Roasted Chestnut and Cranberry Granola

The ultimate festive spiced granola for simple, delicious and healthy breakfasts and snacks. This gluten-free, vegan and refined sugar-free granola is great to batch cook or to offer as gifts to friends over the holidays.

I love granola and I love Christmas flavours, so to follow up to my original Christmas Granola, I thought I’d play around with new combinations. This year, I have really got into using pre-cooked or roasted chestnuts and they work wonderfully in granola and other sweet recipes. They add a sweet nuttiness to the mixture and make a change from other more common nuts used in cereals. I’ve paired the chestnuts in this recipe with dried cranberries which are very festive. You could also use raisins or sultanas for equally delicious results. I like to opt for the unsweetened dried cranberries so just have a look at any added ingredients when buying dried fruits.

Cranberry and Chesnut Granola

This Roasted Chestnut and Cranberry Granola is really such a simple recipe and is similar in method to my other granola recipes. The base is oats and I love quinoa puffs for a little texture and crunch (you can use some sunflower or other puffed cereal instead) and then I often add some vanilla protein powder, too. Add in the Christmas flavours – mixed spice and cinnamon and then add the wet ingredients. I usually love using mashed banana but here I chose apple puree for a really warming flavour. It adds a natural sweetness meaning you don’t need to add any extra syrup. If you don’t already have apple puree, you can make your own from fresh apples (see below*). Peel, core and chop the apple into small chunks and heat with a splash of water for about 20 minutes in a small saucepan until really soft. Mash with a fork or blend until smooth.

Cranberry and Chesnut Granola

Bake until crunchy and that’s all there is to it! Making your own granola really could not be simpler and it delivers on maximum flavour. This Roasted Chestnut and Cranberry Granola is especially delicious around the festive period, but you can enjoy it all year long!

Granola also makes a wonderful homemade gift for friends and family – present the cereal in a large glass jar with some ribbon and you’ve got a delicious and thoughtful present. I know what I’m giving this year…

This Roasted Chestnut and Cranberry Granola is simple to make, deliciously crunchy with chewy dried cranberries and wholesome roasted chestnuts. It packs so much festive flavour from the warming spices and comes together in less than 30 minutes. It is naturally gluten-free (check your oats are GF certified if needed), vegan, dairy-free and healthy.

If you’re looking to play around with more granola recipes, how about my Peanut Butter Granola, Vanilla Banana Nut Protein Granola or Hot Cross Bun Granola.

Roasted Chestnut and Cranberry Granola

• Servings: Makes 1 large jar
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

The ultimate festive spiced granola for simple, delicious and healthy breakfasts and snacks. This gluten-free, vegan and refined sugar-free granola is great to batch cook or to offer as gifts to friends over the holidays.

Ingredients

• 200g oats
• 30g quinoa puffs (or other puffed cereal or sunflower seeds)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, optional
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 180g pre-cooked/roasted chestnuts, chopped
• 60g coconut oil, melted
• 140g apple puree
• 50ml plant-based milk, if needed
• 100g dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Stir together the oats, quinoa puffs, vanilla protein powder (if using), mixed spice, cinnamon, ground ginger and chopped chestnuts.
3. Pour in the melted coconut oil, apple puree and stir to combine until sticky. Add the plant-based milk as needed to coat the granola evenly – it is usually only needed if using protein powder.
4. Transfer to the lined tray and bake for 25 minutes, stirring through every 10 minutes. Allow to cool before stirring through the dried cranberries and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Cranberry and Chesnut Granola

I hope you’ll love this Roasted Chestnut and Cranberry Granola, do let me know by leaving a comment below and tag me in your creations. I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With festive granola love x