Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Granola: Quick, Easy & One-Bowl Recipe

If you would have told 5, 10 or even 20 year old me how much I would grow to love oatmeal in all its (glorious forms), I would have told you that you were crazy. If you would have told me that I'd be making homemade granola, I would have laughed and wondered what happened to the delicious cereal "milk" bars and bagels and cream cheese that were my breakfast staples. BUT if you were to tell me I'd choose a bowl of granola with fresh fruit over a sweet (most of the time), I would have laughed myself into the next state. Fast-forward to this stage of life, and I love oatmeal. A deep love for oatmeal and all its' incredibly versatile ways to deliver the immense nutritional benefits it can do for us.

What's maybe one of my favorite parts of oatmeal: it can be made relatively quickly AND be delicious. I can make it any morning, top it with chia seeds and stir in some frozen blueberries (to automatically cool it down) and I know that my kids will go to school with full bellies.

Making my own granola felt like one of those out of reach things for a long time. It felt too complicated, and like there were too many ingredients. Isn't it cheaper to just buy it? Well, honestly - sometimes. However, when I have time I like to make as much as possible from my kitchen so I know exactly what ingredients go into it. That's not always a possibility, but when it is this granola is like a hug for the soul.

This recipe makes A LOT of healthy vegan granola. If I'm making it for just our family for the week, I'll generally split it in half. Most of the times I make the full recipe and give the other half to my parents or a friend (this is a perfect way to show a new parent you're there for them). Let's get crunching. What do I eat this with? By itself. With plant-based milk, yogurt or ice cream. With fruit. On top of a dessert. The possibilities are endless. Can I Add/Remove...? Most of this recipe is completely adaptable. I personally wouldn't change how much syrup or salt is in this recipe - everything else can have subtle tweaks to find your perfect mix.

How long does this last?

I've eaten this up to 7 days from cooking and it was still great.

Can I really make this in one bowl? Ya babe! Unless you're nervous about pre-mixing the wet and dry ingredients. As long as you're using a big bowl, you should have no problems. Less mess is always the win for me.

Making the Granola Step One: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Step Two: Combine the pumpkin, olive oil, molasses and maple syrup in a large bowl. Mix really well with a fork/something similar until really well combined. Step Three: Next we are going to add all our dry ingredients: almonds, walnuts, coconut, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, chia seeds and oats. I recommend adding the oats last.

Step Four: Stir all of the ingredients until the granola is fully wet and covered. Step Five: Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Split the granola mixture evenly between the two pans. Step Six: Bake granola for 15 minutes, take out and stir/flip for even baking. Step Seven: Bake the granola for an additional 15 minutes. Take out and sir/flip. If your granola is still feeling soft, return it to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes. You will want the granola to be slightly firm, but not burnt. It will firm up further as it cools. Step Eight: After you take the granola out of the oven, remove it from the pan to let it cool. I often carefully life the parchment paper the granola is on and set it on my counter. Step Nine: Make sure your granola is completely cooled before storing. At this stage, feel free to add in the optional craisins! Step Ten: Happy crunching!