This is one recipe I am truly proud of! A gluten-free granola recipe that actually tastes amazing! Not too sweet, wonderfully nutty and clumps together to form the perfect bite size pieces.

This recipe is a good example of what happens when I decide to get creative in the kitchen when I haven’t been able to find what I was looking for on the market. When I was researching gluten-free granola’s for the Retreat café menu back in 2013 I found I was disappointed by the often cardboard, tasteless varieties, which never seemed that healthy. So I set about making sure my gluten-free customers would be able to enjoy the best of both worlds; nutrients and deliciousness together and this was the result. 

The trick to this recipe is to remember to NEVER touch the granola during any of the cooking process. Once you’ve laid it out on the trays and placed it into the oven, a wooden spoon should never touch it until it is COMPLETELY cold! I don’t want you to miss out on those amazing bite size pieces! 

If you can’t get your hands on quinoa flakes then you can always add the equal amount of extra oats to make up the difference although the quinoa flakes do help to allow the granola to clump together well.

You can also halve the recipe as this does make a good few months worth!

Serves 12

:: Ingredients ::

• 500g (1lb 2oz/5 cups) gluten-free rolled oats

• 200g (7oz/2 cups) quinoa flakes

• 200g (7oz/11⁄4 cups) raw almonds

• 200g (7oz/11⁄4 cups) raw hazelnuts

• 200g (7oz/12⁄3 cups) pumpkin seeds

• 200g (7oz/12⁄3 cups) sunflower seeds

• 100g (31⁄2oz/generous 3⁄4 cup) flaxseeds

• 150g (5oz/11⁄4 cups) dried cranberries

• 150g (5oz/11⁄4 cups) sultanas (golden raisins)

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 500g (1lb 2oz/scant 11⁄2 cups) raw honey or normal honey

• 400ml (14fl oz./3⁄4 cups) extra-virgin olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/350°F/ Gas 4. Line 3 baking trays (baking sheets) with baking paper (parchment paper).

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

3. Place the vanilla, honey and olive oil into a saucepan and heat gently until the honey melts and the mixture is runny. This will help to distribute the mixture evenly through the dry ingredients. Remove from the heat.

4. Pour the honey mixture over the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine.

5. Transfer the granola to the prepared baking trays and spread out evenly. The baking trays should only have 2cm (3⁄4in) thin layer of granola.

6. Bake for 35 minutes or so, until the granola is deep golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking trays. The granola should be dry and not sticky. If sticky the granola should be cooked at the same temperature for another 10 minutes but be careful not to let it burn.

8. The key to this granola keeping its characteristic clumps is to not touch or move the granola at any stage of its baking or cooling process. Once cooled, the granola can be stored in an airtight container. Break up the granola clumps with your fingers as needed.