Easy Gourmet Cranberry Buckwheat Granola
Looking for a healthy breakfast option? This Gourmet Cranberry Buckwheat Granola is made with sprouted buckwheat and richly flavored with coconut, pistachios, cacao, and cinnamon. Simple to make, but the flavor combination makes for a truly special and nutritious breakfast or snack.
I don’t know about mornings in your household, but weekday mornings at ours tend to be a bit of a whirlwind. I’m right behind the thought that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but honestly, getting my two pre-schoolers and myself out the door in a presentable state is often enough of a challenge.
And unfortunately for the time poor, reaching for a box of breakfast cereals just isn’t a great option. As a book I recently reviewed put it, when you start to analyze the nutritional content of boxed cereals most end up looking more like a dessert than a wholesome start to the day. In fact, puffed rice is the GI equivalent of eating jelly beans for breakfast!!
Aside from it not having artificial colors like many kids' cereals, puffed rice might not much of a better option it appears.
Today I’m sharing a recipe for buckwheat-based granola recipe (muesli), which is simple to prepare and can be made in bulk. I have gone with cranberry, pistachio and orange for a Christmas-inspired flavoring combo (packaged in a pretty jar it makes a delightful homemade Christmas gift idea too!), but feel free to mix it up with other flavors according to your preferences.
The addition of coconut oil and flakes help make this breakfast a filling start to the day.
About Buckwheat
Buckwheat is a wonderful gluten-free seed with a lovely crunchy texture. It is full of important nutrients like B vitamins, iron, magnesium, boron and calcium, and is highly alkalizing.
I like to use sprouted buckwheat, which increases the bioavailability of all those nutrients while reducing buckwheat’s starch content AND increasing its protein. If you are new to sprouting buckwheat is an excellent place to start (just check out how easy it is here).
I find that using a dehydrator to gently dry the granola gives the nicest result, but toasting it in the oven works fine too. Enjoy served with milk, or for a non-dairy option try my Simple Oat Milk, Easiest Coconut Milk, or Easiest Almond Milk.
You know what they say--breakfast is your most important meal of the day. It's important to choose healthy options, however. to start your day off right.
Other Gluten-free Breakfast Ideas
In case you are looking for more options to get your day started right, some other gluten-free breakfast options you might like are:
3 Ingredient Buckwheat Pancakes - great with savory or sweet toppings
Chocolate Chia Pudding - 2 options
Mixed Berry Chia Pudding - refreshing and filling
Homemade Protein Bars - so delicious and good for you too!
Teff Waffles with Caramelized Bananas - surprising chocolatey taste!
Whole-grain Buckwheat Blender Waffles - fun technique--gluten-free with vegan option
Recipe Notes
- Use soaked or sprouted buckwheat.
- You can use 4 scoops stevia instead of honey - see How to Use Stevia.
Why not go and start soaking some buckwheat right away to make this buckwheat granola and have it soon? It's perfect for every day, but special enough to have for special occasion breakfasts too!
Recipe
Gourmet Cranberry Buckwheat Granola Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups buckwheat
- 1 cup dried cranberries (unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup pistachios (preferably soaked and dried--substitute other nut or seed, if needed)
- 1 cup coconut (flaked, unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup orange juice (or use the juice of 1 orange)
- 2-3 tablespoons orange zest (about the zest of 1 orange)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a baking pan and place it in an oven on low-medium heat (approximately 250 Fahrenheit or 120 Celsius). After 45 minutes give it a good stir and check to see how crunchy the buckwheat is. If you are using sprouted buckwheat it may take up to two hours before it has fully dried out, but do check it frequently towards the end and stir the granola every so often to avoid it catching.
- Alternatively, spread the granola mix out on dehydrator sheets. It will take approximately 10-12 hours on a medium setting to become completely crisp.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
What are your favourite breakfasts ideas for starting the day on a healthy note?
Sarah is a Kiwi mum of two and a 'Real Food' convert. She is currently studying a Diploma of Nutritional Science at a naturopathic college in New Zealand. Sarah started her blog, Little Fig, to share her passion for wholesome and probiotic foods, and to celebrate the local food heroes and heroines in her corner of the world.
I'm really excited to try this. Would agave syrup or maple syrup make ok vegan alternatives for the honey?
🙂
Yes, that would be fine! Hope you enjoy it!
Hi there! I love buckwheat and your recipe looks fantastic! I used raw buckwheat twice but it turned out to be a disaster. After soaking the buckwheat overnight, when I rinsed it the next morning it was super slimy. I want to sprout it but everytime it's really slimy. Any idea what I did wrong?! I also have a tasty quinoa-buckwheat flakes recipe on my YouTube channel (channel link removed by blog owner)
Hi there. I'm not sure --you mean you did it in this recipe or some other recipe? Sorry but I don't allow self promotion on my site. Thanks for understanding.
When you use sprouted buckwheat, do you use it wet or dehydrate it? Would it be 5 cups of wet or dehydrated buckwheat? Thanks. I can't wait to try this recipe.
I dehydrate it. I would just assume you measure it dehydrated.
This looks like an awesome recipe. I just pinned it and printed it out so I can try it later this week. I have buckwheat groats and it would be a nice change from oats.
How long do you soak your buckwheat before you use it?
Hi Jennifer - buckwheat only needs a brief soaking of less than an hour. If you click on the 'freshly sprouted buckwheat' link in the recipe box above you will be directed to further instructions on my blog.
LOVE This recipe! Sharing today on my FB page!!
Isn't it great?
This sounds absolutely DANGEROUS! Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks!
Definitely going to make this. I've used buckwheat in pancakes, as kasha in Eastern European cooking, but this is a way we could eat buckwheat more often and enjoy. Now my brain is whirling with other grains that I could use as a granola: millet and quinoa.
Thank you!
Neato, huh:)?
Hi Joanne. Millet and quinoa are great as a base for granola too, and can be sprouted in the same way (though millet does need a longer soak time of between 6-12 hours).
This looks fabulous! I buy buckwheat in bulk but have never thought of using it this way.
My daughter can't have coconut. Could I use butter in place of the coconut oil? What about replacing the coconut flakes with a different nut?
Thanks for the great recipe!
Yes, you can for sure sub in butter. I think you could do another nut or another dried fruit for the coconut flakes. I am sure Sarah will chime in later. She's in New Zealand :).
Hi Shelley, yes melted butter is lovely too. Maybe you add some pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of coconut flakes if that appeals.
We have made this twice now! It's wonderful. As it turns out, new tests on the kids have us eliminating dairy for now. I made ghee for the first batch but ended up with olive oil on the second. They both worked great!
I used dried cherries, flax seeds, and pomegranate juice in the second batch. I've been going over in my mind all the different flavor combinations we could use.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
Yum! Great flavor combo ideas!
Adrienne,
Would you consider putting nutrition info on your recipes? I see so many that look wonderful, but I am on a super low carb diet for both candida and glucose issues. It would help many of us to know whether your delightful recipes would work for us if you could include that.
I've thought about that. Not sure how or what program to use (and I don't think any program can take sprouted foods into account) but I will consider it. Thank you!
Okay, so I've never used buckwheat before, except for flour which I just used the first time over the weekend. I have a bag of "hulled buckwheat." Will that work for this??
Yes! That's exactly what you need! You'll love how crunchy this is. Kinda like processed cereal without the "processed". 🙂
Well then I'm totally pinning this bad boy - because I had NO IDEA what to do with that stuff.
Cool! Maybe start a board called "So THAT's how to use that whatchamacallit in your pantry :)!"
Haha sounds like a great idea 🙂