Grain-Free Pumpkin Granola

Author: Gluten Free Gigi

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

This recipe is free from: gluten, dairy/casein, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, corn and sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sunflower seed kernels (unsalted, raw or toasted)
• ½ cup sunflower seed kernel meal
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ cup flaxseed meal (NOT whole flax seed)
• ¼ cup (heaping) finely grated unsweetened coconut
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon mace (or nutmeg)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites
• ½ cup (heaping) pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)
• 4 Tablespoons coconut oil (or other oil of your choice)
• Sweetener of your choice – I do not add sweetener to my granola; however, if you would like to, you may add between 1 Tablespoon and ¼ cup of a sweetener of your choice, like coconut sugar, honey, pure maple syrup, etc. OR you may use an alternative sugar (like stevia) if you like

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Line a large cookie sheet with foil and grease lightly.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk egg whites, pumpkin and coconut oil (and sweetener if you add any) until the mixture is smooth. (You’re not whipping the egg whites into meringue, just making a smooth mixture, so a hand whisk is fine to use.)
5. Add the liquid pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and work it through the dry until you have a coarse, crumbly granola (it will look rough, with some large chunks, some smaller).
6. Place the granola on prepared baking sheet and bake about 40 minutes.
7. Remove pan from oven, stir/turn/toss the granola, then return to oven 15 minutes more (still at 300F).
8. Turn off oven, let granola stay there 15 minutes more, then remove, cool completely on pan and it’s ready to eat!
9. Store in a glass jar with lid at room temperature for 1 week, or in the refrigerator for longer storage, up to 3 weeks.