Start the morning with some sweet, slightly-spicy, Ginger Granola. It’s lovely as a snack or dished up over your favorite vegan milk or yogurt!
If you’ve never made your own granola, you are going to be shocked at how easy it is. And this simple, vegan ginger granola recipe is a great place to start!
I love making granola at home. It’s a pretty hands-off process, and you can have a lot of fun with different flavor combinations. Think of this recipe as just the start of your granola-making adventures!
Choosing the right oats
The key to good granola is using the right oats. I'm not here to sell you on a particular brand of rolled oats, but I do want to be sure you use the correct type of oats.
For this granola recipe, you are going to use rolled oats. Quick oats, steel cut oats, or instant oats will not work.
If you're not sure if you have the right oats, look at the cooking directions on the back of the package. If it says to cook for five minutes, you have the right oats.
About the ginger
The ginger is the star of this recipe, but I know that right now it can be hard to find fresh ginger in some areas. My local grocery store was out of it for several weeks!
In a pinch, you can make this granola using dried ginger in place of fresh. The recipe card below lists it as an alternative.
If you do use dried ginger, please keep in mind that dry spices can go stale. If you've had the same, open container of dried ginger in your pantry for months, it's probably stale and won't give your granola the flavor you want.
Even unopened spices can go stale, so just keep this in mind if you are using ground ginger for this recipe.
The key to granola success
Making granola successfully is all about stirring. There's a lot of stirring.
Before you put the granola on the baking pan, you want to make sure that you thoroughly coat the oats and cashews in your ginger-maple sauce.
Once the granola is on the pan, spread it out, so there's as much surface area as possible. Then, during the baking process, stop several times to stir the cooking granola.
Stirring during cooking does two things:
- It prevents the oats around the edges from burning.
- It makes sure the oats in the middle get nice and crisp.
I just can't stress stirring enough.
About the mix-ins
The recipe below uses cashews, dried apricots, and shredded coconut. You've got some options here!
- If you don't do cashews, you can use any nuts or seeds that you like instead. Raw or cooked will work, but I do recommend unsalted.
- Dried apricots not your thing? No worries! Use any chopped, dried fruit you like. Dried cranberries (no chopping needed), dried pineapple, or dried peaches would all be lovely in this recipe.
- You can omit the coconut, if you don't care for it. Feel free to add extra dried fruit, if you like, or simply leave the coconut out.
How to serve and store
I love this granola over vegan yogurt. It's also lovely with your favorite plant-based milk, like cereal, or straight up as a snack.
Store your granola in an airtight container, like a lidded Pyrex bowl or a mason jar, in a cool, dry place. It will keep for months, but it will start to taste stale after around five to seven days.
If you plan to keep your granola for longer than a week, The Kitchn says that you can freeze it! It will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Ginger granola recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil - or other neutral-tasting cooking oil
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1" piece fresh ginger - or 1 teaspoon ground ginger (See note.)
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup unsalted cashews
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut - unsweetened
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250° F
- Combine the oil, maple syrup, and ginger in your blender or food processor.
- In a large bowl, toss together the maple syrup mixture with the oats and cashews. Bake for 60-90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, so your granola cooks evenly. When you stir, make sure that the oats around the perimeter of your pan get pushed to the middle, because otherwise they will burn. Your granola is done when it's dry and toasty. How long it will take depends on your oats and how humid your kitchen is.
- Toss the cooked granola together with the coconut and dried apricots, and cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the pantry until you're ready to eat.
Video
Notes
- Fresh ginger really is best in this recipe, but if you can't find it right now, dried will do in a pinch.
- The cooked granola will keep for about a week in the pantry.
Have a question? Tried this recipe? Share your thoughts!