The Best Cardamom Spiced Granola

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If you follow along with me here on Inspired Homemaker, you will see that I am crazy about cardamom. Especially my cardamom-spiced granola. Cardamom is aromatic and full of health benefits and it adds just the right amount of flavor to this granola. This granola has a hint of sweetness with perfectly textured clusters.

Granola is a staple around here, with my husband being the biggest consumer. He loves to mix it up with other add-ins and take it to work every day. It’s great to keep out for snacking and to send to school with the kids.

What is granola made of? Traditionally granola is made of some type of whole rolled oats, various chopped nuts, seeds, and maybe some dried fruit. It certainly packs a lot of different vitamins and minerals into your day including fiber, protein, iron, vitamin D, folate, and zinc. The fiber in granola increases the healthy bacteria in the gut, and the protein helps you feel fuller for longer.

Some granolas do have higher numbers of calories, sugars, and carbohydrates so if you are buying some from the store make sure you are reading the labels. However, if you make your own from scratch you can reduce the amount of sugar, producing a healthier granola. Serve it on top of some Greek yogurt and add on some fresh for a perfectly balanced snack or breakfast.

The Best Spiced Cardamom Granola Ingredients

• 7 cups whole rolled oats
• 2 heaping cups of chopped almonds and pecans (or any nut variety you like)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup real maple syrup, honey or agave syrup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons cardamom
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Optional add-ins

Instruction On How To Make Cardamom Spiced Granola

Start by measuring out your oats in a large bowl. Then chop up your almonds and pecans until they are smaller in size so they will mix well with the oats. See the photo for a size comparison.

You can use a hand chopper like I did or to make life easier you can get out your food processor. If using the food processor, use the pulse setting so you don’t end up with nut butter. After the nuts are chopped add them into the bowl with the oats.

Measure Out The Rest Of The Ingredients

I find it’s easiest to measure the rest of the ingredients so you can just whip it all together. Plus it looks pretty.

Adding a cup of flour does an amazing job of making the clusters of granola stick together. For years I struggled to get it to clump nicely and after a ton of research and testing, I found that adding flour and water does the trick.

You’ll also need only half of a cup of brown sugar. That’s a pretty small amount considering the volume of oats and nuts. To round out the sweetness, real maple syrup is the perfect taste and consistency. Honey or agave syrup would be a great substitute.

Seasoning For Granola

For seasonings, it’s pretty simple. Cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. However, this is where you can get creative. Other awesome seasonings would be nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, allspice, and even cayenne for a bit of heat.

Mix all the dry ingredients together first and combine well.

Next, add all the wet ingredients and mix until every oat is coated. You will use a little arm muscle but take a few minutes and combine it all really well making sure there are no dry spots.

Vanilla Makes The Best Cardamom Spiced Granola Shine

After your granola is mixed thoroughly, there is one last ingredient. Vanilla. One tablespoon to be exact. Adding in the vanilla at the end seems to enhance the cardamom flavor and bring all the other flavors together. I use either baking vanilla (Watkin’s is what I’ve used for years) or homemade vanilla.

Coconut Oil

My oil of choice for pretty much all baked goods is coconut oil. It has so many health benefits and an amazing flavor. Coconut oil is the perfect fat for my cardamom-spiced granola.

It is solid at room temperature, so it usually needs to be melted. This is very easy to achieve by melting it in the microwave. If you melt extra, just pour it back into the container.

How To Prepare The Baking Pan

Line your baking pan with parchment paper. Sometimes parchment paper can be hard to work with so what I do is crinkle it up and smooth it out 3 times. Then it will lay nice and flat on your pan.

Sometimes granola can stick to your pan so it is best to line it. I have also used silicone baking mats and those work well, but prefer the parchment and I usually save it for a second use.

Add your granola to your lined baking pan and spread it out into a nice even layer. After it is somewhat even, use the back of your spoon or the bottom of a glass to press it down. Pressing it down is how you will create those beautiful clusters.

Baking The Best Cardamom Spiced Granola

To bake your granola you will first preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place your granola-packed baking sheet on the center rack and bake for 25-30 minutes. Ovens vary with temperature so check yours at 25 minutes. This is how it should look….just slightly browning around the edges and corners and still soft in the center.

Lower your oven temperature to 325 degrees. Very gently flip over the edges and corners to the middle and press it all down. You don’t want to break it all up but the sides cook faster than the middle and you want an even bake. Put it back into the oven and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes. If the edges are brown but you don’t think it’s ready, flip them into the middle and bake another 5 minutes.

After baking your finished granola should be golden brown and mostly dry. Let the pan cool completely and then gently break it apart. You should be left with some really nice clusters. The combination of ingredients works so well together for excellent flavor and texture. I have been working to perfect this recipe for many years and am so excited to share it with you!

Add-Ins For Cardamom Spiced Granola

After your granola has cooled completely, feel free to mix it up with some of your favorite add-ins. My favorite is dark chocolate chunks, that flavor combo is heavenly. You could also add chia seeds, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or golden raisins. Other great add-ins would be shredded coconut, banana chips, cashews, and dried blueberries.

My favorite way to eat cardamom spiced granola is to sprinkle it on top of Greek yogurt. Add some fresh fruit like pomegranate seeds, sliced bananas, or strawberries, and drizzle with honey or maple syrup for the perfect breakfast treat.

Here are some serving suggestions:

• Homemade Yogurt
• Strawberry Jam
• Apricot Jam
• Simple fruit Jams
• Blueberry Jam
• Other Healthy Snacks

Storing and Snacking Cardamom Spiced Granola

Cardamom spiced granola stores beautifully in an airtight container for up to four weeks. I keep mine in one of these 1/2 gallon Ball glass jars for easy snacking access. We built a shelf for snacks (check out my post on healthy snacks)

For snacks on the go, we love to layer granola, chocolate, and dried fruit in these 1/2-pint ball jars. They are the perfect snacking size for kids and adults.

Wrapping Up

Cardamom spiced granola is one of the best snacks you can make. Store-bought granolas are loaded with sugar disguised as a healthy alternative. This recipe makes about 12 cups give or take and is shelf-stable for up to three weeks. It is amazing on yogurt and perfect for your kid’s snacks at school. Granola also makes a wonderful gift for friends and family.

Thank you for being a part of the Inspired Homemaker community, as always I would love to hear how you eat your granola. Inspire me in the comments below.

Cheers,

Sarah

The Best Cardamom Spiced Granola Recipe

Yield: 10-12 cups

Cardamom Spiced Granola

Print

This cardamom spiced granola is perfectly clustered and has an wonderful flavor and texture. Great for breakfasts and snacking.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 7 cups whole rolled oats
• 2 heaping cups of chopped almonds and pecans (or any nut variety you like)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup real maple syrup, honey or agave syrup
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons cardamom
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Optional add ins

Instructions

1. Mix oats and chopped nuts. Add in flour, brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Mix well to combine.
2. Next add in the wet ingredients. Add the water, melted coconut and maple syrup. Mix well about 2 minutes to make sure there are no dry spots.
3. Add in the vanilla and stir to combine.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Pour the granola mixture onto the sheet and spread into an even layer.
6. Press down with the back of the spoon or a glass to pack it flat.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes and take out. Flip the edges and the corners with a spoon into the middle of the pan and press it down again.
8. Bake an additional 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
9. Cool completely before mixing in add ins or storing.

Notes

Melt coconut oil easily in the microwave.

Silicone baking mats will work instead of parchment paper.

Oven temperatures vary so check often to avoid burning.

Add ins could be chocolate chunks, chia seeds, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, golden raisins, shredded coconut, banana chips, cashews and dried blueberries.

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