Spice Up Your Breakfast With This Nutrient-Dense Apple Pie Granola
Granola can be a great addition to many of our favorite breakfast options: sprinkled on top of some yogurt or a bowl of oatmeal, it's a perfect bit of texture to contrast a creamy base. And even though there's plenty of truly wonderful granola available on market shelves, making your own means using all those nutrient-packed favorites.
This particular recipe, from the new cookbook Tasty Adulting, is the perfect one for fall because it draws on the flavors and spices of a classic apple pie—and what's more fall than that! Not only that, but it includes some super nutrient-dense nuts: cashews, which are a good source of magnesium and copper1, as well as pecans. "Pecans are chock-full of nutrients—containing about 19 different vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants," Britni Thomas, R.D., told mindbodygreen.
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This mix also relies on healthy ingredients for binding the mix together: a blend of dates for sweetness with tahini and spices gives a super-flavorful final product. You may know tahini as one of the base ingredients in hummus, but it's also a great ingredient to include in baked goods—it enhances the nutty flavor and contributes good fats2 to the dish.
That apple pie flavor is largely thanks to the inclusion of dried apples (which prevent the mix being too damp, as it would be with fresh ingredients) and the spice blend: cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Cinnamon also contributes to the healthiness of the dish: It's got inflammation-fighting compounds and has been linked to supporting the immune system, too.
The best part? Once you make a batch, you can store it for up to two weeks of tasty breakfasts.
Apple Pie Granola
Ingredients
- 1½ cups pitted dates
- 1 cup boiling water
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup raw cashews, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup raw pecans, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup dried apple, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
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Method
- Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine the dates and water and soak for about 10 minutes, until soft and pliable. Add the tahini, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt, and process until smooth.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, raisins, cashews, pecans, apple, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and coconut. Pour the date mixture over the top and stir to incorporate.
- Spread the granola evenly onto the baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until deeply toasted and very fragrant. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
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Eliza Sullivan is an SEO Editor at mindbodygreen, where she writes about food, recipes, and nutrition—among other things. She received a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in english literature with honors from Boston University, and she has previously written for Boston Magazine, TheTaste.ie, and SUITCASE magazine.