Crispy & Crunchy Oil-Free granola (secret ingredient!!)

3 May

So it's a Sunday morning and my plan was to have a whole day off to write letters and do creative arty stuff.

But I made this epic granola a few days ago and I've been eating it by the handful ever since, so I figured if you are having a chilled out Sunday like me (well, I will be shortly!) you might like to make some too!

In fact, I highly recommend you make some at your earliest opportunity :-)

I am a homemade granola lover, but I tend to eat it in ridiculous amounts as soon as I make it and typically even the healthy versions have quite a lot of oil to make it super crispy… Not this one!

So easy to make!

So many varieties to try!

Sooooo healthy too!

Have you had a guess at the secret ingredient that replaces the oil and still make for a crispy, crunchy granola that does not go dost by the next day? (I’m on day four now and it’s still just as crispy!)

Ok, i’ll let you in on the secret…

It’s ‘aqua faba’ (aka chickpea water)

Whaaaaattt??!!

Yup, just some of the juice out of the can of chickpeas! The stuff you usually rinse away.

I don’t know all the science behind it, but I know it works and that’s good enough for me.

I mixed in Apple Crumble Boost Your Bowl Toppers at the end (after baking otherwise it’ll burn), but you could use any flavour Toppers or simply some chopped dried fruit of choice if you have no Toppers to hand.

This is a ‘basic’ recipe but you could add cocoa and some chocolate chunks or nibs for a chocolatey option, or other spices to suit other flavour combos.

Serve it…

Straight with milk or a dollop of yoghurt
Layer it up as a ‘breakfast parfait’.
You could even use it to decorate a cheesecake, ice-cream or similar dessert needing a topping.
Or, erm… straight out of the container with your hands (don’t judge me!)

If you make it I would love to see your creations! Tag @eatboostyourbowl on Instagram.

Recipe: Crispy Oil-free Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups oats
1 cup chopped nuts or seeds of choice
2 tbs chia of flax seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon and/or vanilla extract
1/4 cup aqua faba (chickpea water)
1/3 cup syrup of choice (I used maple syrup)*
approx 1/2 cup Boost Your Bowl Toppers - stirred through after baking

*If you feel you want to increase the sweetness a little, add 1-3 tbs granulated sugar as well as the syrup. I liked it as it was, especially once the Toppers were mixed in.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Whip the aquafaba with an electric beater until it gets frothy and begins to form stiff peaks* - this may take 5-10 mins. Add the syrup and whip again briefly.

Mix all remaining ingredients (NOT the Toppers/ dried fruit) in a mixing bowl, toss together then add the whipped aquafaba and syrup mix last, Stir well to combine.

Spoon on to a large lined baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for approx 25-30 mins until golden and crispy. Allow to cool and mix the Toppers/dried fruit through.

Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

*Don’t worry too much if it doesn't form peaks or change much in volume since mine didn't fpr some reason and it still worked out great. The reason for whipping first is to increase the volume so it covers the granola mix much more effectively.