Granola is great to have around for snacking or adding to yogurt, fruit, and smoothie bowls. Here’s my latest granola combination, using pecans, sliced almonds, sesame seeds, and shredded coconut.
I go through phases where I make a granola recipe for several weeks and then I move on to another version or forget about it for a while. First it was carrot cake granola, then gingerbread granola, and now it’s this recipe.
There are few reasons to love this rendition. First, the crunch is great and it’s just sweet enough. The ground cinnamon and vanilla extract help with this. Second, it’s very simple, using only three main ingredients, and then some supporting ingredients.
One of the supporting ingredients is ground flaxseed, which helps brings the sesame seeds, almonds, and pecans together in small crunchy bites. Flaxseed is also know to improve digestive flow, so there’s that going for it also. For SCD, leave out the flaxseed and substitute with more sesame seeds.
To grind the flaxseed into flour, I use a small coffee bean grinder. You can use any herb or bean grinder, or grind it by hand with a mortar and pestle. A small food processor will work as well.
For the dried cranberries, I add those after the granola has come out of the oven and has cooled. I buy them in my local market, but you can find dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice and no added sugar. They usually have oil added to them to prevent sticking, but that should be it.
And one last add: sometimes I add an extra tablespoon of honey if I’m in the mood for a slightly sweeter granola. Enjoy!
Pecan Sesame Granola
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pecans some whole and some pieces
- 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
- 1 1/2 cups coconut flakes unsweetened; or shredded if you prefer
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds white or brown
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed golden, ground into flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice only
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325℉.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combined the pecans, almonds, coconut, sesame seeds, and flaxseed in a mixing bowl and blend with a spatula.
- Add the vanilla extract, olive oil, and honey and blend well with a spatula.
- Spread the granola across the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, or until the granola is darker but not burnt.
- Cool and add dried cranberries or other dried fruit.
- Store sealed at room temperature for a few weeks.
Shannon
What a delicious granola! Its a perfect scd snack and great with yogurt too. Thank you! I always under bake granola because of my oven and it turned out great.
Erica
Thanks, Shannon!