Apple Pie becomes an easy, healthy oil-free granola! This tastes and smells just like apple pie, but much quicker and easier to make. Full of wholesome ingredients and free of oil and gluten, this makes a hearty and healthy, but incredibly delicious granola.
Yes. This right here. Cinnamon Apple Pie Granola. Raise your hand if you love granola. Raise your hand if you love apple pie. If both of your hands are up, then you will be loving this granola like it’s your best bud. It will make your house smell amazinggggggg.
This oil-free apple pie granola is actually a combo of 2 of my recipes. First, my popular 5 Ingredient Cinnamon Granola. Seriously, can it get any easier than that? It just so happens to be oil-free too. I try to avoid oil at all costs and I definitely don’t want it in my granola. What works even better is using nut butters or seed butters. Not only do they impart a much richer flavor, they are a whole food with all the nutrition still in tact. They also help to make the granola clump together! It’s a win-win all around.
The 2nd recipe that I took inspiration from is my Vegan Gluten-free Apple Crisp. I make it every year and it’s a favorite of my hubby’s. It is so delicious and about 10 billion times healthier than the oil/butter/sugar filled crisps out there. It’s always a hit at the holidays and nobody is asking “where’s the sugar and butter?” They just gobble it up.
We were just devouring this on it’s own, but it would be super awesome as cereal with some fresh, cold almond milk. Yum.
Now. Go make some of this amazing oil-free apple pie granola and tell me that your house doesn’t smell like pure heaven and that it doesn’t totally taste like apple pie!
MORE VEGAN OIL-FREE GRANOLA RECIPES
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Oil-Free Apple Pie Granola
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup (120g) chopped honey crisp apple, into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 cups (200g) oats
- 1/2 cup (60g) pecans, chopped (You can sub sunflower kernels or pumpkin seeds for a nut-free version)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons (48g) creamy almond butter (You can sub sunbutter for a nut-free version)
- 2 tablespoons (40g) unsulphured regular molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1/2 tablespoon (7g) vanilla (optional)
Note
- This granola has the perfect amount of sweetness to it that will remind you of apple pie. Please note that if you change any of the liquid ingredients, it can really affect the resulting texture and crunch. The combo of the syrup/molasses/almond butter gives the granola a nice crisp and clump effect.
Instructions
- First, peel and chop up your apple and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C) degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add the oats, pecans (use sunflower seeds for nut-free), cinnamon and salt (allspice if using) to a large bowl and whisk until well combined, making sure the cinnamon coats all the oats well. Add the chopped apple and stir to coat the apple pieces really well.
- In a separate small bowl, add syrup, almond butter (or sunbutter), molasses and vanilla and stir until completely smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until all the oats and ingredients are well coated and wet. Make sure to get all the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the mixture over the lined pan and spread out evenly, about an 1/2 inch high. Bake for 15 minutes on the center rack. Remove and stir the granola around really well, making sure to get underneath so it cooks evenly. Add back to the oven and bake 15 more minutes, watching closely the last couple of minutes to make sure the edges don't burn.
- Let cool 15 minutes before eating, as it will crisp up as it cools. Store in a sealed container or ziplock bag. Note: Because this has apples in it, it will make the granola soften some by the next day (if you have any left!) so I just simply added it back to the oven for just another minute or so to rewarm and make crispy again. This is totally optional, but I liked the feeling of eating the warm "apple pie" straight from the oven.
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