Healthy Homemade Chai Spiced Granola-Sweet and Spicy

This chai spiced granola is such a healthy way to breakfast! Sweet and spicy, it pairs perfectly with yogurt, or milk, and it’s chunky texture makes it perfect for snacking. It’s whole grain, gluten-free, made without refined sugars, and can easily be made vegan and dairy free.

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Granola is one off those foods that seems to be a universal favorite. It’s the perfect breakfast food and topping for yogurt for delicious parfaits, most granolas are 1) expensive and 2) full of added sugars.

Enter this homemade, healthy chai spiced granola. It’s naturally gluten free, made without refined sugars, and has a great cozy, sweet and spicy chai flavor. It’s a great whole grain snack, complemented by the flavors of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and allspice.

Plus, diy granola saves you a ton of money! While most store bought granola has a hefty price tag for a small bag, you can make a large batch of homemade granola for just a few dollars.

And on another note, healthy chai spiced granola is great for holiday gifting! Simply pop some into a jar, tie a ribbon around the top, and voila! You have a thoughtful, delicious gift for friends and family.

Reasons to make this delicious, healthy, chai spiced granola:

• It’s so much more cost effective and delicious than anything you can buy in the store.
• It’s simple and quick to make.
• It’s a one bowl/one pan recipe.
• It’s made up of whole foods. Besides
• You can tweak the flavors to exactly suit your tastes. Want it sweeter? Add more maple syrup. Prefer a spicier granola? Throw in a little more chai spice. It’s really up to you!
• It’s naturally gluten free, and can easily be adapted to be dairy free, nut free, or vegan.

Granola Ingredients and Substitutions

• Old-fashioned Oats — this is what makes up the bulk of the granola.
• Quick Oats — This helps mix it up with the texture.
• Toasted Rice Cereal — This is another texture boost. While most commonly known as Rice Krispies, any puffed, toasted rice cereal will work really well. Here’s an organic option if you prefer.
• Chopped Nuts — while I used sliced almonds in this batch, you can also add chopped pecans or walnuts if you prefer.
• Salt — because it just balances everything and makes it better. I use fine ground sea salt.
• Flax Seed Meal — while it doesn’t really alter the flavor or texture, adding some ground flax seed meal is a great way to boost the nutrition content with fiber and essential fatty acids.
• Chai Spice Mix — you can make your own chai spice mix with this recipe, but you can also purchase it if you prefer.
• Coconut Oil — I like coconut oil in this granola. Because it’s solid at room temperature, rather than liquid, it can help make your granola more crisp.
• Maple Syrup — Maple syrup is the sweet to the chai’s spicy in this recipe. I love that the recipe is made without refined sugar, but is still lightly sweet thanks to the maple syrup.
• Butter — Butter adds such a nice flavor to everything, and this granola is no exception!
• Vanilla Extract — it adds a nice, subtle balance to the chai.

Recommended Substitutions

• While oats make up the bulk of this chai spiced granola, the amount of each you use can vary. If you don’t have quick oats on hand, you can just add more old-fashioned oats. I wouldn’t recommend using all quick oats.
• Toasted Rice Cereal — depending on the brand you buy, rice cereal can be very processed. If you want to opt for something that’s minimally processed, something like this Organic Brown Rice Crisps cereal is a good option.
• Nuts — if you’re wanting a granola without nuts, these can be easily left out. Or, simply add the variety you prefer.
• Dairy free or vegan granola — if you want your chai granola to be vegan or dairy free, simply add an extra 1/4 cup of coconut oil and skip the butter.
• Sweetener — If you want your chai spiced granola on the less sweet side, add 1/4 cup of maple syrup instead of 6 tablespoons. Also, you can substitute honey or brown sugar for the maple syrup if you prefer.

Additional Add-ins

While I love this recipe as written, I know that different people have different preferences. So with that in mind, here are some things that you could substitute for other ingredients.

• Flaked coconut — coconut would be a great substitute for the nuts, giving variety to the texture.
• Pumpkin seeds — If you don’t have or want to use the toasted rice cereal, throwing in some pumpkin seeds could be a good way to mix things up.

How to Make Chai Spiced Granola

• Preheat your oven to 325°. Place a rack in the center of the oven, between the top and the bottom.
  
• Line a large baking sheet (13″x18″) with parchment paper. If you don’t have a large baking sheet, two smaller ones will work just as well! Make sure they have sides all the way around so your granola doesn’t slide off when you’re moving them.
  
• Set out a large mixing bowl and combine the dry ingredients. That’s both kinds of oats, rice cereal, nuts, flax seed meal, chai spice mix, and salt. Stir it all up well so that everything’s more or less evenly distributed.
  

• In a liquid measuring cup, measure out the wet ingredients. Melt the coconut oil and butter, then allow them to cool. Stir in the maple syrup and vanilla extract.
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry. Stir well until all of the dry goods are damp and coated in the wet ingredients.

• Spread out the granola on the parchment lined baking sheet. Try to get it into a uniform, even layer.
• Bake the chai spiced granola for 30 minutes. Depending on your oven, it may take longer. The edges of the pan should be golden brown. You may want to turn the sheet halfway through the baking time.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a rubber spatula to press down on the granola. This helps create bigger clumps.
• Allow the granola to cool completely. Then, scoop it off of the baking sheet into an airtight container or bag.

For a quick video overview of making the healthy Chai Spiced Granola, watch this Instagram reel

How to Store Granola

Store the granola in an airtight container or jar. You can also use zippered bags.

The chai spiced granola will keep in a dark, cool place for up to two weeks. Alternatively, you can store it in the freezer for up to three months.

Storage Options for Granola:

Glass Food Storage Jars with Airtight Lids

BPA Free Plastic Cereal Containers

Large Glass Jar with Airtight Wooden Lid

How to Get Bigger Chunks in Your Granola

Do you want those big, chunky clusters in your granola? Same, same. Here are a few tips and tricks to get chunky granola that’s perfect for topping yogurt, eating by the spoonful with milk for breakfast, or snacking on throughout the day.

• Don’t stir the granola while it’s baking! This breaks up all of the chunks as they’re forming. Instead, spread them in an even layer in your pan. Rotate it halfway through the baking time for more even, uniform baking.
• After the granola has finished baking, use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to press the granola into the pan.
• Allow it to cool completely before scooping it off the baking trays. This allows the clumps to solidify.

In love with all things chai spice? Here are a few more recipes you may like!

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