Apple Pie Autumn Granola [Gluten Free & Vegan]

One of my favorite autumn activities in apple picking. There’s this little town in San Diego County called Julian where I like to visit a family apple orchard to pick some fruit, wine taste at a few of their small wineries, and have an obligatory slice of apple pie – because pie is what Julian is known for.

Unfortunately, when I went to plan out an apple picking day at the start of fall, I was sad to see that none of the family orchards were open in Julian for U-Pick due to a shortage of crop from the drought. While I was totally bummed about it, we luckily still have local farms around at farmers markets and such sharing their sweet, SoCal apples.

Scenes from apple picking in 2012

Now that it actually feels like fall here, I’m all about apples (and pumpkin and squash too). While we get mild seasonal changes compared to everywhere else and I did pop over to the beach in a bikini for a bit yesterday, the San Diego area is now getting cooler nights and breezier days. My house is a perfect 73 degrees right now, and I even heard that we might get some rain this week. Say what?! I think we’re out of our uncharacteristically hot summer season.

So back to apples. They were my recipe theme last weekend, when I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen for some Sunday recipe experimentation. One of the recipes I came up with was this granola:

It’s got cinnamon apple baked with maple cashew butter syrup, and I can’t stop eating it. Fair warning: It’s delicious and addictive!

To make this granola, combine oats, hemp seeds, chopped pecans and dried cherries, plus a couple of fall seasonings like cinnamon and cloves.

Peel & dice a Granny Smith apple, and throw it into the oat mixture.

Now comes time for the glue that holds the granola together: maple cashew butter. Warm cashew butter, vanilla extract & maple syrup in a saucepan until it’s gooey and bubbly, then pour it over the oat mixture.

Next it’s time to spread the granola out on a large baking sheet. Bake the granola for 12 minutes, toss it, then bake for another 12 minutes before removing it to cool.

Allowing it to cool before trying it is the hard part, but it lets the granola set and get all crunchy and delicious.

Let’s talk about some of the nutritional elements of this recipe:

• Oats contain soluble fiber, which keeps your digestive system healthy and has been linked to heart health, and are complex, slow digesting carbs. These are good qualities for keeping your belly full longer and helping to keep your energy levels steady.
• The cashew butter and pecans provide some heart-healthy “good” (aka unsaturated) fat, fiber and magnesium, among other things.
• Hemp hearts are a superfood, providing the body with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, iron and Vitamin E. They’re a great plant protein source.
• The chopped apple and dried cherries give you a little dose of antioxidant-rich fruit.
• This recipe is gluten free and vegan.
• This granola contains no refined sugars.

While it’s healthy granola, it’s still granola… which means it’s still calorie dense and should be eaten with moderation, if you can avoid shoving countless handfuls of this stuff into your mouth within a 30 second span! 😉

This stuff seriously tastes like a deconstructed apple pie with an autumn flair. Top your yogurt with it, mix it in with plain cereal for a flavorful granola explosion, or keep it around just so you can grab a handful or two while anxiously waiting for dinner to cook. Whatever ways you like to enjoy granola, this recipe is a seasonal winner!

Apple Pie Autumn Granola

Foodie Loves Fitness

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Servings 4 1/2 cups // 8 servings

Calories 260 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 2 cups dry rolled oats
• 1/4 cup raw shelled hemp seeds
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple peeled & finely diced (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup pecans roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup dried tart cherries roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup cashew butter you want it to be creamy, not the bottom of the jar
• 5 TBSP pure maple syrup
• 4 TSP cinnamon
• 1 TSP vanilla extract
• 1/8 TSP ground cloves
• 1/4 TSP salt

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a small pot, combine cashew butter, maple syrup and vanilla over low heat. Cook until warm and bubbly, stirring occasionally until mixture is well combined and smooth.
• Meanwhile, combine the oats, hemp, apple, pecans, cherries, cinnamon, salt and cloves in a large bowl. Toss to combine well.
• Once the syrup mixture is ready, pour it on top of the oats mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined well.
• Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Pour the granola onto it, forming a single layer.
• Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, toss evenly, then bake again for another 10-12 minutes.
• Remove from heat and allow the granola to slightly cool before breaking into clusters and pouring it into a large bowl.

Notes

*Ensure that the oats and hemp seeds you use are certified gluten free if necessary.*

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 6gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gFiber: 5gSugar: 15g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Don’t forget to enter my Fit Body Bakery baking mix giveaway to win a healthy cookie, pancake, brownie or muffin mix here! The giveaway winner will be announced on Wednesday.