This Healthy Holiday Granola is a great gift that is vegan, customizable and delicious. The perfect DIY Christmas gift that fits in a mason jar. This Healthy Holiday Granola is a great holiday gift for co-workers, family members or neighbors.
Since we moved to Detroit, I have been gifting these mason jars full of this healthy holiday granola to my co-workers. This time of the year is busy for everyone and this granola can be made and packaged up in under an hour. It’s fun to get creative and add in different dried fruit or nuts each year. The base of this healthy holiday granola is so yummy and embodies gingerbread flavors from blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, ginger and nutmeg.
This healthy holiday granola is low in sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol and contains little added sugar. I added the nutritional facts below the recipe if you want to see the breakdown of nutrients.
Tips on creating your own Healthy Holiday Granola in mason jars:
- If you want granola clusters, do not shake or stir the granola in the oven and wait for it to cool down when you pull it out of the oven. This will give it a chance to solidify into clusters.
- If you like it more loose, go ahead and shake/ stir it up when it's in the oven and after it comes out.
- If you have a darker sheet pan watch the cooking time as it will cook faster!
- Always use 100% old fashioned rolled oats, not quick cooking.
- I prefer a toasted flavor, but make sure to toast your nuts separately because they will burn in the oven if they are cooked too long.
I took a poll on my instagram and surprisingly most of you said that you prefer granola clusters to loose granola. I'm the opposite, I love to put loose granola in a big bowl with milk and eat it like a cereal or use it as a yogurt topping. A lot of the time, I eat it like a trail mix for a healthy snack.
One thing to note is that most oats are gluten free, but not all. If you are gifting to someone with a true gluten allergy or intolerance, make sure you check the product to ensure it is not made in a factory that contains items with gluten and therefore the potential for cross-contamination. I used avocado oil due to its subtle flavor. I really wanted the molasses and ginger to shine in this recipe. If you really love ginger, you could increase by half a teaspoon. A little goes a long way!
This recipe is vegan in that it doesn't require any ingredients that come from animals, but if you are making this for someone that is vegan keep in mind regular chocolate chips are not vegan. They do make vegan chocolate chips and they are referred to as cocao chips, which can be found at most local grocers. Other than that this is vegan granola!
The recipe fills 3 mason jars plus a little extra, so double this vegan granola recipe as needed!
Ideas for Add-ins to Healthy Holiday Granola
- Cocao nibs (vegan chocolate chips)
- Dried pears (these were SO GOOD)
- Pistachios
- Pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds
- Dried apples
- Dried cranberries (this with pistachios gives a nice holiday look)
- White chocolate chips (vegan if necessary)
- Crystallized ginger
Also, I love seeing all of you make my 5-ingredient healthy chocolate peppermint truffles ! Keep tagging @Mealswithmaggie and #mealswithmaggie !
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Healthy Holiday Granola {Vegan + Gluten Free}
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
Description
This Healthy Holiday Granola is a great gift that is vegan, customizable and delicious. The perfect DIY Christmas gift that fits in a mason jar.
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
- ¼ cup oil (I used avocado oil)
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
Option to add 1 cup dried fruit and 1 cup mixed nuts.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a lined baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients, rolled oats, spices and salt. Mix until incorporated.
- Add in remaining wet ingredients to the dry mixture and stir until well coated.
- Pour granola onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes at 350F.
- While granola is cooking, option to cook slivered almonds, chopped walnuts or pecans over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes. Continuously stir being careful not to burn.
- Once the granola is done cooking, let it rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes to cook down and to harden.
- Add in toasted nuts, dried fruits of choices and other add-ins as desired.
Notes
See above notes for ideas for add-ins and tips for baking granola. Darker sheet pan will cook faster, so be mindful of the time
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: snack, breakfast
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
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