If I haven’t already convinced you to make an edible holiday gift this year, maybe this recipe today will seal the deal. It has to be one of the easiest recipes to throw together using less than 10 minutes of precious holiday time. Plus, it’s a recipe you can make well in advance without having to worry about it going bad any time soon. Just pop it in a jar and leave it on your shelf, tucked away until that special someone pops over for a visit. I think we’ve just entered Martha territory here!
So what is this pretty little treat, you ask? It’s simply pecans and walnuts that have been coated in granola. They are baked in the oven until crisp and crunchy making a delightful finger food or garnish for a hot bowl of oatmeal. I can’t take credit for this genius idea though, it comes from Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. When I saw her recipe a few weeks ago, I knew I had to try making a vegan version or my life as I know it wouldn’t be complete. (I’m not dramatic at all despite what my husband says.)
I figured my goal of having a crispy coating of granola would only be possible with a very sticky base – almost like a “glue” for the granola to adhere to. Brown rice syrup worked wonderfully for this task.
Simply pour a few tablespoons of syrup onto the nuts. The key here is to stir the nuts very thoroughly until every nook and cranny is covered with syrup; this ensures the granola has every chance in life to succeed!
After coating the nuts, stir in the granola mixture until combined. The granola will stick to the nuts, forming a homely-looking coating. Don’t worry though, it will caramelize and turn golden in the oven leaving big clumps to break apart with your hands!
Spread the nuts onto a parchment lined baking sheet into a single layer, like so:
After 20 some odd minutes of baking at 275F, you’ll be left with seriously addictive granola-coated nuts, delightfully crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. I don’t think I need to tell you that Eric and I polished off my first trial within 24 hours. Consider this your warning (or encouragement).
[Shown above: Eric conned into being my hand model while waiting patiently to dig in.]
Granola Nut Clusters (gluten-free, oil-free, soy-free)
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Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
Yield: approx. 3.5 cups
- 1 cup raw walnut halves
- 1/2 cup raw pecan halves
- 3 tbsp brown rice syrup*
- 6 tbsp gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2-3 tbsp Sucanat sugar*
- Heaping 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- Scant 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
- freshly grated nutmeg, to garnish
1. Preheat oven to 275F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place walnuts and pecans into a large mixing bowl. Pour on brown rice syrup and stir very well until combined for about 60 seconds. Your goal is to have every nook and cranny covered in syrup. No pressure!
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oats, coconut, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour it onto the nuts and mix very well until combined. Some of the oat mixture won’t adhere to the nuts, but that’s ok because it adds character.
4. Spoon the entire mixture onto the baking sheet including any oats that didn’t stick. Spread into a single layer so they have room to get toasty. Garnish with fresh nutmeg. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for another 10-13 minutes (I baked for 23 mins total) and allow to cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes.
5. Once cool, break apart clumps and store in glass jars or Tupperware containers. I expect these would stay good for at least a month.
Substitution Notes: 1) Brown rice syrup works amazing in this recipe because it is so crazy sticky. For this reason, it can be difficult to replace it in a recipe that requires its binding properties. I haven’t tried anything else, but if you eat honey that might work or even coconut nectar since both are very sticky. 2) You can substitute Sucanat with brown sugar or with Turbinado sugar. I don’t recommend subbing with coconut sugar. I tried this and found that it dried the mixture out due to its powdery nature.
You might be wondering if you can use other types of nuts. I recommend using craggy nuts like pecans and walnuts since smooth nuts (like almonds) don’t have the rough texture to “grip” the granola. You can certainly try any nuts you wish though! As always, I would love to hear your feedback in the comments if you try out this recipe or your own modified version.
Definitely making these to bring to my family friend’s where we are spending Christmas Eve (the night before flying to France for the holidays!) – along with some of your vegan Bailey’s!! I’m also making your gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for my girlfriends when they come over for girls night a few days before Christmas :)
These sound amazing! Such a unique gift idea – though I’m not sure I’d be able to keep my hands off them from now until Christmas!
What a brilliant idea! These look amazing. My husband and I decided to start a “homemade host gift” tradition for all the Christmas get-togethers we go to. I think it is much more interesting (and meaningful) than bringing a bottle of wine. Our recipe for 2012? Your Homemade Apple Butter. We’ve already given it away to a couple of people and they are really impressed…and we don’t tell them how easy it is ;)
Next year we plan on making a couple of things, and these nut clusters just might be one of them.
