American Skillet Granola
Boxed granola is one of the great health-food illusions: most of it is bound with oil and sweetened with as much sugar as a cookie. This one is neither. The clusters hold together on a paste of blended dates and ripe banana, thickened with ground flax, so the sweetness comes with its fiber and the crunch comes from packing and baking rather than frying in oil. Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds add whole-food fat and make it filling, and cinnamon carries the warmth. Press the mixture down hard before it bakes and turn it in slabs, not crumbs, to get the craggy clusters that are the whole point. It keeps for two weeks, so make the full batch for the week's breakfasts.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Rolled oats
- 1/2 cup Walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup Pumpkin seeds
- 1/3 cup Sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp Ground flaxseed
- 1 1/2 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
- 6 wholes Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 whole Bananas, very ripe
- 1/2 cup Raisins
Method
- Blend the dates, banana, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, and 0.5 cup (120 ml) water into a smooth, thick paste. This is the binder and the only sweetener at once: the dates bring the sugar with its fiber attached, the banana adds moisture and more sweetness, and the flax turns tacky so the clusters hold, doing the work that oil and honey do in ordinary granola.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. Pour the date paste over and fold until every oat is coated and the mix clumps when you press it. Those pressed-together clumps are what bake into clusters, so squeeze handfuls as you spread it.
- Spread it in a firm, even layer on a parchment-lined tray, pressing down hard with a spatula. Packing it tight is the difference between loose granola and the craggy clusters you can break into pieces.
- Bake at 325 F (160 C) for 20 minutes, then gently turn it in large slabs, not stirring it to crumbs, and bake another 15 to 20 minutes until deep golden and dry to the touch. The lower oven and the turn keep the nuts from scorching while the oats crisp all the way through.
- Let it cool completely on the tray without touching it. Granola crisps as it cools, so it will seem soft out of the oven and turn crunchy in 20 minutes. Only then break it into clusters and toss with the raisins. Store airtight up to two weeks.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 250 calories, 7 g protein, 6 g fiber, 10 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
