One bowl. Vegan. Super clumpy. Throw in whatever you have. It’s my master granola recipe! A.k.a. the last granola recipe you’ll ever need.

I am a solid week and a half late, but happy 2019!

For those that have meal prep, eat healthier, or learn to cook on their list of resolutions, you’re in good company. January is also popular month for people to try out veganism, such that it’s been coined the term “Veganuary”.

In the spirit of Veganuary, we plan to share a few of our go-to vegan recipes to make that transition to a plant-focused lifestyle a little less complicated. Starting with my master granola recipe. I’m certain this will be the last granola recipe you’ll ever need!

It’s been so long since we’ve published a recipe post and a life update. We’ve missed ya’ll! Did you ring in the new year with fireworks and fancy dresses, or in the comfort of your own home wrapped in a cozy blanket? To be honest, both sound equally great to me. I hosted a countdown party in my basement for a handful of my closest friends. We got dressed up for the fun of it (glitter, glitter, glitter!), took tons of silly photos, ate vegan sliders, and played a variety of games on the hour to keep us awake. Have you ever tried to act out ‘get out of debt’ or ‘tiny green pickle’ in charades? It’s pretty dang funny! Ironically, we got so caught up in filling everyone’s flutes with sparkling juice and making sure everyone had a noise maker that we actually missed the 12 o’clock mark.

Over dinner, we reminisced about 2018’s happenings and reflected on our aspirations for 2019. Not everyone makes new years resolutions, but we all make goals, short- or long-term ones, at one point or another. I like to use new years to realign my focus, examine my progress towards existing goals, rediscover forgotten goals, create new aspirations, and capitalize on the motivation of others around me to propel me forward! I’m very much into goal-setting and documenting progress and keep a running list of goals written in my planner, then recording the date of accomplishment next to each goal.

Some goals I’m tackling this year are to run 5km without stopping, get into eight angle pose and a tripod headstand, photograph the milky way, and reduce screen time/blue light before bedtime (clearly this one ain’t going too well because I’m typing this at 10pm). I try to word fitness-related goals around performance rather than how it’ll change my physical appearance because I think it’s more damaging than motivating to focus on looking a certain way. Regardless of our jawline, waistline, muscles, thighs, or whatever I think it’s way more empowering to feel strong, unstoppable, and like a freaking BOSS.

But to be in top condition to hike in the wilderness with a backpack full of heavy gear, achieve a new personal record on your next race, build the strength to balance upside-down, or just overall slaaaay at life, you’ll have to fuel your body with nourishing foods. Eating well will take some effort, so perhaps making it a goal as well will keep you accountable. With 8am classes twice a week and work and/or yoga in the evenings, I definitely need to get my meal prepping back on track or I will be a very hungry, drained, and miserable student.

If there is only one recipe I have time to meal prep, it’ll be my vegan granola. There is not a moment where I do not have some homemade granola on hand. I eat it with apples and yogurt at least once a week, use it to top all my smoothie bowls, load a bowl full of it with almond milk and sliced bananas, and eat handfuls to curb sudden hunger pangs.

This master granola recipe is totally customizable and only requires one bowl and one spatula (read: less dis washing). You can use this base recipe to create your favourite seasonal flavours (pumpkin spice!! all year ’round!), or pack it full of nutrients to boost your mornings. The recipe is so dang easy, fail-proof (given that you’ve followed my *important* tips below), lasts on the counter for a few weeks (for those that have good portion control, haha!), and also so gourmet it could be bottled up and given as homemade gifts or served at a fancy brunch. In other words, be prepared to make this like 50 times a year.

Formula for the best vegan granola evaaar

Here are my suggestions for possible ingredients to use. Once you get the hang of this master granola recipe, feel free to play around with other ingredients like mashed sweet potato, date paste, ground turmeric, and other fun superfoods!

• Fruit puree – Mashed banana, unsweetened applesauce, and pumpkin puree are my go-to’s. You could also substitute half of the fruit puree with some nut or seed butter.
• Oil – My favourite is melted coconut oil but if you don’t want your granola to be super coconutty, use grapeseed oil or another neutral-flavoured oil.
• Liquid sweetener – Maple syrup is recommended (because maple is delicious) but sometimes I use bumble bloom for extra spice, molasses (amazing gingerbread flavour and source of iron), or honey (not vegan, but excellent at keeping the granola clumpy).
• Oats – Rolled or quick or a mixture of both will do. To make a ‘lighter’ granola, replace some of the oats with puffed rice cereal.
• Coconut chips – My favourite ingredient in this granola, but if you aren’t a fan, feel free to swap it out for more mix-ins or oats.
• Raw nuts – Whatever floats your boat! Just make sure they’re raw so they don’t burn in the oven.
• Mix-ins – This is the fun part; let your creativity run wild!  I usually pack mine full of raw seeds (healthy fats and protein!) like buckwheat, millet, chia, flax, hemp, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame etc. If you’re craving something chocolate-y, use cacao nibs or chocolate chips. Toss the chocolate chips on the top after the granola has come out of the oven; same goes for dried fruit.
• Spices – I am a self-proclaimed cinnamon addict so I load my granola with anywhere from 2 to 3 tsp regardless of what flavour the overall granola is. But if you aren’t crazy about warm spices, you can definitely tone it down or omit them completely.

Some of my favourite flavour combos

• Chocolate Hazelnut – about 3 tbsp cocoa powder, raw hazelnuts, cacao nibs
• Orange Cardamom – tahini instead of fruit puree, zest of an orange, olive oil, ground cardamom, cacao nibs
• Pumpkin Spice – pumpkin puree, lots of pumpkin spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg), raw pecans
• Gingerbread – molasses, lots of spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg), chocolate chips

*Important* tips to perfect this master granola recipe

• Use a silicone mat – This really helps to prevent the underside of your granola from burning.
• Pack it down – To ensure you get the biggest clumps, be sure to really press the granola mixture into a solid mass. Also tuck in the scraggly edges so they don’t burn.
• Better more wet than too dry – Again, this will help achieve those clumps of granola that, lez be real, we all pick out and eat first.
• Bake it low and slow – Literally if you bake this recipe at any temperature above 300°F, it will not bake evenly or dry out properly; burnt bottoms will result. Unlike most granola recipes out there, my master granola recipe has a lot of moisture. All that fruit puree binds the dry ingredients together and holds it in clumps, but it also means that the granola needs to be ‘dehydrated’ in the oven until crispy.

*Update January 27, 2019: I found that using 2 1/2 cups of oats (rather than 2 cups) still yielded clumpy granola goodness. Might as well make a bit more granola while you’re at it!