My husband and I sat down to a delicious cup of chai tea the other night when I was trying to think of something new to bake. I had recently picked up a new bag of gluten-free oats and wanted to bake some granola. Hmm, I wonder what granola would taste like if I used all the spices that are in chai tea? Delicious, that’s how! I hope you try this recipe. The granola is great on vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of honey on top.

Gluten-free oats mixed with almond milk
Gluten-free oats mixed with almond milk

 

Add in melted coconut oil and pure maple syrup
Add in melted coconut oil and pure maple syrup

 

Beautiful dried pineapple.
Beautiful dried pineapple.

 

 

I added dried pineapple, but any dried fruit or a mix of dried fruit may be used.
I added dried pineapple, but any dried fruit or a mix of dried fruit may be used.

 

Add slivered-almonds and chai spices and lay it on a cookie sheet for the oven.
Add slivered-almonds and chai spices and lay it on a cookie sheet for the oven.

 

Bake the granola for two hours to dry the oats.
Bake the granola for two hours to dry the oats.

 

Enjoy a yummy breakfast or snack with vanilla yogurt, fresh strawberries, and chai-spiced granola with a drizzle of honey.
Enjoy a yummy breakfast or snack with vanilla yogurt, strawberries, and chai-spiced granola with a drizzle of honey.

 

Chai-Spiced Gluten-free Granola

 

4 cups gluten-free oats (you can purchase them here from Bob’s Redmill)

1 cup almond milk (or coconut milk)

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 cup chopped dried fruit of choice (I used pineapple)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

 

Place gluten-free oats into a large bowl and mix in almond milk, melted coconut oil and pure maple syrup. Mix all spices in a small separate bowl before adding to the oats. Sprinkle spices evenly on top and add in chopped dried fruit and slivered almonds. Toss to mix the spices evenly throughout. Place on a cookie sheet that has been covered in parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray. Place in a 275 degree oven and stir every 15 minutes. bake for two hours or until granola comes out light brown and crunchy.

It’s funny how we become so accustomed to things that we often forget about them or act as if they don’t exist. Case in point, someone new was coming to visit and she drove up to my house. She called from her cell phone and said she thought she had the right house. “Yours is the one with the red poinsettia’s in the blue pots by your front door, right?” Embarrassed, I answered back, “Um, yes, that’s right.” Poinsettias in my pots in April? AND they were fake, no less! I guess back during the winter months, I was too lazy to take the pots to the garage, so I shoved a couple of red poinsettias down in. At Christmas time they actually looked decent. BUT not in April…ugh! And how many times have I opened my front door since then? I think someone threw an invisible cloak over them! Oh well, I love fresh beginnings, new starts, do-overs, whatever you want to call them. With springtime now here, my do-over happened today. I recently saw some beautiful plant containers on Pinterest and decided my pots needed an over-haul this year. Pinterest is great for inspirational ideas and if you are unfamiliar with how Pinterest works you can click on a link here: PINTEREST.

Poinsettia way past its prime!
Poinsettia way past its prime!

 

New Pinterest inspired Hosta and flowering pots
New Pinterest inspired Hosta and flowering pots

The website I was inspired by is called The Home Idea Maker (click on the link to see their beautiful hosta pots!) The nice thing about planting hosta (the large striped leaf plant) is the fact that it is a perennial, meaning it will return year after year. AND that means I won’t be putting a fake poinsettia in them and forgetting about them until April! Double bonus! Now  if anyone else comes to visit who has never been to my home before, they may say, “Is your house the one with the pretty blue flowering pots?” I will proudly say, “Why, yes!”

 

So my flower pots were inspired, and this past week my baking was as well.

 

This recipe was shared on Thisgalcooks, realfoodforager, simplysugarandglutenfree, deliciousobsessions, glutenfreehomemaker, wellfedhomestead, vegetarianmamma, SweetBellaRoos, RealFoddForLessMoney, NourishingSimplicity, PoorAndGlutenfree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 comments on “Chai-Spiced Gluten-Free Granola”

  1. This looks great, as I was reading down the page I thought to myself, “Oh, I bet this would be good with coconut in it,” and low and behold, you included coconut! I was thinking some candied ginger might also be a nice addition as well.

    Is there a reason for the almond/coconut milk? I feel like this is the first time I’ve seen that much liquid used in making homemade granola. (Which I really want to make really soon because I spend too much on store bought stuff)

    • Hi Michaela,
      Candied ginger would be good! I think I might try dried cherries sometime, too. I like to add the milk to the grain because it helps soften and swell the oats. The cooking process is probably a bit longer because it takes longer for the grain to dry, but I personally think it’s better that way.

  2. I think I have everything needed to make this, minus the coconut oil. Do you think olive oil would work ok with this? I usually use olive oil in my granola, along with shredded coconut, so I am pretty sure it would taste fine.

    Thanks so much for sharing at Marvelous Mondays! Pinned to my MM board. 🙂

    • Hi Julie, if you’ve used olive oil before I think it would be just fine. I just happen to like the taste the coconut oil gives, but I’m sure it’s only a preference. I think any oil would work well. It’s the spices that really make this granola taste yummy 🙂

  3. Pingback: Chai Spiced Granola | wholefood fetish

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *