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This Christmas Granola is hearty, flavorful, and so perfect for the holiday season! It has warm Christmas spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg, it has brightness from orange zest and dried cranberries, and it has a perfect crunch from a mix of nuts and seeds: pecans, almond, pistachios, and pumpkin seeds. I used maple syrup to sweeten this granola – and it’s more on the lightly sweetened side which makes it even better in my opinion (and if you want it sweeter, then simply add more maple syrup!). The combination of flavors makes this granola perfect for Christmas – you can meal prep it for the week, or make it for guests coming into town, or even gift it to loved ones in cute little jars (gifting homemade food is the best!!).
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Nutritional benefits of this recipe
- Oats are a prebiotic fiber, which helps feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut. They also have vitamins and minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and B6. I like using sprouted oats because they are higher in protein, lower in starch, and easier to digest.
- Pecans, pistachios, almonds, and pumpkin seeds contains healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and flavonoids.
- Maple Syrup is a natural sweetener that’s lower on the glycemic index than refined sugar and packed with minerals like manganese, zinc, and potassium, along with antioxidants.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves help keep blood sugar balanced, are rich in antioxidants, and not to mention delicious!
Ingredients for homemade Christmas Granola
Rolled oats – I used sprouted rolled oats for this recipe. I like using sprouted oats because they are higher in protein, lower in starch, and easier to digest.
Pecans
Pistachios
Almonds
Pumpkin seeds
Maple syrup – as a sticky sweetener to help the granola hold together, and the maple flavor is so perfect for this granola! Use pure maple syrup, which is the sap from maple trees.
Almond butter – to help moisten the mixture to create clusters.
Egg whites – helps create super big clusters rather than small clusters. Can substitute with a few tablespoons of melted coconut oil or butter if desired (would be smaller cutters).
Spices: ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt
Orange zest – optional. Adds a nice bright flavor.
Dried cranberries – I recommend using unsweetened cranberries. They’re so delicious and much healthier.
How to make homemade Christmas Granola
- Preheat the oven to 320ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the almond butter, maple syrup, egg whites, and orange zest until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients (except the cranberries – wait til after cooking) and mix together until everything is thoroughly combined. Dump onto the baking sheet and spread it out, pressing down with a spatula to create a rectangle about 11×15 inches.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes until the edges are browning. Mine took 40 minutes on a stainless steel baking sheet. Take out of the oven and spread the dried cranberries on top of the granola. Let cool COMPLETELY before breaking into clusters – this way you get bigger clusters.
- Once cool, break up into clusters. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Modifications and variations
- This granola isn’t super sweet – you can make it sweeter by increasing the maple syrup.
- Substitute any nuts or seeds however you like. You can make it a simple recipe by just using one nut or seed in place of the combination of them (pecans would be great solo!), or use whatever combination you want.
- Substitutes for egg whites: Egg whites help make this granola form big clusters, but if you don’t mind smaller clusters, then you can substitute 3 Tbsp of coconut oil or grass-fed butter or add another few tablespoons of almond butter to the recipe. Or just omit completely if you are fine with a crumbly granola without clusters.
Other recipes you’ll love
Blueberry and Roasted Pecan Granola
I hope you love this homemade Christmas Granola! Please be sure to leave a comment and a rating if you give this recipe a try. I would love to hear how it turned out for you!
PrintChristmas Granola
This homemade Christmas Granola is truly the best – it has warm spices like cinnamon and cloves, bright flavors from orange zest and dried cranberries, the perfect nutty crunch, and it’s lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup. It makes the perfect meal prep breakfast or snack, and it’s also a delightful gift to give for Christmas if you love giving homemade food like I do!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Category: Christmas, breakfast, snack
- Method: Oven
Ingredients
1/2 rounded cup almond butter (145g)
1/3 cup maple syrup (115g)
2 egg whites (75g) – see notes for substitutes
Optional: zest from 1 large orange
3 cups rolled oats (330g)
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans (62g)
1/2 cup chopped almonds (78g)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (55g)
1/3 cup pistachios (50g)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (3g)
1 tsp ground ginger (2g)
1/2 tsp ground cloves (2g)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (1g)
1/2–1 tsp salt (3-6g), to preference (I used 1 tsp), omit completely if using salted nuts and seeds
After cooking:
1/2 heaping cup unsweetened dried cranberries (100g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 320ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the almond butter, maple syrup, egg whites, and orange zest until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients (except the cranberries – wait til after cooking) and mix together until everything is thoroughly combined. Dump onto the baking sheet and spread it out, pressing down with a spatula to create a rectangle about 11×15 inches.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes until the edges are browning. Mine took 40 minutes on a stainless steel baking sheet. Take out of the oven and spread the dried cranberries on top of the granola. Let cool COMPLETELY before breaking into clusters – this way you get bigger clusters.
- Once cool, break up into clusters. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Notes:
- This granola isn’t super sweet – you can make it sweeter by increasing the maple syrup.
- Substitute any nuts or seeds however you like. You can make it a simple recipe by just using one nut or seed in place of the combination of them (pecans would be great solo!), or use whatever combination you want.
- Substitutes for egg whites: Egg whites help make this granola form big clusters, but if you don’t mind smaller clusters, then you can substitute 3-4 Tbsp of coconut oil or grass-fed butter or increase almond butter in the recipe to 3/4 cup. Or just omit completely if you are fine with a crumbly granola without clusters.
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