt.
I am BEYOND excited to get this granola!! I am going to have to hide it from the rest of my family because I am SO not sharing with them ha ha ha
Your granola looks so tasty, and I “love” your bowl!
Oh wow… I never would have thought to add quinoa to granola! :) Great idea!
I’m only just starting to get a taste for quinoa so I might have to hold off on adding it to my granola for a few more months, but I seriously love the idea! Oh, and those cookies from Shanna sound amazing – enjoy :)
I think this would go perfectly with the Greek yogurt I have every morning for breakfast.
I am intrigued by uncooked quinoa. And now I would really like some.
And also I am excited to see all the options it never occurred to me to ship. All I could think of was cookies lol!
The foodie community has definitely redefine the ways one can make granola. And this is another delicious and creative example :)
Jen – I can’t wait to try this! I’ve never put quinoa in granola but it looks like it adds such great texture and crunch!
Oh man, I just looooove granola (and I also eat mine with milk! yum!), and i’m super fascinated by the idea of uncooked quinoa in there. I would imagine it makes the granola extra crunchy and gives it a toothsome bite.
Definitely sounds like the kind of breakfast I would like, even though I am not much of a breakfast person. I have this HUGE bag of quinoa and this recipe came at the right time :)
Love it! :)
This is SUCH a fun way to use quinoa, which is one of my favorite (sort-of) grains! It’s the perfect way to infuse it into every meal, including breakfast!
Never, ever thought of using quinoa in this way, but it’s brilliant! Great recipe, Jen…and do I have to mention your gorgeous photos?!? :} TGIF!!!