Homemade Sweet & Salty Quinola (Quinoa Granola)

After a busy week at work (was it really less than a week ago that I wrote my first post!?), I'm finally getting to sit down to write my next post. I cooked a lot of yummy food over this past week that I can't wait to show you! 

Tonight, I'm sharing my recipe for the homemade granola that I baked last weekend. This granola is not only delicious - it has the perfect balance between salty and sweet that makes it quite addictive (I'm warning you ahead of time...once you crunch, you can't stop) - but is packed with superfoods, like quinoa, chia seed, and flax. It is perfect over greek yogurt for breakfast or eaten in spoonfuls (or handfuls...woops) for a midday snack.

Homemade Sweet & Salty Quinola (Quinoa Granola)

Click here for the printable version to bring into your kitchen.

Here is what you need to pull from your cabinets before you begin:

3 cups quick oats

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
1 cup raw sunflower seeds, hulled
1 cup coconut chips
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Coarse salt (kosher salt)

I bought my flax seeds and chia seeds at Costco - they have large quantities and are cheaper than your local health food store. I use them in smoothies and a Costco-sized quantity will last a while so you don't have to worry about running out of them.

You will also need an extra-large rimmed baking sheet and mixing bowl.

How much time you need:

About 7 minutes for prep and another 45 minutes to 1 hour of cook time in your oven (perfect time to put up your feet, crack open a bottle of wine and catch up on the new episode of Grey's Anatomy....).

Now, let's get started:

Start by cooking the quinoa according to the directions on the box. I just had a box of white quinoa, and for 1 cup, it was 2 cups of water, and cooked for 15 minutes. 1 cup of uncooked quinoa will make 3 cups of cooked quinoa. If you make 3 cups of cooked quinoa (like I did because I'm a complete airhead sometimes), you can use all of it in your granola. More quinoa = more protein = a feel good breakfast that fills you up and keeps you full!

Once the quinoa is cooked, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. 

Pull out a big mixing bowl and toss together oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut chips, cooked quinoa, almonds (you can easily leave these out if anyone has a nut allergy, I've made it before and it's just as good!) flax seeds, chia seeds, and 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt. The beauty of this granola is that you can easily tailor it to what you want - if you aren't a fan of coconut, leave it out; if you aren't a fan of flax seeds, leave them out. If you aren't a fan of oats or the health benefits of quinoa, well too bad, because those are the 2 ingredients that I won't let you leave out!

Pour in the extra-virgin olive oil and pure maple syrup to your dry ingredients and mix, mix, mix. Don't even think about using anything other than pure maple syrup (yeah, I'm talking to you, if you just pulled out your Aunt Jemima syrup from the fridge....just throw it out...now and then don't walk, but run to your local grocery store for the real stuff). On a side note - if anyone wants homemade pure maple syrup from upstate New York, my parents will have some fresh batches ready in a few weeks - contact me for details - they can ship to you!

The last step in your prep process is to spread out your mixture evenly on the baking sheet.... the bigger the sheet, the thinner the layer and the less time it has to bake in the oven. I have a habit of lining all my baking sheets with aluminum foil before I bake anything on them , because it makes for easier clean up - it's up to you if you want to do this or not, but I'd recommend it. Now, pop the sheet into the oven and kick back for 45 minutes to 1 hour. I usually check in a few times and stir the quinola so it doesn't stick to the pan or get too chunky (I'm not a fan of large pieces of chucky granola, but if that's your thing, then go ahead and let it bake up without stirring). 

Once your quinola is starting to get golden brown and toasty, it's done! Well, done in the oven, at least. Now for the finishing steps, you're almost there! It's really important to do these next steps as soon as the quinola comes out of the oven and is still warm. Sprinkle on more coarse salt to taste (sample it until it has reached your desired level of salt & sweety goodness). While you're mixing in the salt, break apart/loosen the granola with a spatula.

Let the granola cool completely before storing it in an airtight container. Oxo Pop storage containers (in the picture above) work perfect. Mason jars also make a great storage option; they are perfect if you are bringing some to work to snack on or give as gifts. 

From my kitchen to yours,

Mama Friend