It is hard to believe that we only have 9 days left to leave Virgin Gorda. Our living room is filled with boxes waiting to be sent away. I know it is such a cliché to say – but once again – I am reminded that you never realize how much stuff you have until you move. It is mind blowing to me to see how much stuff we accumulated over the last three and a half years.
Especially if you think about the fact that we didn’t bring any of our furniture with us when we moved to the island. Every time I move I promise myself that I will do a better job with living with less stuff, but then I find myself in the same situation again. Am I alone here? Is there anyone out there who feels the same way?
But we are making progress everyday. And as hard as it will be to leave our friends and the natural beauty of the Caribbean behind us, we are excited about what is in our future. A BIG thanks to all our friends both in real life and blog life for their well wishes as we are about to turn a new page in our life.
In my opinion, today’s recipe is a perfect breakfast dish for autumn. It also happens to be one of the three pumpkin recipes that I am going to share in the next couple of weeks. If you think about it, what is more fall than cooking and baking with pumpkin?
About the Recipe:
This granola is no different than many of my other granola recipes (i.e. Chunky Banana Bread Granola and Chunky Homemade Granola). It is truly easy and quick to put together with a lot of seasonal flavors. The idea of pairing pumpkin and tahini came from one of my mom’s recipes; Oven Roasted Pumpkin Flavored with Tahini and Grape Molasses. Back when I was growing up, she would it make as soon as the leaves changed their colors in the fall. Still to this day, the smell of pumpkin and tahini remind me of those days that I would come back from school to find a plate of roasted pumpkin topped with chopped walnuts and vanilla ice cream.
For this recipe, in addition to tahini I also used the usual fall ingredients like pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, cinnamon, maple syrup, pumpkin spice, and dried cranberries. I served it over coconut yogurt, but it goes so well with almond (or regular) milk too. Either way, this vegan and gluten-free granola with no refined sugar and with just a little bit of coconut oil is a healthier breakfast option for those who have very little time in the morning for breakfast.
Other Granola Recipes You Might Be Interested:
- Chunky Banana Bread Granola with Chocolate Almond Milk
- Chunky Homemade Granola with a HOW-TO VIDEO
- Quinoa Crunch
Spicy Pumpkin, Maple, and Tahini Granola
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 4 cups ground oats, gluten-free
- 1 cup buckwheat groats
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup unsalted pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup pepitas, pumpkin seeds
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 1 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
- Handful of pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the coconut oil, pumpkin puree, tahini, and maple syrup in a mixing bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix ground oats, buckwheat groats, coconut flakes, pecans, and pepitas. Stir in the pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt, and sesame seeds.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones. Give it a big stir to make sure that the dry ingredients are homogenously coated with the liquid mixture.
- Spread the granola evenly in the prepared baking sheet. Using the back of a ramekin or a mug press to compress until it is compact and equally distributed throughout the pan.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Take it out and (with the help of a spatula) break and flip it over in large sections, rotate the pan, and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
- Let it cool completely without touching it. * When cooled gently stir in the cranberries. Top it off with pomegranate seeds and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this for the second time today, my favourite granola! i just used honey instead of maple syrup, since its not a common ingredient in croatian stores.
greetings from Croatia! 🙂
Awwww this is music to my ears Matea. I am thrilled to hear that you liked it.
Ohh I love a good granola recipe, and this one sure fits the bill! I love that you didn’t use refined sugar and that there are pepitas in this – so delish! So excited for you and your new adventure. I look forward to seeing all the yummy things you’ll be making in your new American kitchen! 🙂
Thank you Beeta. You are so sweet.
Moving… augh. I know! Moving has a way of helping me realize and think more about my purchases. And, living in a small home has really helped me limit what I buy. I refuse to ever rent a storage space to store my ‘stuff’. Moving is such a pain! But it has to happen from time to time.
This granola is fabulous! And I see you have Kasha in the mix as well as tahini. I never would have thought about adding tahini but like other nut and seed butters, it works! What a great idea! Wishing you and yours all the best during this time of transition. I’m quite impressed that your still blogging despite the move! Thank you my dear!
Oh Traci.. Imagine moving internationally. I feel the same way. I wish I will never have to do it again.
Thank you so much for your kind words about this granola. I am a huge fan of tahini and love using it as much as I can.
Oh about the blogging, believe me I am doing pretty much nothing. I had this recipe made a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully it turned out perfectly after the first try..
Cheers!
Good luck with the move and this new stage in your lives!!!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
This looks amazing – and yes, you do have a LOT of stuff! 😉 #propmania