Chai Spiced Buckwheat Granola

The perfect granola is elusive.

It needs to be clumpy, crunchy, not too sweet and definitely not brimming with dried fruit (sorry, not sorry). Also, it should almost certainly not include chia seeds. Hot take, I know. The chia flavor just doesn’t get along with yogurt, my favorite partner to granola.

This granola recipe is several attempts in the making, but it finally has just the right balance of sweetness, flavor, crunch and clump. The maple and chai spices in this recipe go together like PB&J and the addition of two egg whites makes the granola ultra clumpy. If you prefer a less clumpy granola, feel free to break it up into smaller clumps after it’s cooled. Alternatively, you could probably omit the egg whites, but I haven’t tested it that way so proceed with caution.

As an added bonus, this granola is the perfect holiday gift. Just slap it in a mason jar, tie a ribbon around it and call it a day. Holiday sorted.

Let me know if you like the recipe and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats

• 1 cup buckwheat groats (or substitute more oats)

• 1 cup raw nuts (I used 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup pepitas)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Chai spice mix

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

  • 3/4 teaspoon cardamom

  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 egg whites

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Melt your coconut oil and then whisk to combine with the maple syrup and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

2. Lightly beat the egg whites until they're frothy and then add them to the mixture, stirring to combine. Spread the granola onto a large, parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving it pretty clumpy so that it can stick together. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Let it cool completely before breaking it into your favorite sized chunks. Enjoy with yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal and more.

Sustainability tips

• Coconut Oil: Fair trade coconut oil is your best bet here because it means your oil was produced ethically and sustainably. Extra, extra read all about it in my sustainable oils post!

• Maple syrup: try to go as local as you can for the syrup. Read more in my liquid sweeteners post!

• Egg whites: Local egg whites for the win, and don't ditch the yolks! Eggs are super easy to find locally, which will cut down on GHG emissions from travel. Use the yolks in another recipe, like my single serve eggnog.