Sugar-free Homemade Granola with Roasted Strawberries and Greek Yogurt

I wrote this post a week ago and then decided to shelve it. The granola I've been making for the last couple of years is good, but something was missing from the flavor/texture and I couldn't put my finger on it.

When it comes to ingredients, I'm not anti-sugar but have always liked sweetening my granola exclusively with honey. I decided to give The Google another spin yesterday and noticed that Sylvie's recipe on Gourmande in the Kitchen includes fruit purée. Interesting. Then I came across David Lebovitz's granola which includes applesauce. Like Cher in Clueless, I suddenly realized that the answer to my sugar-free granola dreams had just hit me upside the head.

(Rob and I drove by that fountain over the weekend - for the 100th time - and it was the first occasion where I actually connected it with the movie. I've lost all of my LA cred.)

Recipe

Crunch Factor

For the best crunch I recommend storing your granola in the freezer. It doesn't actually "freeze" but the cool temperatures give the oats and nuts a nice texture.

Is it done yet?

  • Granola goes from done to burned pretty quickly so I recommend keeping an eye on it around the 40-minute mark. You want the granola to be golden but not brown since that's the difference between crunchy and enamel-shattering. Similar to chocolate chip cookies, the oats will come out of the oven and seem a little soft and undercooked. That's perfectly fine. As the granola cools it will harden and should be nice and crunchy after about 15 to 30 minutes.
  • As granola ages it gets harder. I store my batch in the freezer to preserve as much freshness and texture as possible.
  • If the coconut starts to look very dark, take the granola out. I've never had coconut burn before everything is done cooking so it's a good indicator.
  • You can see in the photos that the pecans are shiny and still retain a rich amber color. I've had success adding the pecans and walnuts at the beginning but if you find that they're burning, try adding the nuts halfway through the cooking time.

Fruit Substitution

Apricot season is about done in California but you can substitute any number of fruit purées. I think roasted peaches or applesauce would be even better than the apricots since they're sweeter. UPDATE: I tried peach purée and it was excellent. I highly recommend that option.

Inspiration

Below are some of the recipes I referenced for this post. I recommend giving these a read for ingredient inspiration and general info.

  • Smitten Kitchen - My appreciation to Deb Perelman for the egg white idea. The granola is both clumpier and crunchier since I incorporated that element.
  • David Lebovitz - As mentioned above, this was the second granola recipe I found with fruit purée and it inspired me to give that ingredient a go.
  • Gourmande in the Kitchen - Sylvie deconstructs granola and discusses the role that each ingredient plays.

Tools

  • BPA-free Storage Containers (or here)
  • Cuisinart Mini-prep Food Processor (or here)
  • Chef'n Strawberry Huller - Rob gave me this little tool in my Christmas stocking last year. It's legit. The gadget removes the core perfectly, is easy to clean, and costs less than $10. I highly recommend a huller if you cook with strawberries on the regular or have kids that go through them by the ton.

Gaviota Strawberries at Harry's Berries - Santa Monica Farmers Market

Ingredients (This will make enough for multiple meals.)

Purée and Topping

  • 1/2 lb fresh apricots or peaches, halved and pitted (weighed after prep) Note: This should yield about 1/2 cup after roasting which is more than you need. Pretty sure you can put the extra to good use.
  • 2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half
  • 2 tbsp honey

Dry

  • 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup pecans
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp flake-style salt

Wet

  • 4 oz apricot or peach purée (roughly a heaping 1/3 of a cup)
  • 1 tbsp + 2 tsp grape seed oil
  • 1/2 cup honey Note: If you oil the measuring cup it will help the honey slide out.
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp foamed egg whites

Instructions

Purée and Topping

  • Move your oven rack to the middle position and heat to 375 degrees.
  • Split the baking sheet in two: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then lay two pieces of parchment paper on top of that. For each piece of parchment, fold about 6 inches of one end so that it creates a 90-ish degree angle, then place the folded ends back to back in the center of the pan. This will divide the sheet so the juices stay separate.
  • Spread the strawberries out in a single layer on one side of the pan and then do the same with the apricot halves on the other side.
  • Drizzle the strawberries and apricots with with 1 tbsp of honey each (2 tbsp total), then gently toss to coat.
  • Roast for 40-50 minutes until the juices are starting to thicken and the fruit is slightly dehydrated.
  • Purée 3 oz of roasted apricots. Note: Check on the fruit at the 30-minute mark to make sure things aren't moving along too quickly.
  • Transfer the cooled fruit and any juice/syrup to airtight containers and refrigerate or freeze based on your needs.

Dry

  • Move your oven rack to the middle position and heat to 300 degrees.
  • Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then lay a piece of parchment paper on top of that.
  • Combine your dry ingredients.

Wet

  • In a small non-stick skillet, heat the honey, grape seed oil, and fruit purée over medium-low until warm. Turn off the heat, add the vanilla, and stir to combine.
  • Whisk the egg white until slightly foamy. Note: This will be more than the 1 tbsp that you need.

Bake

  • Add the honey and egg white mixtures to your dry ingredients and thoroughly combine.
  • Spread the granola out on the parchment in an even layer and lightly pat it into place (this will help form clumps).
  • Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. At the 30-minute mark, use a wide spatula and carefully (so as to preserve the clumps) turn large sections of the granola over.
  • Bake until the granola is a deep golden color (but not brown) and then cool completely before storing.

Storage

Fruit

Roasted fruit can be refrigerated in a BPA-free container for up to 3 days or it can be frozen. I prefer using small glass containers so that it's easy to defrost small batches in the microwave.

Granola

I keep my granola in the freezer so I'm not sure how long the texture lasts when stored at room temperature. The granola is extra crunchy right out of the cooler (which I like) but settles down after about 5 to 10 minutes. No defrosting needed.

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