Savory Granola

If you're looking to start your day on a savory note, here's a great recipe to try. Store-bought granola is often packed with lots of sugar, and while there are sweet notes to this granola, with its maple syrup, orange zest, and cardamom, it leans much more savory with smoked almonds, buttery pine nuts, millet, and tahini. If you enjoy granola with large clusters, the trick is to press the mixture together before baking, and take care when you stir the granola while baking to keep the clusters intact. Try this granola with yogurt or kefir and your favorite fresh fruit.

More-Savory-Than-Sweet Granola
Photo: Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Mary Clayton Carl
Active Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 20 mins
Servings:
8
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • ½ cup uncooked millet (3 1/4 ounces)

  • 2 teaspoon coriander seeds

  • 2 cup uncooked old-fashioned regular rolled oats (6 1/2 ounces)

  • ½ cup pine nuts (2 1/2 ounces), toasted

  • cup tahini (sesame paste)

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

  • 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

  • 1 large egg white

  • 1 cup smoked almonds (5 1/4 ounces)

  • Vanilla kefir, mixed citrus segments (such as navel and blood oranges), and pomegranate arils, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Heat a skillet over medium. Add millet; cook, shaking skillet often, until lightly toasted and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour millet into a large bowl. Add coriander seeds to skillet; cook over medium, shaking skillet almost constantly, until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Lightly crush seeds using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Add to millet in bowl. Stir in oats and pine nuts.

  2. Whisk together tahini, oil, syrup, salt, orange zest, cardamom, and egg white in a medium bowl. Pour over oat mixture; stir well until thoroughly coated. Stir in almonds. Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet, and spread in an even, thin layer. Firmly press mixture down using a spatula.

  3. Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, rotating baking sheet from back to front after 15 minutes. Remove from oven; gently stir granola, breaking into clusters. Return to oven, and bake at 300°F until lightly browned and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool completely on baking sheet. Serve with kefir, citrus, and pomegranate arils. —ANN TAYLOR PITTMAN

Make Ahead

Store granola in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Note

Find millet at specialty grocery stores or online.

Originally appeared: December 2021 / January 2022

Related Articles