Easy Vegan Granola Recipe (9 Ingredients!) - From My Bowl (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient makes granola stick together? ›

Clumpy Granola Method: Add Whole Wheat and Almond Flour

First, it adds a combo of whole wheat flour and almond flour (or almond meal), which act as a binder to hold the oat mixture together. Second is the bakeware. This recipe opts for a 9×13-inch baking pan instead of the standard rimmed sheet pan.

Higher temperatures can cause ingredients like nuts, seeds, and coconut to burn before the batch has a chance to properly dry out and crisp up, Perry says. Stick with a low temperature, keep an eye on your mixture, and stir it from time to time to help it brown evenly.

Chia seeds are often praised for their binding powers. In fact, they secure ingredients so well that they can even be used as an egg replacer. Adding just a spoonful of chia seeds to your favorite granola bar recipe will make a huge difference in its texture.

INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE GRANOLA

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use whatever you have on hand. In this recipe I stuck to my favorite classic ingredients – rolled oats, almonds, coconut, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and dried cranberries.

You need to stir the granola as it bakes to encourage even toasting. But, about halfway through the total bake time, just let it be. As the sugars caramelize, they cause the ingredients to stick together and eventually form those oh-so-desirable clusters.

On the downside, granola can be high in added sugars, hidden calories, and saturated fat, making some options less healthy.

Add the dried fruit at the end.

You don't want to run the risk of burning your dried fruit in the oven, so stir it into the granola after it cools. That way, you know any dried fruit you add will be soft and chewy, not crisp. (P.S. It doesn't hurt to add a handful of chocolate chips at this stage, either!)

If you want a less clumpy granola, stir and then add the nuts, flaxmeal, and coconut on top of the half-baked granola. If you want a more clumpy granola, don't stir before adding the additional ingredients. Return the sheet to the oven and bake 10 minutes more until everything is lightly toasted.

Binders are any ingredient that can help a mixture hold its shape or remain bound together. Traditional binding agents include flour and eggs. The most commonly used food binder is flour.

For a binding agent that has plenty of fiber, digestible carbohydrates, and healthy fats, check out coconut flour. It works well for people who have nut allergies as well. That said, when coconut flour is used for baking, more oil or water is added.

What is a binder ingredient? ›

More narrowly, binders are liquid or dough-like substances that harden by a chemical or physical process and bind fibres, filler powder and other particles added into it. Examples include glue, adhesive and thickening.

Ingredients: Whole Grain Oats, Sugar, Soy Protein Isolate, Canola and/or Sunflower Oil, Honey, Molasses, Rice Starch, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda, Salt, Natural Flavor.

The trick is that granola is often sweetened with honey or other sticky-sweet substances, which may contain many carbohydrates, making it non-vegan and unhealthy. Honey has a high viscosity and works well as a binder.

Oatmeal vs. Granola. The primary difference between oatmeal and granola is that oatmeal is made from whole oat grains that have been cooked at a higher temperature than usual to gelatinize the starch. Granola contains rolled oats, fruits, honey, raisins, almonds, and other components.

Natural peanut or cashew butter – It helps bind the bars together, and it adds protein, healthy fats, and irresistible nutty flavor.

While the oats and nuts bake, you can make the sticky glue that holds our bars together. You'll melt butter, honey, and brown sugar in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Mix this sticky mixture with the toasted oats and nuts. Allow everything to cool, and then toss in dried fruit and chocolate chips.

Honey. Sweetens the granola bars and helps bind the dry ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients (except the egg white) together and stir well. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy and frothy. Mix into prepared granola. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet (or use a piece of parchment paper to prevent sticking).