Homemade Power Granola is a delicious crunchy breakfast packed up with nutrients giving you a boost of energy to start the day. Besides making a wonderful breakfast, I also use these Protein Granola Recipes as a mid-morning or late-night snack.
What is Power Granola? These are simple homemade Protein Granola Recipes richer in protein and not packed with unhealthy sugars. They’re ideal for bodybuilding or who are working to build more muscle. I generally add 2 scoops of Chocolate Protein Powder to the mixture or simply add 12g directly before serving.
Yields: 1 portion
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 0 mins Total: 5 mins
Benefits of Homemade Protein Granola Recipes?
In the supermarket, you can find a variety of mixes but nothing compares to these homemade protein granola recipes. Store-bought granola tends to have mostly sugars and low-quality fats.
The ingredients making up the Granola depend mostly on personal taste. Every family might have its special mix – its unique signature.
Power Granola Variations
I eat this Power Granola in so many ways! It can be also served with dairy or non-dairy milk, creams, high-protein yogurt, and custard. However, I prefer my Power Granola Parfait by adding granola in between layers of banana and yogurt and then just topping it with a handful of berries on top.
Granola and Banana Parfait
I have already mentioned that depending on the ingredients choices you have different Power Granola Variations. Here are some popular combinations:
1️⃣ Cranberry Almond Granola – with a choice of almonds, dried cranberries, and cranberry juice.
2️⃣ Blueberry Coconut Granola – with Chia seeds, dried blueberries, coconut oil, and dried coconut flakes.
3️⃣ Cacao Almond Granola – with dates, almonds, and organic cacao powder or cacao nibs.
4️⃣ Banana Pecans Granola – with dried banana slices, pecans, and cinnamon.
5️⃣ Banana Parfait with Granola – with our popular banana pudding served with layers of granola.
6️⃣ Cacao Almond Balls with Granola – the taste will differ according to the underlying Power Granola used!
Ingredients for Protein Granola Recipes
Before making my first homemade granola, I was always worried about taking too much time to prepare it every other day. At the time I was not confident enough that the mix would keep up safe for up to 2 weeks in an air-tight container. I also wondered if there were specific ingredients to avoid or to add to keep the mix fresh. Then once you prepare it for the first time and you taste the difference, all these worries fade away.
Dry Ingredients
- Rolled Oats: Oats are the base of any granola. This can be mixed with other grains such as Spelt Flakes and Barley and/or grain alternatives such as buckwheat and even quinoa for low carbs and grain-free diets. The size of the oats is also a personal choice though usually, large-sized rolled oats are preferred.
- Seeds: In this recipe, I am suggesting Chia seeds and Flax seeds both because they add nutritional value to the granola and also because of their taste and texture which mix well with the ingredients. However, you may add other seeds such as Hemp seeds, Sunflower seeds, or Pumpkin seeds if you prefer.
- Nuts: The choice of nuts is up to a personal choice but for healthier granola, I suggest a mix of Almonds, Pecans, and Walnuts. Of course, these can be complemented by other seeds and nuts such as Cashews, Pistachios, and also seeds.
- Dried Fruits: The choice of dried fruits is vast. I choose the combination of fruits and nuts depending on the type of Granola I want to prepare. For example, I prefer to use Almonds and Dates when doing Nut & Chocolate Granola; Almonds, Blueberries, and Cranberries for the Berries Granola; Pecans, Banana Chips, Raisins, dried Mango, and shredded Coconut for the Tropical Granola.
- Spices: The spices are also a personal choice depending on the choice of the other ingredients but also on personal taste. For example, I would certainly add Cinnamon together with the raisins and Apple sauce, but would definitely prefer Cacao when using Dates. You might also want to use Cloves, Nutmeg, or any other spice.
Wet Ingredients
- Oil: I am a great fan of Coconut Oil, especially in sweet snacks such as this Power Granola. However, feel free to use any other vegetable oil that you prefer. It can be Sesame Oil, Almond Oil, Canola Oil, and also Olive Oil.
- Honey: In this recipe, I am suggesting a tablespoon of Honey so as to make it less rich in carbohydrates but if you prefer you might use more. Other good alternatives include Maple Syrup but pay attention that it is 100% Maple Syrup and not a cheaper Corn Syrup.
- Juice/Sauce: Good alternatives are Apple sauce, Orange juice, and Cranberry juice.
Power Granola Step by Step
- Preparation. First I suggest starting by preheating the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Then start to prepare and measure attentively all the dried ingredients. In this case, a cup comes in handy to measure the various items. Also, if you’re not in a hurry it’s a very good practice to leave the nuts and dried fruits in water before using them. However, make sure to dry well before using them in the dry mixture. We don’t want our granola to be too runny.
- Mix Dry Ingredients. In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients mainly the rolled oats, the seeds, the nuts, the dried fruits, cacao, or spices. Mix thoroughly with a big wooden spoon. Don’t use any blender or food processor to mix the ingredients as it might cut the dried fruits and nuts too small spoiling the granola.
- Mix Wet Ingredients. Now mix in the coconut oil, honey, and your preferred fruit juice or puree and mix thoroughly until all the dry ingredients are moist with oil. This is really important for baking.
- Baking. For baking, it’s best to cover a baking tray with parchment paper and spread all the mixture. If you don’t use parchment paper the granola tends to stick to the tray which might change the overall texture and taste of the granola. Bake the granola for 30-40 minutes remembering to toss the granola every 8-10 minutes so it cooks evenly.
- Before Serving. Let the granola cool well before storing it in an airtight container. When cool, you can add the dried fruits if you did not add them before baking.
Notes:
- You might prefer to add the dried fruits after baking.
- The ingredients making up the Granola depend mostly on personal taste. Every family might have its special mix, its unique signature.
- For a complete nutritious breakfast or snack, serve the Power Granola with 3 tbsp of Greek Yogurt or 200 ml of milk. If using non-dairy milk use a high-protein one such as Soya Milk. Also, for bodybuilding or training to build muscle, you can add 12g of Protein Powder (or 25g soon after a workout) to add even more proteins to the mix.
Power Granola (Protein Granola Recipes)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1.5 cup 125g, Oats, rolled
- 2 tbsp Chia seeds ground
- 2 tbsp Flax seeds ground
- 0.5 cup choice of nuts/seeds Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Cashews, Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Pistachios, etc.
- 0.5 cup choice of dried Fruit Coconut, Raisins, Dates, Figs, Apricots, Cranberries, Blueberries, etc.
- 0.25 tsp choice of spices cinnamon, nutmeg, cacao etc.
Other Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp choice of Fruit juices or puree Apple sauce, Orange juice or Cranberry juice
To Serve
- 3 tbsp Greek/Vegan Yogurt or 200 ml of Coconut Almond or Soya Milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
- In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients mainly the rolled oats, the seeds, the nuts, the dried fruits, cacao or spices.
- Note that you might prefer to add the dried fruits after baking.
- Mix in the coconut oil, honey and fruit juice and mix thoroughly until all the dry ingredients are moist with the oil, honey and fruit juice mixture.
- Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and spread all the mixture.
- Bake the granola for 30-40 minutes remembering to toss the granola every 8-10 minutes so it cooks evenly.
- Let the granola cool, add the dried fruits if not added before baking and store in an airtight jar.
- Serve it with 3 tbsp of Greek Yogurt or 200 ml of Soya/ Coconut Milk or Almond Milk.