Pumpkin Gingerbread Granola- some of my best work if you ask me! Clusters of toasty, nutty oats and puffed rice are tossed with warming spices like ginger, nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. Coated with coconut oil and a touch of olive oil for maximum richness, this granola is totally irresistible. What gives this granola its sweetness is some maple syrup, coconut sugar, and the secret ingredient- molasses. Additionally to clove, this helps to impart the gingerbread flavor we’re looking for. Pumpkin pureé and a nut butter of your choice help to thicken the mixture. This encourages those little clusters that we all love so much to form.
What I adore most about this recipe is that it comes together easily. Then you simply throw it in your favorite Ball® jar and it will keep in the pantry for weeks! To serve, it’s delicious with some creamy oat milk or sprinkled over fresh fruit and coconut yogurt. Make a double batch so you can gift a few jars to friends or just keep it all for yourself!
A BIG THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR
For today’s sponsor, I would like to offer a big thanks to the makers of Ball® home canning products! I have been an ambassador for them for almost two years now and could not be more proud of that. I use their products literally every day and this recipe is another great example of how useful and effective their jars can be for storage. For today’s recipe, I will be using their 32 oz. Wide Mouth Mason jars. They have a smooth face and sides with minimized logo offering lots of visibility for the recipe inside. Tap the link here to get your own set of jars.
PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD GRANOLA INGREDIENTS
Here we have all of the ingredients you will need for this granola. For the pumpkin flavor, we will be using pureed pumpkin, as well as some cinnamon and nutmeg because they are bffs. For the gingerbread flavor, we will be using lots of ground ginger, molasses, and clove. To piggy back off of those festive spices, we’ll also be adding a pinch of cardamom. This provides a nice floral background.
For additional flavor, I love adding vanilla and a splash of almond extract. These offer that classic baked good flavor! For fat, we will be using coconut oil AND olive oil. I find that the coconut oil provides a nice richness while the olive oil offers a slight savoriness. A good amount of salt and black pepper are added which helps to round out all of the flavors!
Lastly, to help sweeten this granola, in addition to the molasses, we will be using maple syrup and coconut sugar. You could totally skip the coconut sugar or you could substitute it for brown sugar if you can’t find it. Feel free to push and pull the ingredients to your liking. I personally think the measurements are perfect as is.
Lastly, to make this granola completely gluten free, please make sure the oats you are using are certified GF. But if you have Celiacs, I’m assuming you already know that. :*
COMBINING THE WETS WITH THE SPICES
To make the ‘glue’ for this granola, you will need to use one very large bowl to start. Once everything is combined throw in the rolled oats, puffed rice cereal, pumpkin seeds, and pecans. Certainly you can swap out the pecans for sunflower seeds to make this nut free or you could use walnuts or pistachios- have fun mix and matching. As for the puffed rice cereal, you may not notice it in the final results but they definitely help to make the granola light and super crunchy so don’t skip those!
MIXING AND BAKING THE GRANOLA
Once everything is in the bowl and well combined, you will transfer the granola to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you only have small baking sheets, you’ll have to split this up into batches. The goal for this recipe is to create a thin and even layer (about ½ inch thick) and flipping it only once halfway through baking. This way the granola cooks quickly and evenly and has some clusters. If you toss the granola more than once, you won’t get any clusters and then you will be sad. Don’t be sad.
When the granola is cooked until golden (and the whole house smells like fall) you will let it cool completely! This will allow everything to become nice and crispy. Once cool, if you try a piece and it is still chewy, feel free to pop it back in the oven for 5-7 minutes to cook out any remaining moisture. Once completely cool, transfer to your favorite Ball® jar to keep it tightly sealed for a few weeks (although, it definitely will not last that long!).
ENJOY THIS PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD GRANOLA
Alright y’all, there you have it! My Pumpkin Gingerbread Granola. I love this recipe so very much and I am so happy to share it with all of you. I hope that you try it out. Please do let me know if you make it by leaving a comment below and a rating below. This greatly helps my blog traffic so I thank you in advance!
Timothy
OTHER SEASONAL RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY
Salted Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cookie
⅓ cup pumpkin pureé Preheat the oven to 330°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin pureé, coconut oil, pecan butter, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla extract, almond extract. sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, coconut sugar, and black pepper. Whisk everything together until well combined. Fold in the oats, puffed rice cereal, pumpkin seeds, and pecans. Transfer the mixture to the baking sheet and spread until it is evenly distributed, about ½ inch thick. (If it is too thick it will take much longer to cook!) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and use a spatula to gently flip sections over while taking care to not break up all the clumps. Place back in the oven for an additional 15-20 more minutes. Remove and let cool for 30 minutes. Once cool, if the granola is still chewy, place back in the oven for an additional 5-7 minutes. Keep in a tightly sealed jar in the pantry for up to 2 weeks. I like to use unrefined coconut oil for the lovely flavor but you can use refined, which is completely neutral, if you prefer.
Ingredients
½ cup coconut oil (refined or unrefined)
2 tablespoons olive oil
⅓ cup pecan butter (or desired nut butter)
½ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon ground clove
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 ½ cups puffed rice cereal
¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup raw pecan halves, roughly choppedInstructions
notes
For the molasses, I prefer to use fair-trade and organic, but you do you.
You might have to use 2 baking sheets if you do not have a large one. If so, I recommend after tossing the granola half-way through to rotate the pans from top to bottom so that they cook evenly.
If you prefer a less sweet granola, you can remove the coconut sugar. But it won't be as good.
*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post that is part of an ongoing partnership with the Fresh Preserving Division of Newell Brands. They have provided jars, equipment and monetary compensation. All thoughts and opinions expressed remain my own.