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Date-Sweetened Chai Granola

A delicious, easy and healthy granola with hint of fall flavors. This recipe is made without added sugar thanks to dates, plus it's nut-free, gluten-free and oil-free. Eat it by the handful or serve it with plant-based milk or yogurt.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine vegan
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups seeds of choice (I use 1/2 cup each of flax, pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
  • 1 teaspoon ginger, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon clove, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  • In a food processor or high-speed blender, process the dates, sunflower seed butter, water and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients. Stir in the date mixture until evenly coated.
  • Spread the granola evenly on both prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake for 20 minutes. Stir the granola, moving the bits on the inside to the outside and vice versa. Return to the oven and bake another 20-25 minutes until dry and crispy, checking every 10 minutes and stirring so the edges don't burn.
  • Remove from oven and let cool completely before storring in jars or airtight container. The granola will get crispier as it cools.

Notes

Feel free to use any nut/seed butter. If you're not looking for a nut-free recipe, almond butter and peanut butter also work well.
If nuts aren't an issue, you can substitute the seeds for nuts, such as pecans or chopped almonds. 
You can skip the spices (except for the cinnamon) to make a basic granola flavor.
Recipe adapted from Feasting on Fruit's date-sweetened granola.