This Hairy Bikers granola recipe bakes porridge oats, coconut and cashews in maple syrup and stem ginger, then mixes in raisins and dried mango. So the One Pot Wonders batch takes about 75 minutes plus cooling, and by my estimate makes 12 bowls of roughly 280 calories before milk.
Writing their first Hairy Dieters book, they found some so-called healthy granolas were “more calorific than a fry-up”, as One Pot Wonders recalls. But making it yourself lets you control the sweetness, since the only sweeteners are 50ml of maple syrup, the stem ginger and the dried fruit.
Pressing little pockets into the spread granola with your fingertips is the trick, because they say it adds surface area so it crisps. And it bakes low at 150°C, or Fan 130°C, which is why they say to start checking from 45 minutes.
Hairy Bikers Granola Recipe
Description
Oats, coconut and chopped cashews are coated in maple syrup, stem ginger and egg white, then baked low in a thin, dimpled layer. Then the fruit goes in only once it’s cold, straight into the jar it’ll be stored in for weeks.
Ingredients
For the granola
To finish
Instructions
- Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 150°C/Fan 130°C/Gas 2 and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Mix everything but the egg: Put the oats, coconut and cashew nuts in a bowl and add the salt. Then whisk the oil, maple syrup and stem ginger together, pour them over and mix thoroughly.
- Add the egg white: Pour the egg white over the oat mixture and mix again.
- Spread and press: Spread the granola over the tray in an even layer. Then press it with your fingertips at regular intervals to make small pockets, which helps it crisp up.
- Bake: Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, but start checking after about 45 minutes. Then it’s ready when golden-brown and crisp, but if it feels at all damp, bake it for longer.
- Cool: Take it out of the oven and leave it to cool on the tray.
- Add the fruit: Transfer it to an airtight container and mix in the raisins and dried mango, then serve with milk and some fresh fruit.
FAQs
How much does it make?
They write that it makes about 500g, but the raw ingredients come to roughly 800g, and a low bake dries off little. So I’d expect closer to 750g with the fruit, unless their 500g means the baked base alone, and I count about 12 bowls.
That puts each bowl at around 280 calories before milk by my sums, because the oats and cashews carry over half the energy.
Is there a quicker granola without the oven?
Yes, their Eat Well Every Day spiced granola is made in a frying pan, which they say saves heating up the oven. And it toasts oats and coconut in coconut oil with cinnamon, ginger and allspice for about 10 minutes, until it smells lightly toasted.
Then nuts, seeds, lime zest, stem ginger, its syrup and honey go in, then dried fruit, making 8 portions in about 20 minutes’ cooking.
Is there a lower-sugar granola for diabetes?
Yes, their Eat to Beat Type 2 Diabetes stove-top granola, made “so you can keep the sugar down”, is 213 calories a serving before milk. And it uses just 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and 20g of butter for 150g of jumbo oats, which they say give a chunkier texture.
And the oats toast in about 5 minutes, then the seeds, almonds and fruit get a couple more before it crisps on a plate. And if you’re managing diabetes, your GP or diabetes nurse can say how granola fits your own plan.
Why add the fruit after baking?
The book stirs it in once the granola is cool, though it doesn’t say why. But my guess, since they don’t say, is that an hour at 150°C would harden and darken the raisins and mango.
And they’re happy for you to swap the mango for dried papaya, pineapple or banana chips, “whatever takes your fancy”.
How long does it keep?
In an airtight container, they say it keeps for several weeks, so one batch covers a lot of breakfasts. And for something warm on a weekend instead, their 74-calorie banana pancakes or blueberry buttermilk pancakes are good swaps.
And if One Pot Wonders is already open, their spiced banana and raisin bread is in the same book.