How big of a deal will it be to leave out the coconut? I was going to make a batch of this for my boss for a holiday gift and she doesn’t like coconut at all. Thanks for the great recipe! (I think it sounds divine with coconut ;) )
I would guess it would still turn out! You might need to add more oats?
I made a test batch of these last night as a pre-gifting trial run. Oh. My. Gosh. They are SO good! They’re not going to last long enough to find out how long they keep. Brava, Angela, another triumph!
these are irresistible! I had walnuts and almonds, so that’s what I used. Also had no coconut, so I left that out. Had no parchment paper, so I used foil. I can’t quit eating them! YUM-O!!
These are AMAZING and addictive!! I made a double batch yesterday for a brunch I’m hosting tomorrow. I have eaten so many that I might have to make a second batch in the morning.
Also, I couldn’t find brown rice syrup, so I subbed half honey (not vegan, I know) and half cane syrup. Worked beautifully. The cane syrup was too strongly mollasses flavored on its own, which is why I cut it with honey.
Question: I made two batches of these. The first one, made a few days ago, was perfectly crispy. The second batch (made today) came out soggy (still yummy, just different). I didn’t do anything differently that I noticed. Could today’s rainy weather be the culprit?
Delicious, Angela. Thank you for sharing!
These are AWESOME! I made 4 batches yesterday! I added sliced almonds to my last 3 batches and it worked great. People sometimes give me a hard time because of all the “health nut” food I eat, I can’t wait to give them a jar of these clusters to prove how good natural food tastes!
Made this tonight and it is SO YUMMY!
Hi there, has anyone tried adding dried fruit like cranberries or raisins to this recipe?
Thankyou so much for this post! These were so fun to make and really do taste as good as they look, especially in jars! totally gift-worthy. Will have to be brave and give a jar to family (they are skeptical of anything I eat). I used a mixture of honey and golden syrup, fab! My clusters were less nuggety looking than yours but I don’t mind. I love this type of vegan baking, you just can’t go wrong! Have a merry christmas Angela, I know I will with another batch of these… and some more cute jars!
These are freaking delicious! I made 2 batches to give to the guys I work with and I had plenty leftover to taste test :-) I used coconut nectar in place of the brown rice syrup and I only used a little tiny amount over 4 Tbs (for 2 batches) of brown sugar in place of sucanat. These were still so good and the diabetic guy I work with loved them. I also delivered them in mason jars with homemade lemon flavored toothpicks. It was a big hit and I’m thinking of giving the leftovers to one of my close friends. I absolutely know her kids would love them! Thanks for an awesome vegan recipe!
Thanks so much for this amazing idea! I made a triple batch for all of my work colleagues this Christmas! It is so easy and so delicious! Can’t wait to give them out in the little jars! I ran out of pecans halfway through and so used almonds as well – still worked beautifully!
I made this yesterday subbing molasses (I figured if anything would be sticky enough, molasses would be) for the brown rice syrup and they tasted great! I’m not sure how the taste/shelf time with molasses compares to the original, but the results were yummy!
Just made a batch and have another in the oven… delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
These are insanely addictive! I made a double batch yesterday – half to gift, and half to keep for my family and I. Haven’t been able to stop munching since!
The Granola lasted about a half hour in our house. Made several batches and gave as gifts this Christmas. Big hit!! Thanks for this blog, it is helping to my husband and I survive our transition to veganism.
I substituted agave nectar for the brown rice syrup and it’s actually delicious and binds well still. I’ve made similar recipes that call for maple syrup and that works too.
I made these with brown sugar and honey (for a non-vegan option) and they came out delicious!
This is THE most AWESOME vegan snack I have found yet. (To be totally fair I have only been eating plant based for a week and a half – but still)
Here is my version of your version. Lovin your blog!!!!
http://mommawords.com/2013/01/11/herbivore-crack-aka-granola-nut-clusters/
This is DELICIOUS!! Anyone would be happy to get this for a gift. This is a great web-site so glad I ran across it. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!
I love love love love these granola nut clusters. I made them for Christmas gifts, and now I make them for myself! I use any mix of nuts that equals to 1 1/2 cups. These are dangerous…. once I start eating them it is so hard to stop!
Just made these, with a mix of peanuts, almonds, cashews and a few leftover walnuts, and using quick-cooking oats (because that was what I had around). The clusters came out a bit smaller, but despite the smooth nuts and inferior oats all still worked marvellously.
