Ingredients: 1 cups old-fashioned oats,1 cup quinoa, uncooked,1 cup sliced almonds,1 cup shredded coconut (mine was sweetened),½ cup toasted wheat germ,3 tablespoons coconut oil, measured out while hard (at room temperature),⅔ cup honey (some vegans will eat honey, others won’t, so keep that in mind!),¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed,1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract,¼ teaspoon salt,½ cup chopped pitted dates (I like smaller fruit chunks, so I chopped these pretty finely),¼ cup dried cherry craisins,½ cup dark chocolate chips (if vegan, make sure you’re purchasing vegan chocolate chips)
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 x 12 in glassbaking dish (or a similar size) and line it with parchment paper.
- Combine the oats, quinoa, almonds, and coconut together on an unlined baking pan and bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring every 4 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
- Place the oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Bring to a boil (the mixture will start foaming) Once boiling, cook for 60 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Pour the syrup over the toasted oatmeal mixture.
- Add the dates and craisins and stir well.
- Stir in the dark chocolate chunks, because the mixture is so warm, you will find some of the chocolate melting.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and gently, but firmly press the mixture evenly into the pan using your fingers.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the granola is a light golden brown color.
- Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before removing from the pan and cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature!
- NOTES
- **Make sure that your oats are certified gluten free.
- ** These do contain honey, I've seen some vegans eat honey, others don't, so keep that in mind! 🙂 I haven't tried to sub the honey with agave, but if you do, please let me know the results!
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