Quinoa and Pumpkin Seed Granola

I love making food for my family that tastes good, gets devoured in a hurry and garners praise for my mad cooking skills, even when the item causing so much love only needed to be stirred, dumped on a pan, baked, and cooled. But as simple as this Quinoa Pumpkin Seed Granola is to make, it’s packed full of complex flavors and textures that are anything but simple. And in this case, Dave told me I’d better ration out the granola because it was “tempting and irresistible”. Or was he talking about me and not the granola? 

Alright, let’s talk about this almost-not-a-recipe. Quinoa Pumpkin Seed Granola is perfect to eat out of hand, on top of yogurt, or over hot oatmeal. Gluten-free, the ingredients can be changed up to your liking but a few stars that should always be at the top of the list are the uncooked quinoa and pumpkin seeds. From there I added pecans and slivered almonds but you could use your own favorite nut combo. Whole flax seeds add even more nutty overtones. I added some dried blueberries that I found in the bulk aisle of my local market but you can use a combination of any dried fruits OR leave the fruit out entirely to save on calories and sugar count in the granola.

To bind everything together, use a little bit of honey, light oil, and brown sugar. Again, leave out the brown sugar if necessary and it’s fine to cut the oil back by a tablespoon. Depending on how much you care if it all sticks together, you can cut the honey back by half as well. Just the right amount of cinnamon and coarse salt combine to brighten the granola flavors. This really is a great combination!

Make the recipe as shown or tweek the ingredients to your own taste but I must expound a little more about the uncooked quinoa seeds that go in the granola. You don’t want to precook it because you obviously want it crunchy; the quinoa gets perfectly roasted in the oven. And the pumpkin seeds, another must have, become magical when roasted. They puff up a little and almost pop when bitten. If you can find dried blueberries, they’re a sweet compliment to the pecans and a great balance for the not-quite bitter seed combination (quinoa, pumpkin, flax). Initially I was going to add golden raisins too but decided a full amount of blueberries would do this time. If you want the granola a bit more tart, add dried cherries or cranberries.

Great packed in lunches or eaten at breakfast, the granola also makes a pretty gift when placed in mason jars. I’m off to make another batch to ship to out of town family.

Thanks friends, enjoy this “irresistible” snack!

Recipe loosely adapted from Better Homes and Garden Pumpkin Recipes Publication 2016.