They are so good! Dangerous. I’ll have to give them away before I eat them all.
These were really good, but I decided to make a few changes, & I personally like it better.
I use 2 c. pecans broken into large pcs. Add 4 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (in a large bowl). Mix really well, about a min. In a med. bowl – 1c. + 2 Tbsp. oatmeal, 3/4 c. coconut, 1/2 c. ( or a little less) sucanat, scant 1/2 tsp. salt & 1 tsp. cinn. Stir and add to nuts & syrup. Stir again for about a min. Spread on parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little more cinn. Bake for 14 min. at 275*. Turn without stirring and bake 14 more min. Let cool and then break into pcs.
I have to make this at least once a week if not more often.
These are amazing! First ‘granola’ recipe I’ve made where the clumps actually stick together once out of the oven :). I’m trying to gain weight at the moment (and am not much of a cake/cookie person), so the fact they’re so moreish is perfect for me!
These have got to be the best nut treats I have ever tasted! I just made a batch and needless to say it’s half gone…I had to pry myself away from the gooey scrumptiousness. I see my husband getting up every five minutes making his way to the kitchen for “one last bite.” Will definitely be using these for this year’s holidays!
These are so great! I made 2 batches in the last 12 hours… I woke up at 3am and decided to make more as gifts. Thanks!
Ohhhhhhhh Thanks for the reminder of your Granola Nut Clusters! I made them last year–can’t wait to get home from work and make these TONIGHT. Yummmmy. You’re the best. You literally feed me and my family every day. :)
Glad you enjoyed them Melanie! I had forgotten about them too. ;)
I’ve already been planning to make several batches as Christmas gifts again this year, they were such a hit last year. This recipe is a lifetime keeper.
These are possibly the yummiest thing to ever enter my mouth. MMMMMMM. I used coconut nectar and it worked great. Sooo delicious.
I added dried cranberries and dark chocolate chunks once cooled and had it in the car as a road trip snack for the little ones when we went on vacation. Delish!
These have become a staple in my diet. They’re great for bundling up during holiday time and giving to coworkers too. They’ve been a hit among anyone who’s tried them whether or not they’re vegan.
Hello:-) Clusters are in the oven as I’m writing this comment. Here in Poland finding brown rice syrup is like finding gold thus I am using buckwheat honey. Its thick and dark. My clusters are walnuts, pistachios, dried cherries, vanilla extract mixed with honey and the rest from Angela’s recipe. Will let you know how it turned out! Merry Christmas :-)
Its out of the oven and cooled. Smells like caramel over here:-) Its PERFECT!! Only regret is why in the world didn’t I make more?:-) The buckwheat honey works beautifully here. I didn’t add any other sugars except for the honey. LOVE!
I made mine with coconut syrup and loved the taste! Thanks for the recipe!
Omg we have falled in love with this recipe and have made it twice in a week already. I followed the recipe except for subbing with honey. However, I am having some trouble, not sure what I am doing wrong, after baking the nut clusters are getting stuck to my wax paper that I use to line the tray…it takes forever to scrap the paper off each cluster. I even tried spreading some oil on the paper but that did not help.
Help! What am I doing wrong?!
I recommend using parchment paper and not wax :)
Thank you!
Hi, I live in Italy and can’t seem to find brown rice syrup, can i substitute it with maple syrup, as i don’t love honey? Also, by using that should i cut down the amount of sugar?
Thank you!
Hi Eliza, Brown rice syrup can be difficult to replace in this recipe, because its awesome binding properties (it’s so sticky!!) are really key. I think substituting maple syrup will still taste GREAT — but the granola might not “clump” together into clusters as much as we’d want. Please me know how it goes if you try it! I’d love to hear back.
I have been making this for a long time and love it! Do you happen to have calorie/nutrition info for this? It would be helpful.
Hey Karen, I’m sorry, I don’t! But if you head over to an online tool like caloriecount.com or nutritiondata.com (or even an app like my fitness pal), it should calculate that info for you pretty quickly and easily! I hope this helps. :)
Thanks so much for these tips-I had no idea they existed. I would like to lose 10 pounds, and this is the first time in my life I’ve had to count calories, so this will make it easier.
Cheers,
Karen
Hmm I have been searching for vegan recipes to make for a friend. I was thinking of using almonds, but chopping them up a little so the aren’t so smooth. Do you think this would work, or do you think they will still be too smooth