Ancient grains apple cranberry granola is a perfect way to start your day. Sprinkle it over yogurt for a delicious boost. Unlike most store-bought options, this granola is made without added fats or refined sugars, letting the natural flavors shine.
For more low sugar breakfast recipes, try our crock pot apple butter, chunky unsweetened applesauce, or our ancient grains breakfast cookies.
This is soft, clumpy granola made with ancient grains, chewy bits of dried apples and cranberries and loaded with crunchy nuts and seeds.
This granola is naturally sweetened with honey and maple syrup along with the sweet and chewy bits of fruit.
Our ancient grains granola does not have any oil added to it like most granola recipes.
The ‘glue’ for the clumping action comes from the egg whites and wet ingredients mixing with the barley flour. Since we used egg whites for the clumping action, the granola has an extra punch of protein.
Not only does the barley flour and egg whites help clump the granola together, but the barley flour also makes the clumps of granola nice and chewy inside the clumps. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It’s the perfect combination of textures.
Ingredients for Our Ancient Grains Granola.
Here’s a breakdown of all the ingredients.
- Barley
- Spelt
- Almonds
- Coconut flakes
- Pumpkin seeds
- Dried apples
- Dried cranberries
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Applesauce
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla
- Egg whites
It may seem like a lot of ingredients but it is easy to make and since it makes a large batch, it lasts a long time.
Yes! You can freeze this granola!
To keep the flavor and freshness of the nuts and seeds, freeze the granola if you’re not planning to eat it right away. Store it in a freezer-safe container, and when you’re ready to enjoy, just let it sit on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes to thaw.
The trick to getting large clumps of granola.
The trick to making sure you have large clumps is to limit how often you stir the granola. When it is baking, only stir it once for really large clumps and for smaller clumps stir it twice. When the granola is finished baking, let it sit on the counter to cool and do not stir it while it is still warm.
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Ancient Grains Apple Cranberry Granola
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled barley flakes 276 grams
- 2 cups rolled spelt flakes 184 grams
- 2 cups almond slivers 224 grams
- 2 cups chopped dried apples 170 grams
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes 170 grams
- 1 cup dried cranberries 170 grams
- 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds 140 grams
- ¾ cup barley flour 70 grams
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ to ¾ cup honey
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300° F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray with nonstick cooking spray)
- Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Place the wet ingredients except for the egg whites, in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until the honey thins out and everything is combined well. Pour the honey mixture over the dry ingredients then whisk the egg white and pour it over the dry ingredients. Stir to moisten everything.
- Dump the granola into the rimmed baking sheet and spread it out to the edges. It will come up to the edges of the pan, keeping the mixture piled up thick like this will keep the granola soft and chewy.
- Place in the oven and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. The mixture will be toasty and golden.
- Remove from the oven and let it sit without stirring for 10 minutes (this will help it form larger clumps) then give it a stir and let it sit until completely cool.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- I used soft dried apples to help contribute to a chewy texture but crisp dried apples would work just fine in this recipe as well.
- You will need a half sheet pan (18×13 inches) to fit the whole batch on one pan. If you use smaller pans then spread the batch out on two separate pans and rotate the pans half way through the baking process.
John / Kitchen Riffs
Wednesday 20th of March 2019
This looks great! Most commercial granola is way too sweet. And often includes ingredients I'd rather avoid. This is perfect! Nice recipe -- thanks.
Dahn Boquist
Wednesday 20th of March 2019
So true John, thanks for the comment.