Trader Joe’s is a dangerous place. We shop there every weekend and it is so hard to stick with just the items on our shopping list. I mean, they have cookie butter! Usually, I am able to resist the siren call of the “healthy” junk food, but not always –> I’m looking at you dark chocolate covered almonds… This last week, I saw that they had bags of hazelnuts and I just couldn’t resist. Since I wasn’t ready to try my hand at making homemade nutella, I decided to toss some hazelnuts into my (almost) weekly batch of homemade granola.
This granola turned out to be amazing! The hazelnuts roasted up well and the quinoa adds just a bit of satisfying crunch to every bite. One important thing I’ve learned about cooking with quinoa is how essential it is to thoroughly rinse it before cooking. Too many batches of bitter quinoa has taught me well!
In case you are curious, here are the healthy deets on this granola:
- Red quinoa is packed with antioxidants, fiber, and protein. It is also higher in iron than most grains.
- Hazelnuts are high in Vitamin E, which is a powerful antioxidant. It plays an active role in protecting fatty cell walls, like those in your skin, from damage.
- Oats are chock full of soluble fiber, which is good not only for your gut, but your heart too. Dietary fiber intake of 25-35 grams per day is also associated with lowered risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
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Roasted hazelnuts and quinoa are perfectly paired with cinnamon, coconut, and nutmeg in this tasty granola.
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- 1/3 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1/3 cup neutral oil (like canola or coconut)
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rinse quinoa well with cold water. Pour into large bowl. Add oats, honey, oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, salt, and coconut.
- Coarsely chop hazelnuts and add to the rest of the ingredients in the large bowl. Stir ingredients together until combined.
- Pour granola onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 35-45 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Allow granola to cool on elevated cookie sheet. (It will crisp up as it cools.)
- Stir in cranberries and serve.
This looks awesome! I love that you don’t have to pre-cook the quinoa. I will definitely be giving this one a try 🙂 x
Yum! So true about cooking quinoa. I didn’t realize you had to rinse it until I compared the quinoa I made at home to the quinoa I would enjoy in restaurants. Wow- totally changer! Rinsing is key 🙂
My iron is low, so I wanted to find a healthy snack that would help. I’ve always hated quinoa because of the bitterness. I wish I would have known to rinse it. I don’t know what that does, but it tastes good. I used an electric roaster to bake it in; less heat in the house during the summer. Great recipe!
★★★★★