Chai Granola with Chia Seeds

Simple homemade granola with chia seeds and chocolate walnuts.

No ratings yet

I hate cooking in the morning, so make-ahead breakfasts like this homemade chai granola with chia seeds are my go-to. The chia seeds give it a ton of fibre and I use honey (and no sugar) to make this simple breakfast healthy (ier)!

Prep Time3

Cook Time30

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Fusion

Servings: servings

Calories: 354kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

1 Large bowl
1-2 Large Baking Tray This is the maximum amount of granola you can fit on 1 large baking tray. Ideally, you would use 2 large trays but I get lazy to wash so I use 1 and up the baking time....
1 parchment paper

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

4 Cups old fashioned rolled oats
1½ Cups broken walnuts Use broken walnuts- they're cheaper than whole walnuts or half walnuts, and cheaper! You can also substitute with other nuts if you don't have walnuts in hand. (If you use sliced almonds, they bake more quickly, so you should add them later in the baking process.)
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger powder If you want a more -pronounced ginger flavor, use 3 teaspoons and the oats will be quite zingy.
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground clove powder Some people like cardamom in their chai so they add ground cardamom to the granola- I don't but you can!
½ teaspoon salt salt is a flavor enhancer so I use it but if you're watching your salt intake you can reduce or omit. (The granola won't taste as good though.)

Wet Ingredients

½ Cup olive oil
½ Cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional Ingredients for after baking

⅓ Cup Chocolate Coated nuts I am a huge fan of adding chocolate coated nuts to the granola (AFTER baking and cooling)- the amount is up to you (I could eat a bowl of just the chocolate!) but start with ⅓ Cup and see if you need to add more. You can use chocolate coated peanuts, pecans, hazelnuts. If you use Brazil nuts, note that you shouldn't consume too many a day, as it can lead to excessive selenium intake. (Eating more than 5 Brazil nuts can cause health issues.)

Instructions

You must mix the spices (black pepper, ginger, clove, cinnamon) first!
Mix spice powder with the rest of the dry ingredients: oats, nuts, chia seeds and salt.
Whisk the olive oil, honey, and vanilla well, then add to the dry mixture and mix well.
Spread on 1-2 parchment-paper lined (LARGE) baking sheets and bake at 350F/177C/ 157C for 25-30 minutes (depending on how brown you want it.) If using 1 sheet, the granola layer will be quite thick and you may need to bake for a bit longer to get it all dry and crisp.
Leave for 45-60 minutes. Once cool, mix with the chocolate nuts (if using) then store in an airtight container.

Notes

Note: If you skimp on the cooling time, the granola will become soggy in the container.

I highly recommend the parchment paper. When I skipped it, the granola stuck quite badly to the baking tray and I had to use quite a bit of elbow grease to clean it up!

Nutrition